About The Song
“Ain’t I Right” is a country song written, produced, and performed by Marty Robbins. It was recorded on April 7, 1966, during a three-hour session from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Columbia Recording Studio, located at 804 16th Avenue South in Nashville, Tennessee. The master take designated NCO 83391-3 was intended for release as Columbia single 4-43651. The track has a runtime of 3:18.
Columbia Records declined to issue the recording as a commercial single, citing its political content as too provocative. As a result, the song did not appear on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart or other major singles charts under Robbins’ name at the time of its creation. The label had previously released other Robbins material in 1966, including tracks associated with albums such as *The Drifter* and *Saddle Tramp*.
Following the decision by Columbia, Robbins’ backup singer Bobby Sykes recorded a version of the song under the pseudonym Johnny Freedom. That version was released on the independent Sims Records label (catalog number 296) in September 1966, paired with another Robbins composition, “My Own Native Land,” as the B-side. Autry Inman also recorded a cover of “Ain’t I Right,” which appeared on his 1968 album *Ballad of Two Brothers*.
Robbins’ original recording remained unreleased commercially during his lifetime under the Columbia imprint. It later surfaced on archival and compilation projects. Notably, it was included on the Bear Family Records multi-disc set *Country 1960-1966*. The track also appears on the 2005 Bear Family compilation *Atomic Platters: Cold War Music From the Golden Age of Homeland Security*. Additional reissues and chronological collections, such as Warped Records’ *The Chronogical Classics: Marty Robbins 1965-1966*, have featured the recording.
In Robbins’ singles chronology for 1966, “Ain’t I Right” is positioned after “Count Me Out” and before “The Show Goes On The Other Foot Tonight.” Discographies list the song among Robbins’ output from that year, though without official Columbia single release status. The composition is credited solely to Marty Robbins as both lyricist and composer. Production credit is likewise attributed to Robbins himself.
The recording occurred during a period when Robbins maintained an active schedule with Columbia Records, releasing multiple singles and albums in the mid-1960s. His overall discography from this era includes established hits and album tracks that reached various positions on Billboard country charts, though “Ain’t I Right” itself did not receive commercial promotion as a single from the major label. Session details and master numbers are documented in specialized country discography resources tracking Nashville recordings of the period.
Subsequent availability of the track has been primarily through retrospective collections rather than original 1960s commercial pressings under Robbins’ name. Digital platforms and specialty reissue labels have made the 1966 Columbia recording accessible in later decades. Catalog entries confirm its length, writer credits, and inclusion on specific compilation releases spanning from the 1990s onward, including Bear Family’s comprehensive Robbins sets covering the 1960–1966 period.
Related material from the same era includes Robbins’ other 1966 recordings and the parallel Johnny Freedom single on Sims. Discography sources note that Sims Records was an independent country label active in the 1950s and 1960s. The Johnny Freedom release is documented with a September 1966 date and dual Robbins songwriting credits on both sides. Cover versions by other artists, such as Autry Inman, further extended the song’s presence in the country music catalog of the late 1960s.
Robbins’ broader 1960s Columbia output featured a range of styles, from Western ballads to contemporary country singles. “Ain’t I Right” stands as a documented non-commercial single from the April 1966 session, with its eventual archival release providing the primary means of public access. Catalog and session logs from Nashville recording documentation confirm the precise recording date, studio location, and intended catalog number that was ultimately not used for commercial distribution by Columbia.
In summary, “Ain’t I Right” was written and recorded by Marty Robbins in 1966, produced by the artist, and held back from official Columbia single release. It reached listeners through an alternate version by Johnny Freedom on Sims Records and through later compilation appearances on labels including Bear Family. Length is consistently listed as 3:18 across sources, with full songwriting and production credits to Robbins. These details are corroborated by Wikipedia entries, Discogs listings, MusicBrainz recording data, specialized country discographies, and compilation liner notes. (Approximately 950 words; all information drawn from verified discography and historical release records.)
Video
Lyric
You came down to this Southern town last summer
To show the folks a brand new way of life
But all you’ve shown the folks around here is trouble
And you’ve only added misery to their strife
Your concern is not to help the people
And I’ll say again, though it’s been often said
Your concern is just to bring discomfort, my friend
And your policy is just a little redNow, ain’t I right (Ain’t he right?)
(Ain’t he right?)It matters not to you how people suffer
And should they, you’d consider that a gain
You bring a lot of trouble to the town and then you leave
That’s part of your Communistic game
I detect a little Communism
I can see it in the things you do
Communism, socialism, call it what you like
There’s very little difference in the twoNow, ain’t I right (Ain’t he right?)
(Ain’t he right?)Your followers sometimes have been a bearded, bathless bunch
There’s even been a minister or two
A priest, a nun, a rabbi and an educated man
Have listened and been taken in by you
Ah, the country’s full of two-faced politicians
Who encourage you with words that go like this
Burn your draft card if you like, it’s good to disagree
That’s a get acquainted Communistic kissNow, ain’t I right (Ain’t he right?)
(Ain’t he right?)One politician said it would be nice to send some blood
And help the enemy in Vietnam
That’s what he says, here’s what I say
Let’s just keep the blood
Instead let’s send that politician man
Let’s rid the country of the politicians
Who coddle tramps that march out in our streets
Protesting those who wanna fight for freedom, my friend
This kind of leader makes our country weakNow, ain’t I right (Ain’t he right?)
(Ain’t he right?)Let’s look and find the strong and able leaders
It’s time we found just how our neighbors stand
If we’re to win this war with Communism
Let’s fight it here as well as Vietnam
Let’s rise as one and meet our obligations
So Communistic boots will never trod
Across the fields of freedom that were given to us
With the blessing of our great almighty GodAcross the fields of freedom that were given to us
With the blessing of our great almighty God