Songfacts®:

• "I'm Alright" is the title track of Loudon Wainwright III's album of the same name, his third release on Rounder Records. The bluesy song is a humorous and self-deprecating reflection on carrying on with a normal life after a breakup. The repeated "I'm alright" is a hopeful mantra, claiming independence and resilience.
• "I'm Alright" can be seen as a subversion of the traditional blues form. It uses the genre's musical and lyrical framework to tell a different kind of story. While the blues typically focus on pain and lament, this song offers a message of self-assurance and overcoming heartbreak.
• The song features acoustic guitar and vocals by Wainwright as well as electric guitar and production by English folk rocker Richard Thompson.
• The I'm Alright album was nominated for the Best Contemporary Folk Recording Grammy in 1986.
• Wainwright recorded I'm Alright when he was touring and traveling a lot, a time when his family didn't see much of him.
  
  "This record helped me understand who he was," his son Rufus Wainwright told Uncut magazine. "My father has always communicated with his loved ones through song, for better or for worse. And even though occasionally it can be a little traumatic, at least he's reaching out, you know? It's about trying to figure out a state of things and get to a better place."