"Cedartown, Georgia" is a song by Waylon Jennings that tells the story of a man who falls in love with a girl from Cedartown, Georgia. He walks three miles just to court her, and even though she comes from a simple background as a sharecropper's daughter, he marries her and they move to New Orleans. In New Orleans, the man finds work loading bales on a steamboat, but he struggles financially as he spends all his money on his wife. He notices that she spends her days sleeping or getting ready, and suspects that she may be unfaithful. One morning, as he walks to work, he catches his wife with another man, a wealthy and well-dressed individual. She ignores him completely, which leads the protagonist to make a decision. He decides to buy a gun, specifically a .22 caliber, from a pawnshop. Later that day, he sees the room clerk giving the other man a room key. By reading the room number, he learns that his wife and the man are staying in Room 23. With a plan in mind, he decides to send his wife back to Cedartown, Georgia on a train, knowing that her actions will cause a lot of distress and sorrow among their relatives. The song explores themes of betrayal, heartbreak, and the consequences of infidelity. It showcases the protagonist's determination to take control of the situation and make a difficult decision.
