About The Song
“Already Gone” is a song recorded by the American rock band the Eagles for their third studio album, On the Border. The track was written by Jack Tempchin and Robb Strandlund. It was produced by Bill Szymczyk. The album version runs 4 minutes and 13 seconds, while the single version is 3 minutes and 39 seconds. The song is the opening track on On the Border, which Asylum Records released on March 22, 1974. The single followed on April 19, 1974, with “Is It True” as the B-side.
Jack Tempchin and Robb Strandlund composed “Already Gone” approximately five years before the Eagles recorded it, around 1969. Tempchin managed a folk music club called The Back Door at San Diego State College (later San Diego State University). He and Strandlund often performed there. One evening in the back room off the kitchen, they found a jug of hard cider in a refrigerator. After drinking from it, Tempchin suggested they write a country song. They completed “Already Gone” in about 20 minutes. The “woo-hoo-hoo” interjections in the chorus came from Tempchin’s elevated mood during the session. They performed the song that same night but Tempchin did not play it frequently afterward.
Tempchin had previously written “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” which the Eagles recorded on their debut album. Glenn Frey, who knew Tempchin from the late 1960s San Diego music scene, received a tape of “Already Gone” in the mail at his house on La Fontaine Court in Coldwater Canyon, Los Angeles. Frey later described the delivery in liner notes and interviews. While the Eagles worked on On the Border, Frey contacted Tempchin from the studio. He played the band’s rock arrangement of the song over the phone, telling Tempchin he believed the country tune would work well as a rock track.
Recording of On the Border began in London at Olympic Studios with producer Glyn Johns. The band had recorded their first two albums entirely in London with Johns. Disagreements arose over direction. Johns preferred a more polished country-rock approach and had stated the group was not a rock band. The Eagles wanted a harder rock sound. They relocated to Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles and brought in Bill Szymczyk as producer. Szymczyk had recently worked with Joe Walsh, who shared the same manager as the Eagles. “Already Gone” was among the first tracks recorded under the new arrangement in Los Angeles. It became one of the earliest Eagles singles cut in California.
Glenn Frey handled lead vocals and guitar solos. Don Felder, newly associated with the band, played a Les Paul Special and contributed the song’s distinctive solo lick and additional guitar work. Felder’s overdubs on “Already Gone” marked his first recorded contribution as a member. He is listed as a “late arrival” in the album liner notes. Bernie Leadon played guitar and provided background vocals. Randy Meisner played bass and sang background vocals. Don Henley played drums and sang background vocals. The arrangement features twin guitar solos by Frey and Felder, a technique the band later used on other tracks.
The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 on April 28, 1974, at number 97. It peaked at number 32 on the chart dated June 29, 1974, and spent a total of 15 weeks on the Hot 100. It spent three weeks in the American Top 40. In Canada, the song reached number 12 on the RPM Top Singles chart. It received regular airplay on both AM and FM radio. Cash Box described it as the Eagles’ best single release to date at the time, calling it a hard rocker driven by the group’s harmonies. Record World highlighted a specific lyric and compared it favorably to earlier material. The song later appeared on compilation albums including Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and The Very Best Of.
On the Border reached number 17 on the Billboard 200. Two other tracks from the album also charted: “James Dean” and “The Best of My Love,” the latter becoming a number-one single. “Already Gone” represented an early step in the band’s shift toward a harder-edged rock sound after their initial country-rock recordings. Felder’s addition and the change in producer and studio location supported this direction. The track has remained part of the Eagles’ live repertoire since the 1970s, appearing in set lists across multiple decades and on live releases such as the Farewell 1 Tour DVD filmed in Australia.
Other artists have recorded versions of the song. Tanya Tucker included it on the 1993 tribute album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles; her version reached number 75 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Wilson Phillips recorded it for their 2004 album California. A Finnish-language version titled “Alan Sooloilemaan” appeared on the 1977 album Morjens by the band Karma.
Personnel credits list Frey on lead vocals and guitar solos, Henley on drums and background vocals, Leadon on guitar and background vocals, Meisner on bass and background vocals, and Felder on guitar solos. The songwriters are consistently credited as Jack Tempchin and Robb Strandlund across primary sources. The track’s publishing includes Benchmark Music and Jazzbird Music. It has been included in retrospective rankings of the band’s catalog by publications such as Billboard and Rolling Stone in later years.
The recording took place during a transitional period for the group in 1974. Sessions moved from London back to Los Angeles, the producer changed from Johns to Szymczyk, and Felder joined the lineup mid-project. These production and personnel details are documented in contemporary accounts, liner notes, and later interviews with band members and collaborators. The single’s chart trajectory and album placement are confirmed by Billboard data and contemporaneous trade publications.
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Lyric
Well, I heard some people talkin' just the other day And they said you were gonna put me on a shelf But let me tell you, I got some news for you And you'll soon find out it's true And then you'll have to eat your lunch all by yourself 'Cause I'm already gone And I'm feelin' strong I will sing this victory song Woo-hoo, hoo, my, my Woo-hoo, hoo The letter that you wrote me made me stop and wonder why But I guess you felt like you had to set things right Just remember this, my girl, when you look up in the sky You can see the stars and still not see the light (That's right) And I'm already gone And I'm feelin' strong I will sing this victory song Woo-hoo, hoo, my, my Woo-hoo, hoo Well, I know it wasn't you who held me down Heaven knows, it wasn't you who set me free So oftentimes it happens that we live our lives in chains And we never even know we have the key But me, I'm already gone And I'm feelin' strong I will sing (I will sing) this victory song 'Cause I'm already gone Yes, I'm already gone And I'm feelin' strong I will sing this victory song 'Cause I'm already gone Yes, I'm already gone Already gone All right, nighty-night Already gone Already gone Already gone