Right Down the Line

Rafferty wrote it and co-produced with Murphy; it is 4:28 on the album and 3:33 as a single edit, with "Waiting for the Day" on the B-side. It was released in the US on July 27, 1978 and the UK on September 22, the second solo single after "Baker Street", recorded in 1977 at Chipping Norton. Rafferty sings and plays rhythm guitar, with Hugh Burns on lead guitar, Tommy Eyre on organ and piano, Gary Taylor on bass, B. J. Cole on steel guitar, Henry Spinetti on drums and Glen Le Fleur on tambourine and clave. American Songwriter's Jim Beviglia calls it essentially a love song, to a wife who stuck with him through his career's ups and downs; we found no first-hand explanation from Rafferty.

It reached 12 on the Hot 100, number 1 on adult contemporary, 5 in Canada and 3 in Argentina, did not chart in the UK, and is two times platinum in New Zealand and Gold in the UK. A remixed 6:29 version is on the 1989 compilation Right Down the Line. Bonnie Raitt covered it on Slipstream (2012), reaching 17 on the adult alternative chart, and Lucius on Nudes (2018). We found no video, setlist data or samples.