About The Song
“Window Shopping” was written by Marcel Joseph and recorded by Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys at Castle Studio in Nashville on June 13, 1952. It was issued as the B-side to Hank’s July 1952 single “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” on MGM (catalog K 11283), making it part of one of the most commercially successful releases of Williams’s later career. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
The song runs briefly and plainly in the honky-tonk tradition: the narrator watches a former love move on, “window shopping” among other people and things, while he stands by and acknowledges the loss without melodrama. The performance is economical, led by Williams’s direct vocal and supported by fiddle, steel, and Telecaster-style guitar lines typical of his late-period studio band. Those session details and the recording date come from contemporaneous MGM session logs and later discography research. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
Marcel Joseph—an unlikely contributor to country music—was a French immigrant who made a living as a newspaper illustrator in New York and wrote songs in his spare time; “Window Shopping” is one of the few examples of his work to enter the country mainstream. That cross-cultural footnote is often mentioned in later biographies and in the song’s historical summaries, underscoring how songs sometimes arrived from unexpected corners into Nashville and the wider country market. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Because “Window Shopping” was the flip side to “Jambalaya,” which went on to become a No. 1 country hit and an enduring standard, the B-side received exposure by association even though it was not pushed as a primary single. “Jambalaya” dominated country playlists that year, and the single’s success helped keep Williams visible on the charts and radio throughout 1952. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
The song has a modest cover history: bandleader Art Mooney recorded it in July 1952, George Jones cut it for Mercury in 1960, Ernest Tubb recorded it in 1968, and Hank Williams Jr. famously produced an overdubbed father-son duet with his father’s vocal in the mid-1960s. Those subsequent versions testify to the tune’s adaptability across traditional country styles and its resonance with later generations of country performers. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Today “Window Shopping” is most often heard on Hank Williams compilations and streaming reissues rather than as a standalone chart item; it remains a compact example of Williams’s ability to turn a simple, conversational lyric into a memorable studio moment during the final years of his recording career. For listeners studying Williams’s output, the track offers a clear view of his late-period sound and the songwriting networks—sometimes surprising—that fed into mid-century country music. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
Video
Lyric
You’re window shopping, just window shopping
You’re only looking around
You’re not buying, you’re just trying
To find the best deal in town
You give away your kisses, but you never give your heart
To anyone who’s fool enough to fall
You don’t feel love, you don’t want real love
You’re window shopping, that’s all
You’re window shopping, just window shopping
You’re only looking around
You’re not buying, you’re just trying
To find the best deal in town
You give away your kisses, but you never give your heart
To anyone who’s fool enough to fall
You don’t feel love, you don’t want real love
You’re window shopping, that’s all