But Haggard’s songs like this always wind up being exercises in self-laceration, epics of a vicious cycle of moralism and transgression. (There’s also a line about how she draws attention at a party to reinforce this.) You can easily imagine what a true country artist would do with this material–with a couple of tweaks, this could be a Merle Haggard song. Her only reward is to be told that she looks “wonderful tonight” at various intervals, her beauty being the only thing of any interest to the speaker/Clapton. Her role seems more maternal than romantic–needless to say that the song’s speaker is in no position to respond romantically to her at the end of a song. The song depicts a life of aimless comfort, meaningless parties and severe alcoholism, which the song’s speaker gets through with the help of an unnamed woman–as the material is both specific and not terribly interesting, it’s not surprising it’s autobiographical, and the woman is his then-wife Pattie Boyd.
But it’s the lyrics that really drag it down, and expose the whole exercise for the fraud that it is. On the surface it’s a perfectly serviceable entry. It deals with thematically appropriate things like women and booze. The song follows the story-song style that defines the genre. From the opening riff it’s clear that Clapton has set his sights on country music for this tune, and the riff itself is fine, if a bit sleepy even for a ballad.