Knoxville Girl

Album: Outlaws (1975)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Being on the road is a theme that is sprinkled liberally throughout The Outlaws' records. Henry Paul had a moment of clarity as he was headed home one night, and he wrote this song with that in mind. Says Paul: "'The fog rolls in the morning, and I can hardly find my way home to where the heart is, the words can't begin to say enough about the gentle way you always take me in, that long and winding narrow road gonna take me home again.' I remember coming through North Georgia through the fog on I-75 trying to get home, and when I wrote that segment of that song it was just a direct moment in time of being a long way from the house in some dangerous fast-moving vehicle trying to get there in the middle of the night after drinks. It was weird. It was a very dangerous life." (Check out our interview with Henry Paul. For more, go to www.blackhawkmusic.us.)

Comments: 2

  • Fed from Summerfield IlAwesome song. Great beat. Great lyrics. Great voice of course!!!
  • Linda from Ranger, GaThe Knoxville girl is also the name of an old ballad in which a man kills a girl who will not marry him hence '"Cause I know
    You'll never be my bride", throws her in the river where she is eventually found, and he is convicted of her murder and condemned to hang. The first verse in the ballad describes him meeting a girl with "a dark and roving eye", as in the chorus of this song.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining Victims

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining VictimsSong Writing

Just like Darrin was replaced on Bewitched, groups have swapped out original members, hoping we wouldn't notice.

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

Which Songs are About Drugs?

Which Songs are About Drugs?Fact or Fiction

"25 or 6 to 4" to "Semi-Charmed Life" - see if you can spot the songs that are really about drugs.