"Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" is a Western swing novelty song written by Merle Travis and Tex Williams,BMI Copyright and Registration Info for Williams and his talking blues style of singing. Travis wrote the bulk of the song.CMT bio of Tex Williams The original Williams version went to number one for 16 non-consecutive weeks on the Hot Country Songs chart and became a #1 hit in August 1947 and remained at the top of the "Best Sellers in Stores" chart for six weeks. It was written in 1947 and recorded on March 27, 1947, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood.
Synopsis The song is written in the talking blues style in the mid 1940s. Its narrator expresses disdain for the inventor of the cigarette, not so much for its health concerns (as he says he is a smoker himself and it hasn't killed him yet) but because of its addictive effect on smokers. He goes on to describe two situations, a tense poker game and a date with a beautiful woman; each situation is interrupted at a crucial point when one of the participants stops to have a cigarette. Williams sarcastically quips that when the smoker eventually dies from the effects of the addiction, they will tell Saint Peter that they need one more smoke before going through the golden gate.
Personnel "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" was produced by Lee Gillette, and featured Johnny Weis, electric lead guitar; Eugene "Smokey" Rogers, acoustic rhythm guitar, harmony vocal; Earl "Joaquin" Murphey, steel guitar; Manny Klein, trumpet; Paul "Spike" Featherstone, harp; Andrew "Cactus" Soldi, Harry Sims, Rex Call, fiddles; Ossie Godson, piano; Deuce Spriggens, bass fiddle, harmony vocal; Milton "Muddy" Berry, drums; and Larry "Pedro" DePaul, accordion.
Cover versions A cover version performed by Phil Harris stayed on the charts for 4 weeks, reaching #8 on the "Best Sellers in Stores" chart. Williams made a stereophonic re-recording of the song for Capitol in 1960 on the album, Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!.Music: Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! by Tex Williams. Rhapsody Online It has also been covered by Johnny Bond & His Red River Valley Boys in 1947, and by Sammy Davis Jr., who hit # 89 on the Country Charts in 1982,Whitburn, Joel, The Billboard Book of Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, VNU Business Media, 2005 p. 108 Willie Nelson, Dennis Weaver, Michael Nesmith, Hank Thompson, Jimmy Dean, Commander Cody (Billboard #94 in 1973), Asleep at the Wheel, Doc Watson and others. Thom Bresh, the son of the song's writer Merle Travis, hit #78 on the Country Charts with the song in 1978.Whitburn, Joel, The Billboard Book of Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, VNU Business Media, 2005 p. 55 In France, Eddy Mitchell also recorded a French version of the song, on his album Rocking in Nashville (1974) : Fume cette cigarette. Finnish band Hullujussi covered the song in 1975, "Polta tupakkaa!". In 2017, Canadian rockabilly artist Cousin Harley released a cover version of the song on the tribute album "Blue Smoke: The Music of Merle Travis".Fanelli, Damian, Cousin Harley Premiere "Deep South" from New Merle Travis Tribute Album, Guitar World, 2017
In popular culture The song is used as the title song of the 2005 American black comedy movie Thank You for Smoking. It is also featured in the second episode of the first season of the American sitcom My Name Is Earl, "Quitting Smoking", and makes an appearance in the video game L.A. Noire as one of the songs played by the in-game radio KTI.
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