Introduction
Released in June 2008, “Troubadour” is the title track and second single from George Strait’s twenty-fifth studio album, Troubadour. Written by Leslie Satcher and Monty Holmes, the song is a reflective ballad in the neotraditional country style, produced by Tony Brown and George Strait.
In the lyrics, the narrator looks back over his life as a “troubadour”—a traveling singer-songwriter—contrasting his youth with his middle age. Lines like “I was a young troubadour when I rode in on a song / I’ll be an old troubadour when I’m gone” show not just nostalgia, but a sense of peace with what has been accomplished. The idea for the song came about when producer Tony Brown asked Leslie Satcher to write something for George Strait—even though he wasn’t retiring, there was a sense people believed he might be slowing down.
Troubadour reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, securing another Top Ten hit in Strait’s long, storied career. The song also received a nomination for Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards.
The music video, directed by Trey Fanjoy and released in August 2008, alternates between Strait performing and archival photos from different stages of his career—reinforcing the song’s themes of time, memory, and legacy.
Video
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I still feel twenty-five most of the time
I still raise a little Cain with the boys
Honky Tonks and pretty women
But Lord I’m still right there with ’em
Singing above the crowd and the noise
[Chorus]
Sometimes I feel like Jesse James
Still trying to make a name
Knowing nothing’s gonna change what I am
I was a young troubadour
When I rode in on a song
And I’ll be an old troubadour when I’m gone
[Verse 2]
Well, the truth about a mirror
Is that a damned old mirror
Don’t really tell the whole truth
It don’t show what’s deep inside
Or read between the lines
And it’s really no reflection of my youth
[Chorus]
Sometimes I feel like Jesse James
Still trying to make a name
Knowing nothing’s gonna change what I am
I was a young troubadour
When I rode in on a song
I’ll be an old troubadour when I’m gone
I was a young troubadour
When I rode in on a song
And I’ll be an old troubadour when I’m gone