About the Song

Released in 1968 on the album Jewels, “Six Strings Away” is a quiet, aching ballad that strips everything down to its emotional core. In just a few verses, Waylon Jennings manages to say what many spend a lifetime trying to express—that music can sometimes be the only thing holding a broken heart together.

The image in the title—“Six Strings Away”—isn’t just poetic. It’s personal. The six strings belong to Waylon’s guitar, and in this song, they’re all that stand between him and the weight of his sorrow. The woman is gone, the words have dried up, and the only thing left is a melody—fragile, familiar, and filled with things he can’t bring himself to say out loud.

Waylon’s voice in this track is understated, but full of feeling. There’s no bravado here. No performance. Just a man alone with his thoughts and his guitar. And that makes the song feel more like a diary entry than a recording—a soft confession in the early hours, meant for no one, and yet somehow meant for all of us who’ve been left behind.

Though it wasn’t a chart-topper, “Six Strings Away” belongs to a deeply important period in Jennings’ career. The Jewels album came during a time when he was still playing by Nashville’s rules, but already searching for more creative freedom. Songs like this one show just how much depth and honesty he brought to even the simplest arrangements.

For longtime fans, this track feels like a familiar companion—something to put on late at night when the world is too quiet and the memories get loud. It’s a reminder of how music can be both a burden and a balm, especially when the person we want to talk to is gone.

“Six Strings Away” may not be flashy, but it doesn’t need to be. Its power lies in its simplicity, its sadness, and its truth. Just one man, one guitar, and a whole lot of feeling.

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