Where am I?: "Okie from Muskogee" Merle Haggard (1969)

Tweet

“I’m proud to be an Okie from Muskogee A place where even squares can have a ball We still wave old glory at the courthouse And white lightnin’ still the biggest thrill of all” “Okie from Muskogee” is the best known song from famed country performer Merle Haggard. He wrote the song with Ray Edward Burris, drummer for his band the Strangers. Haggard’s inspiration was drawn from anger over protests and contempt directed toward young soldiers dying in Vietnam and this expressed his sympathy for them. “Okie from Muskogee” generated controversy. Middle America heard it as patriotic. The counterculture mocked and parodied it. Some even interpreted it as satire. From the album of the same name, “Okie from Muskogee” shot to #1 on the country charts and and #41 Hot 100. Jerry Reed played on the track. Haggard personified the Bakersfield Sound. His roots were poor blue collar and he spent time in prison. Inducted into the Country Music and Nashville Songwriters Halls of Fame, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and Kennedy Center Honor. Haggard died in 2016.