Friday, March 2nd, 2007...5:58 pm
But Merle Never Asks If It Was Her In a New Audi Outside Sainsbury’s
Billboard magazine is reporting that Merle Haggard has recorded a new song called “Hillary” which contains lyrics such as:
This country needs to be honest
This country needs to be large
Something like a big switch of gender
Let’s put a woman in charge
This may suprise some, given his most famous hit is “Okie from Muskogie,” a song so popular among the right that some believe it led Ronald Reagan to grant Haggard a pardon. The right never got the point of the song, and lefties that think the song is some cynical joke frankly don’t get it either. Haggard’s politics are rather complicated, and his favorite crusade is drug decriminalization.
Some are already asking if this will lead to Haggard suffering from the same sort of Nashville backlash that hit the Dixie Chicks. Haggard was never part of the Nashville scene in the first place, plus the current youth-worshipping country music establishment probably doesn’t know who the he is. Heck, a couple of his recent albums have been released on a punk label.
3 Comments
March 3rd, 2007 at 12:37 pm
[…] about But Merle Never Asks If It Was Her In a New Audi Outside Sainsbury’s […]
March 9th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
When I wrote this tribute to Merle Haggard and to the song, The Fightin’ Side of Me, I really believed:
Merle Hasn’t Lost His Fightin’ Side
Dr. BLT
words and music by Dr. BLT (c)2007
http://www.drblt.net/music/MerleVeryLast.mp3
So did the producer of this song, 20-year member of Merle Haggard’s band, The Strangers, co-writer, and Merle’s right hand man, Mark Yeary.
Lately I’ve had second thoughts, not about his deft skill as an artist, but about his loyalty to the principles he once held so dear. That’s why I’m working on a new song, Merle, What Happened to Your Fightin’ Side, and a song to counter Merle’s tribute to Hillary, entitled The Other Side of Hillary. Watch and listen for those songs. I may just end up stirring something up.
March 12th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Dr BLT,
Over a year ago I remember reading in the New York Times that Merle Haggard performed in New York City with Bob Dylan. The reviewer said that Dylan had sung “Masters of War” which kind of leads me to believe that Merle probably wasn’t singing ,”when yer runnin down our country man yer walkin on the fightin sida me.” I could be wrong, of course. Anyhow, Merle was a much better songwriter when he wasn’t being political and was focused on just being dirt poor or in prison or whatever.
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