First it was the Dixie Chicks...Now Merle Haggard

[JohnnyRingo]

Let's get out of Iraq
and get back on track
and let's rebuild America first.

Why don't we liberate
these United States
We're the ones who need it the most
You think I'm blowing smoke?
Boys it ain't no joke
I make twenty trips a year
from coast to coast

See the video here:
http://www.merlehaggard.com/
Yes, it's good....very good. I welled up a bit on this.

This is a loss for the Buxh people, A big loss when the C&W crowd wanders from the message of kill 'em all for the USA.
What's Sean Hannity gonna listen to now? He found a patriotic fervor to exploit in country music and his "Freedom Concerts" were a useful vehicle for his anti-democrat agenda.

As goes Merle...So goes the Country (Western).

On Edit, here's a very prophetic editorial from his site:
http://www.merlehaggard.com/merles-editorial.html

[ComerPerro]

1. Crazy.... This should be fun to watch

By "this", I mean the conservative pundits heads exploding.


BTW, whenever I think of Merle Haggard, I think of two things, both from cartoons:


From the Critic, Evil billionare tycoon Duke Phililps wants to run for president so he can, among other things, "put Merle Haggard on the Supreme Court".


and, Family Guy, "that was Merle Haggard with 'I kiss my sweetie with my fist'"

[SteppingRazor]

2. Merle's currently on tour with Bob Dylan...

which should tell you something about where the man stands, I suppose.

[Maddy McCall]

31. My friends recently saw him in Mobile, at the Saenger.

Said he was great! Dylan wasn't there, though.

[Minnesota Libra]

3. Wow!!! Country music now breaking ranks?? People will really............

....start to wake up now. Maybe there is hope for this country yet. I'm not holding my breath yet though.

[Weembo]

6. Real country music, and musicians

Have always been "of the people." The corporate takeover of country music obscured that, but the heroes will shine through.

[JohnnyRingo]

12. True...I always felt Garth Brooks ruined the genre

Merle's banner on the sit says it all:
"Poet for the common man"

[Arugula Latte]

16. Like Johnny Cash.

And Willie.

[cascadiance]

18. There's a few other good country songs. This one Hartmann plays a lot!

"Takin' My Country Back" is a good one!

http://www.democracyforwashington.com/2006/truth.mp3

Takin' My Country Back

Country music's got mamas and daddys
We got bar rooms and old heartbreak songs
But I'm here today to stand up and say
How I feel about my home sweet home
What's left, what's right and what's wrong...and

I'm taking my country back
Son, you ain't been doin' her right
Oh, I been watchin' you and I don't like
How you've been treatin' my stars and stripes
You took our jobs and sent 'em overseas
Now we owe billions to the red Chinese
You blew the budget and you botched Iraq
So I'm taking my country back.

We had a bundle in the treasury drawer
More than there had ever been there before
But every day we're drownin' deeper in dept
Maybe four years should be all you get
Then you gave tax breaks to the millionaires
And tried to make the workin' man pay
But you can't tax a man when his jobs not there
Now look at where we are today...hey

I'm taking my country back
Son, you ain't been doin' her right
Oh I been watchin' you and I don't like
How you been treatin' my stars and stripes
You've got too many fancy friends for me
The Saudis treat you like you're royalty
You blew the budget and you botched Iraq
Now I'm takin' my country back

Now I can understand why you were hot
'Cause Bin Laden never did get caught
So you said we had Saddam to blame
Tried to tell us it was all the same
But now the years roll by and our kids keep dyin'
You don't even have a plan to bring 'em home
And those W.M.D. you promised on T.V.
Hey admit it, you figured it wrong...so I'm takin' my country back

Now you don't know my name, but you know who I am
I'm your everyday work hard, play hard
Raise kids and pray hard common man
And lord knows I love this land...that's why

I'm taking my country back
Son, you ain't been doin' her right
Oh I been watchin' you and I don't like
How you been treatin' my stars and stripes
You say "unite" but you divide us more
Cussin' each other on the Senate floor
Ain't we supposed to be above all that?
Hey I'm taking my country back
I got my family and my church and flag...
Now I'm takin' my country back

Copyright 2004 David A. Kent

Willie Nelson also had a good Christmas ballad too with "Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth..."

I'm sure that if Johnny or June Carter Cash were with us today in good health, they'd be giving us more fuel to fight this criminal monster in the White House too!

With Dixie Chicks joining the fray, country music is starting to become more interesting again today, and less of a "Redneck" haven for those like Toby Keith and Charlie Daniels...

And though Burt Bacharach really isn't country per se, he's also another one of the old timers jumping in the fray along with Elvis Costello in "Who Are These People?". I'm still looking to try and find the explicit version with the f-word at the end that's supposed to be being released now.

Kudos to Merle here!

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

4. Merle was actually before them...

...the album that song's on, "Chicago Wind," came out before the Dixie Chicks' latest (on October 25, 2005, to be exact).



But hey...the more the merrier, regardless of chronology.

:patriot:

[JohnnyRingo]

13. Didn't know it was an earlier release.

I hope it gets more notice now that it's on his homepage and sentiments on the war are seeing a change across the cultural spectrum.

Buxh will have to cross off NASCAR events from his list of safe appearances.
I know NASCAR isn't necessarily a red state sport, but he seemed to find sanctuary at the races in the past. Those days may be gone.

[RedStateShame]

5. Thanks, Merle

Looks like the wrong people got on the fighting side of Merle Haggard.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

7. This IS significant...

...C & W won't be muzzled and if they turn on BushCo he'll see his approval numbers below 20.

[Norquist Nemesis]

9. Yes, it is very much so.

CW must be hearing the grumbling and feeling safe enough to do it. They're listening to their fan base and it's not very happy. Fact is, they can't blame this on the 'liberals' (but they'll try!) LOL!!

[AlinPA]

8. He pissed off republicans with another song when the fist Bush was

president with "I wish a buck was still silver". He sings to both sides.......

I wish a buck was still silver
It was back when the country was strong.
Back before Elvis; before the Vietnam war came along.
Before The Beatles and "Yesterday",
When a man could still work, and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now?
Are the good times really over for good?
Are we rolling down hill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kind of chance for the Flag or the Liberty bell.
Wish a Ford and a Chevy,
Could still last ten years, like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now?
Are the good times really over for good?

I wish coke was still cola,
And a joint was a bad place to be.
And it was back before Nixon lied to us all on TV.
Before microwave ovens,
When a girl could still cook and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now?
Are the good times really over for good?

Are we rolling down hill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kind of chance for the Flag or the Liberty bell.
Wish a Ford and a Chevy,
Could still last ten years, like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now?
Are the good times really over for good?

Stop rolling down hill like a snowball headed for hell.
Stand up for the Flag and let's all ring the Liberty bell.
Let's make a Ford and a Chevy,
Still last ten years, like they should.
The best of the free life is still yet to come,
The good times ain't over for good.

[npincus]

10. Great stuff. Have the wing-nuts been smashing their Haggard records?

Man, red turning blue...?

[cbear70]

11. help finding video

Clicked on link but can't seem to find video. I think this is awesome news and maybe just maybe the koolaid is running out.

[JohnnyRingo]

14. The vid is the one in the middle of the page at the top

If you don't have QuickTime (I think) you may see only a placemat for the video
edit:
It takes a while to load the 1st time. Dialup will extend the time.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

22. here

<embed allowScriptAccess="never" type='application/x-mplayer2'pluginspage='http://microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer/en/download/'id='mediaPlayer' name='mediaPlayer' displaysize='4' autosize='-1'bgcolor='darkblue' showcontrols="true" showtracker='-1'showdisplay='0' showstatusbar='-1' videoborder3d='-1' width="320" height="285"src="http://www.merlehaggard.com/animations/2005americafirst47-199.wmv" autostart="true" designtimesp='5311' loop="true"></EMBED>

[DanCa]

15. I have always liked some country music

I go by talent not political stance on such things. For example I like rock and I have always thought that Ted Nuggent sucked, no offense to Ted's fan out there, but I gotta say listening to someones music who agrees with me makes their music that much more sweeter. I think I'll put away my Johnny Horton cd and listen to Merle for awhile.

[madrchsod]

17. we don`t smoke dope like them hippies merle?

ya merle finally seen the light in the sky. took him a while but i guess that is what age will do to ya..merle has been one of my favorite singers for years but his politics turned me off.

[Bridget Burke]

23. Merle never did smoke marijuana--in Muskogee, that is.

The song was not quite as serious as some fans believed--but it made a hunk of money.

And Buck Owens kept a supply of truly fine marijuana in his guitar case--from a fiddler I once knew who jammed with him.

Merle has ALWAYS spoken for the working man.

[Alamom]

19. Thanks for posting. Great news.

I'm not much of a C&W fan. A few favorites, Willie, Dixie Chicks, & the Cash family, etc.
I "will" support anyone who is singing this message.

[Ian David]

20. Country Music is becoming so Liberal...

...that the group Alabama is changing their name to Massachusetts.

Their new hit, "Roll on Honda Insight" is scheduled to be released next month.

(I'm kidding).

[cascadiance]

26. Now for rock music we need Bush to change it's name!

I wonder how much they feel bad about having that name now...

Kate Bush might have a tougher time to change her own personal name though.

[Maddy McCall]

30. Hahaha!

:thumbsup:

[Beelzebud]

21. TooL just came out with a new album that also deals with war.

But since they aren't hip-hop or country, they'll be completely ignored like A Perfect Circle's anti-war album was.

[deaniac21]

24. 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.

[Bridget Burke]

27. Can you imagine that some people really took that song seriously?

Merle's family moved to California to escape the Dustbowl. He's been for the working man for a LONG time.

[newyawker99]

28. Hi deaniac21!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[deaniac21]

33. To borrow a phrase from Minnie Pearl.....

Howdy!

[bmbmd]

25. Sure-we've got Merle and Natalie and Neil Young

but they've got RAY STEVENS!!!

http://raystevens.com/SongLyrics/NBNewOrleansSongLyrics.html

[Maddy McCall]

29. Thing is, no one's going to fuck with Merle or Willie.

They are country music royalty--even if of the "outlaw" stripe.

Dixie Chicks were relatively new in the long span of country music history, and they were young women. They weathered the storm, though, and I think that in the future they will be seated alongside other country music royalty.

And I acknowledge their cross-over appeal. They got their start in country, though, and that's where most of their hits have been. I applaud them for standing up as country artists!

[Shakespeare]

34. My favorite recent Willie & Merle moment...

A few years ago, the CMA gave Willie a lifetime achievement award. When he accepted the award, he pretty much bitched out the CMA for not having given one to Merle Haggard (yet-I believe he got one a year or two later). He wasn't ungracious, but politely took them to task for the oversight. The crowd went fucking WILD.

Liberal, big-hearted and straight-talking. Both of 'em.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

32. I think Faith Hill & her husband also slammed Bush

n/t