"'Till I Gain Control Again" is a country song written by Rodney Crowell and originally recorded by Emmylou Harris in 1975.[1] The song was included on her 1975 studio album Elite Hotel. The song is most known by the No. 1 single version recorded by Crystal Gayle on her 1982 album, True Love.
In retrospect, Crowell expresses regret at rhyming "been" with "can" in the lyric "What you've seen is what I've been/There is nothing I could hide from you/You see me better than I can." Had he written the song later in his career, Crowell says he would have spent time to find a hard rhyme. Crowell marvels when people tell him this song is their favorite of his.[2] Crowell's version was released on his third (self titled) album in 1981.
Crowell wrote the song back-to-back with "Song for the Life" (recorded on his debut album Ain't Living Long Like This) in the 1970s and says both are a "projection into the future that I later lived through . . . and it was exactly like I predicted."[2]
In 1982, the song would be recorded by Crystal Gayle and her recording was her tenth number one on the country chart. Her recording would go to number one for one week and spend a total of twelve weeks on the chart.[3] A music video was filmed for the song.
In 1993, the song was covered by Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo for their album Five Days in July. Released as a single in 1994, the song peaked at number 24 on the RPM Country Tracks chart.[6]
