“Trail of Sorrow” was written by Don Reno and recorded by Don Reno, Red Smiley and the Tennessee Cutups in 1955. It came out of the band’s sessions for King Records, the label that documented much of their work.
The song is a bluegrass lament. The singer looks back over a life marked by grief and pictures it as a long trail of sorrow, each step a fresh disappointment; the lyric matches the mournful side of the Reno and Smiley sound.
Reno and Smiley were among the leading bluegrass acts of the 1950s, and “Trail of Sorrow” remains one of their songs. The version heard here is by Don Reno, Red Smiley and the Tennessee Cutups.
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