Comments on: Merle Haggard Takes it Easy at the Ryman

By: Tonya

Tonya — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:37:04 +0000

Laura,
I see that you asked your question several days ago, so you may have found your answer by now. If not, the guys name is Dave McCormick. I thought he was fantastic. I found his music for sale at his myspace page and http://www.nashvilleim.com

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:05:54 +0000

Anyone have the name of the first performer at the concert? I have been trying to find out his name and if he has a cd since that night!

By: dennis

dennis — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:56:02 +0000

I just saw him in Joliet, IL, Saturday night, he only played for 50 minutes (a tad disappointing) but what he did play was great, and I got his son Noel to get 2 of my old concert posters autographed by the Hag, so THAT was great.

By: Brad

Brad — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:31:57 +0000

I saw Merle tonight here in Georgia. He was great. I wish he played a little bit longer. He played for about a hour and 15 minutes, and then shot out of the place with no encore. the set list for this Rhyman shows looks alot better then the set list we had. He did not perform “Mama Tried” or “Sing Me Back Home” in Georgia which dissapointed me.

By: Funk

Funk — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:22:37 +0000

Chris, that’s a great piece. Hag’s always been funny and that hasn’t changed. He does have some funny views (like us all) and here he blames meth on the government. In fact, almost every drug, whether isolated from a plant or animal, or thought up in the lab was funded by the US government, from Prozac to X. Thanks for the pointer.

Matt, I don’t think criticism of Bush is a test of party affiliation these days. No matter the party, one has to be pretty goofy to still be a supporter. The thing I find most interesting about America First is that when an artist with a traditional following like Hag is willing to state a view so plainly, then back it up by saying he knows the country so well (the last line is great), it’s pretty clear to me that this coming election is going to be one-sided. I think a Merle Haggard song is a better indicator than any poll.

By: Chris N.

Chris N. — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:59:45 +0000

If you think you’re ever going to decode Hag’s politics, I believe you’re going to be disappointed. He is an inscrutable cat.

Oh hey, look at that:
http://tinyurl.com/3prwx5

By: Matt C.

Matt C. — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:22:27 +0000

I don’t think there’s much room for disagreement on what is basically a point of fact. Haggard has been very critical of Bush’s Presidency and made other comments that leave little doubt about his current political persuasion, and I don’t think that this is a new development. “Okie From Muskogee” was misinterpreted badly when it was first released, but most country fans now realize that the song was written and sung with tongue firmly in cheek, and Merle has admitted as much himself. I’ve only seen him perform the song once, but when he did, he sarcastically dedicated it “to all of the republicans in the audience” and sung it in a tone that dispelled any belief that the song represented his personal beliefs.

I do think that Merle feels some connection to conservative, patriotic, working class people, and that’s why he’s recorded several songs that herald their beliefs, even if his own performances are somewhat intentionally insincere. “The Fightin’ Side of Me” is basically “Okie” light; it’s not as obviously sarcastic but also not as political, unless you want to clearly delineate conservatives and liberals and patriotic and unpatriotic.

By: Funk

Funk — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:29:03 +0000

I guess we disagree here, Matt. Just in this particular case, America First has an overall conservative theme of isolationism with the hand grenade about Iraq thrown in. I can list a lot of examples from the past, but I see no way you can interpret Fightin Side of Me or Okie as liberal.

Maybe the point of agreement is that his opinions have changed and I think one of the strong points of America First is that he’s trying to say that it’s not just him.

By: Matt C.

Matt C. — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:15:06 +0000

Funk, Merle Haggard is far from “a conservative guy.” I’d call him “a liberal guy.”

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:09:33 +0000

So proud to say I was there and it was even better than this review lets on. It was truly legendary, something I’ll tell my grandkids about someday. I was also thrilled to see several newer artists there just sitting in the audience like everyone else to honor the legend (Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert to name a few). Merle hasn’t lost his touch. Honored to be there.