Merle Haggard was big in the days of Outlaw country music, mainly in the 70s to mid 80s. He had many big hits that you may recognize like "Okie From Muskogee", "Silver Wings", "Mama Tried", "Always Wanting You", "Hungry Eyes" and so many more. You would often see him along side outlaw legends, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. He has a strong stance on his views of politics and things happening in America and this really showed in his music. For example, "Fightin' Side of Me" showed his no tolerance of any sort of dissing of the nation or president in anyway, and showing his frustraion toward hippies.
Example in the lyrics of "Fightin Side of Me":
I hear people talkin' bad,
About the way we have to live here in this country,
Harpin' on the wars we fight,
An' gripin' 'bout the way things oughta be.
An' I don't mind 'em switchin' sides,
An' standin' up for things they believe in.
When they're runnin' down my country, man,
They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Runnin' down the way of life,
Our fightin' men have fought and died to keep.
If you don't love it, leave it:
Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin'.
If you're runnin' down my country, man,
You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
I read about some squirrely guy,
Who claims, he just don't believe in fightin'.
An' I wonder just how long,
The rest of us can count on bein' free.
They love our milk an' honey,
But they preach about some other way of livin'.
When they're runnin' down my country, hoss,
They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Again in Okie From Muskogee:
We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;
We don't take our trips on LSD
We don't burn our draft cards down on Main Street;
We like livin' right, and bein' free.
I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all
We don't make a party out of lovin';
We like holdin' hands and pitchin' woo;
We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy,
Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.
And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball.
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all.
Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear;
Beads and Roman sandals won't be seen.
Football's still the roughest thing on campus,
And the kids here still respect the college dean.
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.
and references are also seen in "Workin Man Blues"
This went over very well in more rural areas, the more conservative states and it got him quite a following and fan club. He also, more that any other outlaw singer, sang and took beat from the old texas coutry music, like of Bob Wills and others like him. This is shown in "No Hard Time Blues", and "Big City" He had a strong sense of family and where he grew up and that was another suject that shows up often in his work.
Merle, like most outlaw country singers, did his time in the hammer and he wrote a few songs for that too. "Branded Man"and "Sing me Back Home" are the biggest ones.
lyrics of "Branded Man"
I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am
But they won't let my secret go untold
I paid the debt I owed them,but they're still not satisfied
Now I'm a branded man out un the cold
When they let me out of prison,I held my head up high
Determined I would rise above the shame
But no matter where I'm living,the black mark follows me
I'm branded with a number on my name
If I live to be a hundred,I guess I'll never clear my name
'Cause everybody knows I've been in jail
No matter where I'm living,I've got to tell them where I've been
Or they'll send me back to prison if I fail
In 2007, Merle toured with Willie Nelson, Ray Price, and Asleep at the Wheel and it was called "The Last Of The Breed". I had the privelege of seeing them at Tulsa, Oklahoma, but was a bit dissapointed with Merle. He come out drunk, and since Tulsa is so close to Muskogee, everyoen wanted to hear "Okie From Muskogee". Willie had to bail him out numerous times because he couldn't remember the lyrics of the song. As I said above, back in his hay day he strongly believed what he said in "Fightin Side of Me", yet during a break between songs, he trashed Bush and the War. I don't mind if people have different beliefs than I do, but he completely contradicted himself in everyway. Sadly it sort of tarnished his music for me in ways that made me feel like I couln't believe any of his music any more. But nevertheless, Merle Haggard was a important part of country music and made many respectable albums throught his days.
If you have any thoughts you would like to share on Merel Haggard go right ahead. My favorite song of his is, "One More Lonely Night". Yours?