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Introduction
“Don’t We All Have the Right” was penned and recorded by Roger Miller in 1970 for his album A Trip in the Country, serving as the flip side to “South.” While Miller’s version reached just No. 15 on the Billboard Country chart, it showcased his gift for combining wit and wistfulness. Nearly two decades later, Ricky Van Shelton revived the song, transforming it into a chart-topping country classic.
Ricky Van Shelton cut his version on October 15, 1986, and released it April 11, 1988, as the fifth and final single from his debut album Wild-Eyed Dream. Produced by Steve Buckingham, Shelton’s take is a concise 2:36 of plaintive steel guitar and warm baritone vocals that invite listeners into a moment of honest reflection.
Shelton’s recording claimed the top spot on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart for one week in July 1988. Country Universe notes it held No. 1 on Billboard starting July 30, 1988. By year’s end, it ranked No. 24 on Billboard’s year-end Hot Country Songs list.
At its heart, the narrator admits he was wrong to assume a departed lover would return, asking, “Don’t we all have the right to be wrong now and then?” That simple yet universal question captures the ache of misplaced hope. Shelton’s rendition has been praised as a “flawless country record” that deepens Miller’s original with sincere vocal nuance and modern production. The result is a song that feels both confession and consolation for anyone who’s loved and lost.
Video
Lyrics
I laughed it off when she left
I thought she’d come back again
Don’t we all have the right to be wrong now and then?
She won’t come home, she says her love
Will never be mine again
Don’t we all have the right to be wrong now and then?
Guess I wasn’t so smart after all
I forgot that with love, there are two ways to fall
I laughed it off when she left
I thought she’d come back again
Don’t we all have the right to be wrong now and then?
Guess I wasn’t so smart after all
I forgot that with love, there are two ways to fall
She won’t come home, she says her love
Will never be mine again
Don’t we all have the right to be wrong now and then?
Don’t we all have the right to be wrong now and then?