Merle Haggard — Okie From Muskogee
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We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;
We don't take no trips on LSD
We don't burn no 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.
We don't take no trips on LSD
We don't burn no 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.
Comments (2)add comment
Any liberals or ex-hippies feeling their blood pressure rise? Hold on! Please don't judge Merle's politics by this number taken out of context. Sure, it's hatefully reactionary in a cultural sense, but we have to look at the old-fashioned populism of his other works ("They're Tearing the Labor Camps Down" for instance) that might even induce Pete Seeger and other folkie lefties to sing along with gusto. Contradictory to the last--that's our Merle. Redneck and populist hater of big cities/big government/big business.
Meanwhile, couldn't we stand a mite more honky-tonkin' telecaster-bustin' Bakersfield country in the mix here at RP? Anyone who thinks otherwise is walkin' on the fightin' side of me!
Merle Haggard playlist: Songs I Wish I'd Written
Merle Haggard was two years old when he first heard country great Stuart Hamblen's show blaring from his parents' AM radio in Bakersfield, California. Haggard, 74, went on to have 40 Number One country hits and became a pioneer of the outlaw country movement. What makes a great song? "It's got to make a blue flame go behind my left ear and chill bumps run all over my body. And immediately you say, 'Why didn't I think of that? I could have written that, but I didn't think of it.'"
1. "Ring Of Fire" | Johnny Cash, 1963
It may be the hottest record I've ever heard. I remember hearing this on four different stations at the same time. Johnny Cash told me he dreamed those Spanish horns. It woke him up and he went in and did it. I've had some great dreams, but I never can remember the good ones. They get away before noon.
2. "Devil Woman" | Marty Robbins, 1962
I was hanging out with Wynn Stewart's band in Vegas, and they handed me a guitar. I played this, and their mouths fell open. It led to my first big job, playing bass in his band.
3. "A Word or Two To Mary" | Lefty Frizzell, 1967
It's a ballad about a soldier in a battle, taking a message from his dying buddy to give to his wife. It's a sad song, but really great.
4. "Sunday Morning Coming Down" | Kris Kristofferson, 1970
Kris is a genius. I was in the audience when Johnny Cash sang it on TV. They didn't want him to sing the line "Wishin', Lord, that I was stoned," but he did, and it brought the house down.
5. "Give It Away" | George Strait, 2006
Jamey Johnson wrote this. It's about two people breaking up. He says, "What are we gonna do with the chairs and table?" She says, "Fuck it! Give it away." Jamey is the first to come along in a long spell with the ability to write that way.
6. "Always On My Mind" | Willie Nelson, 1978
Everybody can identify with this song, written by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, at some place in their life, and Willie had the nerve to record it on the tail end of Elvis' success with it. I said, "You're crazy!" Crazy as a fox, it turned out - his version was a Number One hit.
7. ""Settin' The Woods On Fire"" | Hank Williams, 1952
Hank was on the road, and they stopped at this Mexican joint. There wasn't a rest stop for miles, so Hank went in the woods and took a shit. He said, "I'm setting the fucking woods on fire! That was the hottest goddamn chili I've ever seen!" Before they'd driven another few miles, Hank had a song.
8. "Waiting For A Train" | Jimmie Rodgers, 1929
Jimmie had tuberculosis most of his career, and still left us this great legacy.
9. "Harper Valley P.T.A." | Jeannie C. Riley, 1968
Tom T. Hall wrote this one, and it's not something that you want to sing at church. It's about a mother wearing her skirt a bit too high, and the people at the PTA gossip about her. Tom's got it all rhymed into perfection.
10. "When No Flowers Grow" | Tommy Collins, 1968
It's about a woman who accidentally kills her child by backing over him. She goes crazy, picking flowers in the snow, when no flowers grow. It's an expert piece of work.
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