Nobody Wins

Album: Del Rio, Texas, 1959 (1992)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • As a songwriter, Radney Foster told us, "Putting words on paper isn't your job. Your job is to go digging around in your soul. And that's the end of it all. A songwriter's job is to go digging around in his soul, and come up with - and put to paper - what others can't express about the soul itself."

    Foster does just that with this song, co-written with Kim Richey, at a time when they were hitting very tough road bumps with their respective spouses. Foster says, "I think both of us were going through really bad relationships, unwilling to talk about it at the time, but willing to at least talk about how you hate it when you have a fight with your spouse, and how awful that is. And I was like, 'Yeah, nobody wins those things.' And that's just how this song was born. Neither one of us are with the person that we were with when we wrote the song."
  • Foster feels that to write a song alone is "sort of a monkish thing, but I still do that quite a bit." Co-writing, however, "is a lot like therapy. You talk through what goes on down in the soul. Maybe not necessarily yours, but at some times it's yours." He says the best results are the songs that "you stick a big piece of your gut into, and really figure out what is it about yourself that makes somebody go, 'Wow, that guy got in my living room. How did he know exactly how I felt?' Well, it's because the human condition is pretty universal." (Check out our full interview with Radney Foster.)

Comments: 3

  • Norma Jean Morrissey from Cardinal Lake, Duluth, GaOnly recently heard Radney. He has great talent and a big future in country music. When I hear him I think of Buddy Holly. It is something in his delivery of a song that reminds me of Buddy. Favorite song so far is "Nobody Wins". Great tune and lyrics.
  • Camille from Toronto, OhOh, yeah, I remember when this song came out and the video was played on a country music station. Great song, and the words ring true; too often, fights between two people end up where nobody wins.
  • Dylan from Port Orange, FlAmazing song!!! Today's country just isn't the same.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Art Alexakis of Everclear

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

La La Brooks of The Crystals

La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing

The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About Transgenderism

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About TransgenderismSong Writing

A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.

Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust

Lajon Witherspoon of SevendustSongwriter Interviews

The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.

Jon Anderson of Yes

Jon Anderson of YesSongwriter Interviews

From the lake in "Roundabout" to Sister Bluebird in "Starship Trooper," Jon Anderson talks about how nature and spirituality play into his lyrics for Yes.

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.