"
Tennessee Waltz" is a
popular country music song with lyrics by
Redd Stewart and music by
Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in January 1948. The song became a multimillion seller via a 1950 recording – as "The Tennessee Waltz" – by
Patti Page. As of 1974, it was the biggest selling song ever in Japan.
All versions of the lyrics narrate a situation in which the
persona has introduced his or her sweetheart to a friend who then waltzes away with her or him. The lyrics are altered for pronoun gender on the basis of the
sex of the singer.