Ronnie Milsap - Smoky Mountain Rain (1980) bass cover

"Smoky Mountain Rain" is a song written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan, and recorded by American country music singer Ronnie Milsap. It was released in September 1980 as the first and only single from his Greatest Hits compilation album. The single became one of his best-known songs.

The song is a first-person narrative of a man who has left Los Angeles and returned to Knoxville, Tennessee, due to "a change of dreams." He attempts to call a woman from a phone booth, but learns that she is gone. Attempting to find her, he then gets a ride from a truck driver who is going to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Although he "can't blame her for letting go," he vows to find her "no matter what it takes." Rain is mentioned in the opening verse, in the bridge, and three times in the chorus. Milsap liked the lyrics of Elvis Presley's "Kentucky Rain" so much that "Smoky Mountain Rain" was written for him similarly, albeit with a slightly different flavor: Milsap had played piano on the recording of Presley's "Kentucky Rain" in 1969.

Lyrics:
I thumbed my way
From LA back to Knoxville
I found out those bright lights
Ain't where I belong
From a phone booth in the rain
I called to tell her
I've had a change of dreams
I'm coming home
But tears filled my eyes
When I found out she was gone

[Chorus]
Smoky Mountain rain
Keeps on falling
I keep on calling her name
Smoky Mountain rain
I'll keep on searching
I can't go on hurting this way
She's somewhere in the Smoky Mountain rain

[Verse 2]
I waved a diesel down outside a cafe
He said that he was going
As far as Gatlinburg
I climbed up in the cab
All wet and cold and lonely
I wiped my eyes
And told him about her
I've got to find her
Can you make these big wheels burn?

[Chorus]
Smoky Mountain rain
Keeps on falling
I keep on calling her name
Smoky Mountain rain
I'll keep on searching
I can't go on hurting this way
She's somewhere in the Smoky Mountain rain

[Bridge]
I can't blame her for letting go
A woman needs someone warm to hold
I feel the rain running down my face
I'll find her no matter what it takes

[Instrumental]

[Chorus]
Smoky Mountain rain
Keeps on falling
I keep on calling her name
Smoky Mountain rain
I'll keep on searching
I can't go on hurting this way
Smoky Mountain rain
Keeps on falling
I keep on calling her name