About The Song
“Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray” is a classic country heartbreak ballad recorded by Patsy Cline and released as a single in August 1957 by Decca Records (catalog number 30406), backed with “A Stranger in My Arms.” Written by Eddie Miller and W.S. Stevenson (a pen name for 4 Star Records executive Bill McCall), the track was recorded on April 25, 1957, at Decca Records Studio in New York City. Produced by Paul Cohen, the session featured Cline backed by the Anita Kerr Singers, with a clean arrangement emphasizing acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies, clocking in at approximately 2:15. This marked a departure from traditional country instrumentation—no steel guitar or fiddle—foreshadowing the smoother Nashville Sound Cline would later adopt under Owen Bradley.
By 1957, Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Gore, Virginia) was under contract with 4 Star Records, distributed through Decca. She had recently achieved her first major hit earlier that year with “Walkin’ After Midnight,” released in February 1957, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard country chart and No. 12 on the Hot 100 after her winning performance on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts TV show. “Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray” followed as her next single but did not chart on the Billboard country or pop lists. It served primarily as a B-side and album track, appearing on her self-titled debut album Patsy Cline, released August 5, 1957, on Decca, which compiled her early 4 Star material.
The song’s narrative uses the powerful visual of cigarettes in an ashtray—starting with two for the couple, then three when a stranger (another woman) arrives, and ending with one burning alone—to depict betrayal and abandonment. Cline delivers the lyrics with raw emotional intensity, capturing the loneliness of watching her partner leave. Though not a commercial success like “Walkin’ After Midnight,” the track received positive critical attention for its poignant imagery and Cline’s vocal performance. Historians note it as one of her strongest early recordings, serving as a blueprint for her later Decca-era style, where emotional depth and interpretive skill took center stage.
Behind the scenes, the April 1957 New York session included other tracks like “Don’t Ever Leave Me Again” and “Fingerprints.” The production choice to feature the Anita Kerr Singers instead of heavier country elements highlighted Cline’s versatility and appeal beyond traditional country audiences. The song has since become a staple in her catalog, included in numerous compilations such as The Patsy Cline Collection (1991) and various greatest hits packages. It has also appeared in media, including the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack on the K-Rose station. “Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray” remains celebrated for its vivid storytelling and as an important piece of Cline’s pre-Nashville Sound period, showcasing her ability to convey profound heartache before her tragic death in a plane crash on March 5, 1963, at age 30.
Video
Lyric
Two cigarettes in an ashtray
My love and I, in a small cafe
Then a stranger came along
And everything went wrong
Now there’s three cigarettes in the ashtrayI watched her take him from me
And his love is no longer my own
Now they are gone and I sit alone
And watch one cigarette burn awayI watched her take him from me
And his love is no longer my own
Now they are gone and I sit alone
And watch one cigarette burn away