Dwight Yoakam – Always Late with Your Kisses

“Always Late with Your Kisses” is a country single recorded by American singer Dwight Yoakam, released as the fourth and final single from his second studio album, Hillbilly Deluxe. The album came out on July 7, 1987 through Reprise Records and marked Yoakam’s second consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The single itself was issued in early 1988 and achieved solid success on the country charts, reaching No. 9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and No. 5 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.

The song Yoakam recorded is a cover of the classic Lefty Frizzell hit “Always Late (With Your Kisses)”, originally co-written by Frizzell and Blackie Crawford. The original version was released by Columbia Records in 1951, with “Mom and Dad’s Waltz” as the B-side. It went to No. 1 on the U.S. country chart and stayed there for many weeks, becoming one of Frizzell’s signature songs and an important example of the honky-tonk sound of the early 1950s. Yoakam has often cited older country artists such as Frizzell, Buck Owens and others as central influences on his own music.

Within Yoakam’s discography, “Always Late with Your Kisses” sits on Hillbilly Deluxe, a ten-track album produced by guitarist Pete Anderson. The album blends seven Yoakam originals with several carefully chosen covers, including Elvis Presley’s “Little Sister”, Stonewall Jackson’s “Smoke Along the Track”, and Frizzell’s “Always Late (With Your Kisses)”. The track appears mid-album, running just over two minutes, and complements the project’s overall aesthetic, which leans heavily on Bakersfield-style twang and a stripped-down honky-tonk rhythm section while still sounding contemporary for late-1980s country radio.

Yoakam’s version is often described as a reworking rather than a note-for-note recreation of Frizzell’s recording. While he preserves the melody and basic structure, the arrangement is updated with prominent electric guitars, pedal steel, and a tighter, more driving groove. His vocal delivery reflects his trademark blend of Bakersfield sharpness and traditional country phrasing, acknowledging Frizzell’s influence without imitating him directly. This approach fits Yoakam’s broader role in the neo-traditional country movement of the 1980s, which sought to revive classic country sounds in a modern production context.

The lyrics of “Always Late (With Your Kisses)” revolve around a narrator frustrated by a lover who is emotionally and physically distant. Lines about kisses and love always arriving “late” capture the feeling of someone who is never quite there when needed, even though the relationship continues. The theme of unfulfilled affection and inconsistent commitment is common in honky-tonk songwriting, and the song presents it in simple, direct language that made sense both in the 1950s barroom era and in Yoakam’s 1980s reinterpretation.

Commercially, Yoakam’s recording extended the life of the song into a new generation. With a Top 10 peak on the Billboard country singles chart in 1988 and a Top 5 placing in Canada, it completed a run in which all four singles from Hillbilly Deluxe reached the country Top 10. A music video directed by Sherman Halsey received rotation on country television outlets, further increasing the song’s visibility. Over time, Yoakam’s cover has been viewed as a link between the early 1950s honky-tonk tradition represented by Lefty Frizzell and the late-1980s neo-traditional country sound that Yoakam helped popularize.