“After the Fire is Gone”
Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
Written by L.E. White
Billboard
#1 (2 weeks)
March 27 – April 3, 1971
Good Lord, they released this within months of “Hello Darlin'” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
If you want to understand how country music eventually went super nova, look at the foundation that the genre’s first true generation of superstars are laying down here. Lynn and Twitty were already two of the most empathetic every men/women that the genre had ever seen. The two of them teaming up on a cheating record could only result in listeners sympathizing with the adulterers, and do we ever!
There is so much exquisitely expressed pain and desperation on the record that the vinyl throbs. The combination of wailing vocals, crying instrumentation, and tear-soaked lyrics make this a great country record in a way that only a great country record can be. It’s as close to genre perfection as “Stairway to Heaven” or “Fight the Power.” It belongs in a fine arts museum and on every honky tonk jukebox still standing.
And somehow it’s still only part of the conversation around the best work of these two artists, together or apart, instead of being the end of the discussion.
“After the Fire is Gone” gets an A.
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Classic version of one of the classic duet songs. This is another of those songs which has been done so man6 times, yet always sounds real.
Some will say Golden Ring takes the cake. Others might say Pancho and Lefty. Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys has a good argument. But I think this is the best duet in country music history. A perfect country song.
I agree. An easy “A+”. This used to be my least favorite Conway & Loretta song but sometimes we just don’t get something at first. Such a great country song about things that do happen in real life but are seldom discussd in this genre anymore. Love the real country.
Outstanding effort by one of the two or three best male-female duets ever (along with Porter & Dolly and George Jones & Melba Montgomery). The chemistry between these two permeated all of their duets. It is a lot closer to genre perfection than “Stairway to Heaven” or “Fight the Power” could ever dream of being
Feelins’ is my favorite by them but this is second. They just sound perfect together. What a beautiful song.
It’s as close to genre perfection as “Stairway to Heaven” or “Fight the Power.” It belongs in a fine arts museum and on every honky tonk jukebox still standing.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Conway & Loretta did a lot of great duets, but this one was the best.
I had no idea it was also recorded by George & Tammy; in fact, the only other recording I was familiar with before today was by Texas singers Justin Trevino and Amber Digby on their 2010 duet album Keeping Up Appearances. (That version is also quite good.)
I wasn’t at all prepared to be completely steamrolled by the caliber of country classics coming at the beginning of this decade.
It’s almost comical.
What am I supposed to say about these iconic, genre defining hits?
These familiar hits still command my complete attention and offer up new discoveries, and opportunities for further appreciation, with each listen.
I never tire of hearing this song.
I won’t argue that this is what country music perfection sounds like.
Shoot.
This is another one of those songs that has so, so many Bonus Beats. I’ll have more later. But first I wanna share the most interesting one. You wouldn’t expect this, but David Bowie and Patti Smith once performed a live duet of “After the Fire Is Gone” at a concert. It’s very weird, but very interesting. Here it is:
https://youtu.be/9mLIawidwtA
Now for some actual Bonus Beats.
Someone already mentioned the Lorrie Morgan/Tracy Lawrence version, so here’s another duet on “After the Fire Is Gone” by 90s stars, Terri Clark and Trace Adkins, who performed it live for CMT:
https://youtu.be/ftu0eJR2iaI
Here’s bluegrass great Rhonda Vincent and Daryle Singletary performing “After the Fire Is Gone” at Larry’s Country Diner:
https://youtu.be/5Rrrimaql1Y
Here’s Vince Gill and Patty Loveless performing the song at Austin City Limits:
https://youtu.be/TJ5PpNHH5bA
A fantastic song and performance. That chorus is iconic. Lorrie Morgan and Tracy Lawrence had a good performance of the song as well.
Man there were just so many classics to start the decade that i’d be surprised if it wasn’t up there with best years in country music history,
I knew this song existed, but id never actually heard it until today, and I may be retreading the majority opinion but I’ll be damned if this isn’t a stone cold classic, that first line hits and it makes me wanna cry, it just paints the most brutal picture of bittersweet romance and dragging out what should be over, and having two singers as talented and expressive as Conway n’ Loretta makes the emotional weight hit like a truck. That and slow country songs with some sweet pedal steel are never unwelcome on my playlist.
More Bonus Beats:
Here’s Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performing a snippet of the song at the Grand Ole Opry in 2021 for a Friends of Loretta Lynn benefit show:
https://youtu.be/-j8XB53b2n8
Here’s Willie and Tracy Nelson, who are not related, performing the song live in 1977:
https://youtu.be/uccbPpvwGuk
Here’s Tre Twitty and Tayla Lynn, the grandchildren of Conway and Loretta, performing “After the Fire Is Gone” together:
https://youtu.be/5VcT5p5i2qQ
Finally, to finish this off, I’m actually going to link a solo version, that being Freddy Fender’s version from his breakthrough 1975 album Before the Next Teardrop Falls:
https://youtu.be/hQPzBWeWSik