5 Songs You Didn’t Know Linda Ronstadt Wrote Since Her New Union Ramblers Days

Linda Ronstadt wrote a handful of songs but never considered herself a songwriter. “People that write songs, they write songs,” said Ronstadt. “They wake up early in the morning and know an idea and they write it down. I don’t work that way. I’ve written songs. Anybody can write a song, but it’s really hard to write a good song, and it’s almost impossible to write a great song.” She added, “And I had people who were writing great songs around me.”

Born July 15, 1946, in Tuscon, Arizona, Ronstadt grew up in a musical family, singing and playing with her three siblings and their father Gilbert, who later co-wrote the song “Lo Siento Mi Vida” with her.

Before going solo with her debut Hand Sown … Home Grown in 1969 and touring with the Doors, Jackson Browne, and Neil Young, Ronstadt was performing with her brother Peter and Gretchen (Suzy) as The New Union Ramblers before joining the Stone Poneys in 1965 and releasing three albums as part of the trio.

Throughout her solo career, Ronstadt covered songs written by one of her earliest influences, Hank Williams, along with Irving Berlin, Leonard Cohen, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty, Tim Buckley, Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Sinéad O’Connor, and Patti Scialfa, among others spanning more than 20 albums.

Her collaborations cross two albums with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris—Trio (1987) and Trio II—and work with Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, Philip Glass, Rosemary Clooney, Bette Midler, and more.

Ronstadt also contributed to her catalog by writing a small batch of songs since the early 1960s. Here are five songs Ronstadt wrote, from the earliest days of her career through the ’90s.

[RELATED: 10 Thought-Provoking Quotes from Linda Ronstadt]

1. “Mary Ann” (1964)

Written by Linda Ronstadt

Not much is known about “Mary Ann,” a folk ballad Ronstadt wrote while in the New Union Ramblers with her brother and sister, but a snippet of the song is featured in her 2019 documentary The Sound of My Voice.

The film is named after Glen Campbell‘s 1987 hit “Still Within the Sound of My Voice,” which Ronstadt covered on her 1989 album Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind.

2. “Lo Siento Mi Vida” / “I’m Sorry My Love” (1976)

Written by Linda Ronstadt, Gilbert Ronstadt, and Kenny Edwards

In 1977, Ronstadt released her seventh album, Hasten Down the Wind, which marked her third consecutive million-selling release, following Heart Like a Wheel, which also went to No. 1, and Prisoner in Disguise, in 1974 and ’75, respectively. Named after a song from Warren Zevon‘s 1976 eponymous debut, Hasten Down the Wind went to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and won Ronstadt a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. 

The album features covers of Buddy Holly‘s “That’ll Be the Day” and the 1961 Willie Nelson-penned Patsy Cline hit, “Crazy,” along with two tracks co-written by Ronstadt, including the apologetic Spanish ballad “Lo Siento Mi Vida” (“I’m Sorry My Love”), which was co-written with her father Gilbert.

I’m sorry, my love
I know that it’s over now
Broken hearts
The hope that’s gone
When the moon shines
I know you won’t sleep
Neither you
Nor I
The sorrow has arrived
We always have to be apart

The night you left
My poor life changed
Sadness filled my soul
Thinking about my pain

3. “Try Me Again” (1976)

Written by Linda Ronstadt and Andrew Gold

Also on Hasten Down the Wind, Ronstadt co-wrote “Try Me Again” with Andrew Gold, who had his own top 40 hits in the late ’70s, including “Lonely Boy” (1977) and the later Golden Girls theme song “Thank You for Being a Friend.” In the ballad, Ronstadt’s lyrics plead with a lover to take her back again.

Well I drove past your house last night
And I looked in the window

Lately, I ain’t been feeling right
And I don’t know the cure, no
Still, I can’t keep from wondering
If I still figure in your life
Could you take me back and try me
Try me again
Could you try me again

I drove around in this lonesome town

Felt just like a beginner
Friends I saw they just brought me down
They’re so cynical and bitter
Well I guess I’m just like them now
I never thought I’d turn out like that
Could you take me back and try me
Try me again
Could you try me again

4. “I Want a Horse” (1989)

Written by Linda Ronstadt and Wendy Waldman

First released in 1989 on the In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record, “I Want a Horse” was written by Ronstadt and Wendy Waldman—whose father Fred Steiner composed the theme music for Perry Mason and The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. The song was later released on Ronstadt’s 1997 compilation Her Greatest Hits And Finest Performances.

I do the dishes, I clean my room, I help my mother
I save my nickels, I sometimes babysit my brother
My parents said if I do everything
They’re gonna let me have a horse next spring
Maybe he’ll be a dappled gray, maybe a Pinto
A thoroughbred Jumper or a golden Palomino
And we’ll be famous everywhere we go
Because we will win first prize in all the shows

I want a horse, my very own horse
Can’t wait to see him
He’s gonna be the prettiest horse
You won’t believe him

5. “Winter Light” (1993)

Written by Linda Ronstadt, Eric Kaz, Zbigniew Preisner

Winter Light marks the first album Ronstadt produced, along with George Massenburg, who worked with James Taylor, Toto, Billy Joel, Journey, The Chicks, and more. Partially recorded at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch, Winter Light introduced a more New Age-y sound to Ronstadt’s catalog and another one of her contributions, its closing title track.

Hearts call
Hearts fall
Swallowed in the rain

Who knows
Life grows
Hollow and serene

Wandering in the winter light
The wind can act the same
They’re witness to salvation
And life starts over again

Now the clear sky is all around you
All-Around
Love’s shadow will surround you
All through the night

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images