Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song) by Toby Keith

Album: American Ride (2009)

Charted: 73

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Toby Keith wrote this song as a tribute to his friend and fellow Oklahoman Wayman Tisdale, a basketball player and jazz musician, who passed away in on Friday 15th May 2009. His cause of death was an oesophagus collapse due to the chemo Wayman was getting to treat his cancer.

Keith recalled to The Boot that when he received the news of his friend's death, "I reeled around there for two days in a stupor. He was a great guy with a charismatic smile, and the closest thing to Jesus I've ever met. There's a line in the song that says, 'You showed me how to live.' He was a perfect, perfect human. I got up Sunday morning, realized I was just going to have to face it all - couldn't believe that he was gone. We had gotten really, really close. I was the first one he would call when he would come out of surgery. He passed away on May 15. Anyway, I got up Sunday morning, called his cell phone to hear his voice one more time, I grabbed my guitar and sat down and wrote this song, and went in and put it on the album."
The song features jazz bassist Marcus Miller and saxophonist Dave Koz, both friends of Wayman. Keith told CMT News the "jazz stuff" on this song, "is something for me I've never ever done. We laid some chords in there that when Koz and Marcus Miller played on them, they would have stuff to work with from their world. I never put jazz changes in anything I've done, so that's one of them."
Keith told CMT News that he originally penned this song just to be played at Wayman's funeral. He explained: "At first, I just wanted to do it at his funeral, something really personal - a gift from me to the world, to the funeral in his world. That's what he was to me, a gentlemen and just the perfect person he was. After I wrote it, I said, "I've got to record this thing." So the beauty of it was Dave Koz, the jazz sax player, Marcus Miller, another one of his jazz buddies, were all there playing at the funeral, so I asked both of them, "I've got this song for him. Do you guys want to play on it?" So Marcus played bass, and Koz is playing sax. It ended up being a really nice tribute."
When Jelly Roll lost his father to cancer in 2019, this was the song that helped him to grieve.

"Toby Keith's 'I'm gonna miss that smile, I'm gonna miss you my friend.' It got me through the death of my father. I listened to that song everyday," he said on the Jay Shetty podcast. "So I know how music can do that."

Comments: 11

Hope Anderson from Lancaster ScToby was always doing good things for people! I hope that I can learn to listen to Toby’s songs without crying!! Surely could not do it with this one! My heart is just so broken!! GOD BLESS TOBY AND HELP HIS FAMILY STAY STRONG ! I know y’all will enjoy him in heaven!! Miss him so much !!!
Mikey from Oklahomapretty God damn prophetic, RIP Toby........
Heidi from UtahI just lost my best friend to cancer. We played it at her burial. She was a member of a Toby Keith fan club and he recognized her and gave a signal that he had seen her. It was only appropriate that it be played for her.
George Secour from CaliforniaMay our Lord hold you and your family close during this battle! Praying for you and all affected by this terrible disease my brother!
Doug from CaliforniaReal professional to be able to create something that inspirational on short notice.
Jennifer Graves Crump from NyMy son Dusty(Dustin Allen Graves) went missing April 15th and they looked for 4 days and found him. It was the worst feeling in the world. My son, the very person I lived and breathed for was gone.
This song makes me think of Dusty cause he was such a good, tender-hearted, hard working, respectful, compassionate selfless person at the age of 26. He was as some say an "old soul" he truly was. He was PERFECT IN EVERY WAY TO ME in 15 days he will have been passed away for two years at times I think "its been that long ?" Other times I feel like it just happened and say "how will I ever get through this?" I never ever stop thinking of him & my heart will never be the same as it was when he was here.
I'm grateful that he doesn't have to live in this World today cause honestly Idk if he could have dealt with the whole COVID trauma. When he passed it was exactly 1 month and 3 days into COVID so he didn't have to see all the "UGLY" that came from it. Now the Ukraine with Russia is something else he wouldn't have dealt with very good either. All 3 of us, him, me & his dads biggest fear is to die. All 3 of us are afraid to die from drowning or fire(Im sure its a lot of people's fear)
I MISS YOU EVERY SINGLE DAY, EVERY MINUTE OF EVERYDAY! I don't live anymore I merely exist and its a horrible way to live(as your husband watches & is broken from our son, now is broken watching me) I just want to see him again and I can't wait to hug him, hold him and tell him how much I've missed him and sad life was w/o him. Although I'm sure he knows. Thanks for letting me share.
I MISS YOU MY BABY BOY SO MUCH! 1-4-3. F.A.A.D
Til I see you again,
LOVE MOM
AnonymousDon’t. Cry for me when I’m gone
Alan Jackson from EnglandHeard this beautiful song, and just needed to know who was its creator and who it was about as it kept on going around in my mind and wouldn't leave me be. So grateful for this clip and in a year when I have lost two good friends it has a special place in my heart. Thank you.
Tori from Thorntown, InI lost my best friend in September due to a seizure caused by Juvenile diabetes. She was 14. Anyway, I found out she was dead on a friday morning, and sunday, I broke down. I heard this song for the first time in 2009, just after my aunt died, but it just makes so much more sense now that Sarah died <3
Tiffany from Shiloh, GaMy mother-in-law just recently passed away. Her daughter chose this song to be played at her funeral. I have heard this song many times, but never really listened to the worlds until that day at her funeral. I love this song now and often find myself singing it when I think of her.
Terri from Prescott, Wiomg, this song breaks my heart. see i just lost my best friend to cancer. it took her in 3 months. this song is exactly how i'm feelin these days. how i wish i heard this song back when she died i definitely would of had this played at her funeral. what a touching, beautiful song.

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