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I know that we can never lives these times again/ So I’ll let these dreams take me back to where we’ve been…
Written by: Seals/Fritts Recorded: Pathé Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, June-Oct. 1979
From Martin Elliott’s book The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions 1962-2012: We Had It All is a Troy Seals and Donnie Fritts composition. Green On Red covered it good effect on their 1986 album Here Come the Snakes with Jim Dickinson of Muscle Shoals fame. With Keith Richards taking the piano and lead vocals, his gold-labelled voice glides competently over what is quite a sentimental song. There is some gentle harmonica work by Sugar Blue. The song was included within The New Barbarians’ set list of whom Sugar Blue had played with at Knebworth, Ron Wood plays an excellent pedal steel guitar butthe moment is Keith’s.
Keith Richards: vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, piano Ron Wood: pedal steel guitar Bill Wyman: bass Charlie Watts: drums Guest musicians: Sugar Blue (harmonica)
Some songs become classics the normal way—radio hits, awards, endless marketing. We Had It All chose a stranger route: heartbreak, reinvention, and a long line of artists unable to leave it alone. That usually means the song knows something people don’t want to admit out loud.
First recorded by Waylon Jennings, the track went on to attract names like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and, eventually, The Rolling Stones. When legends across country, rock, and soul keep returning to the same lyrics, it’s rarely because they were bored that afternoon.
What makes We Had It All endure is its brutal honesty. It doesn’t promise second chances or tidy endings. It simply looks back at love after the dust has settled. In a world obsessed with moving on quickly, this song calmly reminds everyone that some memories never got the memo.
A Song Too Heavy to Ignore
Some songs become hits, others become emotional property passed from artist to artist. We Had It All belongs firmly in the second category. Written by Troy Seals and Donnie Fritts, the ballad first appeared on Waylon Jennings’ 1973 album Honky Tonk Heroes, where it stood out as the only track not written by Billy Joe Shaver. That alone makes it memorable, but its real power came from its theme: two former lovers looking back at what once mattered and what slipped away. The song climbed to #28 on the country charts, proving heartbreak can sell just fine when delivered honestly. Decades later, its reach only grew, attracting voices from country, soul, rock, and pop. Apparently, regret has excellent crossover potential. Few songs travel so widely while keeping their emotional bruises intact, which helps explain why artists kept returning to it again and again.
A Favorite Among Legends
The list of artists who later covered the song reads like a very overqualified guest list. Rita Coolidge, Dobie Gray, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Conway Twitty, Ray Charles, Scott Walker, Green On Red, Dottie West and Susan Jacks all recorded versions. Each brought a different tone, yet the song survived every stylistic change. That is usually the sign of elite songwriting: it works whether sung in a honky-tonk, a studio booth, or somewhere between heartbreak and payday.
Keith Richards (2011): “It’s a Dobie Gray song that we’ve always loved, and I actually had forgotten we had recorded it. I had also forgotten how good it was and how much I like it…. It’s a perennial, you know what I mean? One of those songs you sort of warm up in the loins with, you know?”
Elvis and the Unfinished Session
In 2013 studio musician Norbert Putnam revealed that Elvis Presley also attempted the song during sessions at Stax in 1973. Putnam, who played bass on 122 Elvis tracks, said Presley was deeply drawn to it. But the lyrics reportedly echoed the pain of his divorce from Priscilla Presley, making the session unexpectedly difficult. The recording remained unfinished, turning that version into one more chapter of music history built on timing and emotion.
The Rolling Stones Version
In 1979 The Rolling Stones (this time sans Mick Jagger) recorded their own take on We Had It All, with Keith Richards handling lead vocals. Their version was finally released on the 2011 deluxe edition of Some Girls. Richards’ weathered voice suited the song perfectly, giving it the sound of memories told after midnight. Some songs need polish. This one needed scars.
Mick Jagger (2011): “Keith sings this one. It’s an old-time country song written by Donnie Fritts and Troy Seals. I know this because I was mixing it and I said to Don Was, Did Keith write this song? I didn’t know ’cause I’m not on it. Don said, ‘No, it’s an old cover tune’. Waylon Jennings did a version, which is where I think Keith got it from.”
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