Famous Last Words of a Fool

"Famous Last Words of a Fool" is a song written by Dean Dillon and Rex Huston, and recorded by American country music artist George Strait. It was released in January 1988 as the first single from his album If You Ain't Lovin', You Ain't Livin'.

"Famous Last Words of a Fool"
Single by George Strait
from the album If You Ain't Lovin', You Ain't Livin'
B-side	"It's Too Late Now"
Released	January 11, 1988
Recorded	September 30, 1987
Genre	Honky-tonk[1]
Length	3:37 (album version) 3:19 (single edit)
Label	MCA 53248
Songwriter(s)	Dean Dillon, Rex Huston
Producer(s)	Jimmy Bowen, George Strait
George Strait singles chronology
"Am I Blue" (1987) "Famous Last Words of a Fool" (1988) "Baby Blue" (1988)

The song was originally recorded by Dillon, whose version peaked at number 67 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1983.

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B− grade, calling it "a solid song, but Strait’s performance is oddly distant, and he sings it in a register that’s slightly too low."^[2] Lorie Liebig of The Boot referred to the song as a "Strait classic" and a "honky-tonk tearjerker."^[1]

Chart performance

Dean Dillon

Chart (1983)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3]	67

George Strait

Chart (1988)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4]	1[5]
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1988)	Position
Canadian RPM Country Tracks[6]	55
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[7]	46