HE DIDN’T BREAK RULES — HE JUST REFUSED TO LIVE BY SOMEONE ELSE’S. Waylon Jennings was never the kind of man who waited for permission. One hot Texas afternoon in the late ’70s, he was rumbling down the highway with the windows wide open, letting the wind slap the last bit of Nashville polish off his shoulders. He’d spent years fighting the people who wanted to tame him, dress him up, and turn his fire into something “marketable.” But Waylon wasn’t built for quiet corners. With his guitar resting across his lap, he thought about the chaos he’d lived through — the pills, the long nights, the fast love that burned out before sunrise. He didn’t regret any of it. Those scars were his, and he wore them honest. Somewhere between mile markers, those thoughts turned into lyrics that felt like a growl and a confession all at once. When the song hit in ’78, every rebel, drifter, and worn-out soul heard their own heartbeat in it.
HE DIDN’T BREAK RULES — HE JUST REFUSED TO LIVE BY SOMEONE ELSE’S. There’s a reason Waylon Jennings still feels…