Merle Haggard: "I don't think we can blame it all on one black man."

[bigtree]

Fri April 6, 2012

In an interview with CNN, the man critics have dubbed "Poet of the Common Man" sounds off on religion, poverty, politics, health and family . . .

CNN: Have you been keeping track of what's been going on in the presidential race?

Haggard: I think an ex-convict has got a real good chance. I probably oughta run! At least all of my past is aboveboard, and they won't have to spend a lot of money to run a make on me! I think Obama will probably win the next race.

CNN: (President Barack) Obama has certainly had his share of challenges in his administration. How do you think he's done so far?

Haggard: I don't think it makes much difference who the president is. I think there was a big ball rolling before he came into the picture. He kind of did what I do. I didn't do anything. He hasn't done anything that I can see that's made any real difference. I think he is a fine gentleman, and they treated us real well when we were up there at the Kennedy Center (Haggard was a Kennedy Center honoree in 2010), and I am not going to badmouth him. I think he has the next four years wrapped up. He has done some good. He got Osama bin Laden. That is a real big plus.

Now on the home front, it is kind of fiddling while Rome burns. We are in trouble economically. I don't think we can blame it all on one black man. I think we spent 50 years getting ourselves in trouble, and it may take a long time to get ourselves out of it. It is going to take more years than I got left.


read: http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/06/showbiz/music/merle-haggard-working-in-tennessee/index.html


Singer and songwriter Merle Haggard (L) arrives for US President Barack Obama's remarks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, December 5, 2010, during the Kennedy Center Honorees Reception.

[pinboy3niner]

1. He's ALIVE!!!

Hallelujah--it's a miracle!

[Whisp]

3. he's looking a little haggard tho, isn't he?

[bigtree]

5. 75th birthday today

I have to admit that I held my breath when I heard his name on the news this morning -- and quietly wished him well when I heard of his birthday.

[pinboy3niner]

8. We had a false report of his 'death' posted in GD a while back

Someone "heard on the radio" that Merle Haggard died.

Glad to see he's looking so good for his post-terminal condition. Happy Birthday, Merle!

[jberryhill]

9. They said the same thing about Elvis

[pinboy3niner]

10. Well, I KNOW that's not true

I saw Elvis last week at the Olive Garden.

[Ken Burch]

13. I saw him there, too...

And I think this was his date:

[Major Hogwash]

19. Well, at least he still has the heart he was born with!!

It seemed to me a few years ago that both him and George Jones were in a race to see who would go under first.
When I read that the police had stopped George Jones driving his lawn tractor to the liquor store for a refill, I thought he was in the lead of that race at the time.

[pinboy3niner]

20. The Race is On...

[lpbk2713]

2. He looks like a shorter Abe Lincoln.

I've heard there are rumors of Abe walking the halls of the White House. Interesting.

[get the red out]

4. I can't stand country music

But that statement could be taken as a slap against the idiots who think the country has gone to hell all because the President is African American. I don't know anything about Mrele Haggard so I can't know the full context.

[bigtree]

7. He's an Okie from Muskogee

[Honeycombe8]

14. Hey, good lookin'....

watcha got cookin?...

Here ya go:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgrvf_hey-good-lookin-dwight-yoakam_music

by the best lookin' man that ever lived (with his hat and boots on).

[Ezlivin]

6. Republicans: "Yes We Can!"

N/T

[wandy]

11. Merle is like an old school Republican. Hard to remember but sometimes they could make sense. n/t

[wendylaroux]

12. In his RS interview several years back

his view on politics was--"democrat/republicans,there's not a dimes difference between the two".

[FailureToCommunicate]

15. Just because he's a former country music name doesn't mean

his opinions on politics are any more informed than any average joe on the street.

I was never a fan, though I saw him a few time in concert - usually for the other billings, like Tanya Tucker, or Dolly Parton!

[MrScorpio]

16. Merle's a class act

His fans ought to be one just like him

[loyalsister]

17. Is this songwriter just flip and careless with words?

Or does he think it took more than one black man? Maybe it was that black man and all of the other black men and some women, too? Some of the brown people, maybe?
What would happen if he had said "you can't blame all of the damage on one white guy"?

[Schema Thing]

18. seriously?

that's what you pulled out of his thoughts?

[loyalsister]

21. Seriously?

Was there any added value to using the term "black man" as opposed to a more specific one- like President Obama, Obama, or just "the president?"

[jberryhill]

22. Because that is the feature that some idiots blame

[RZM]

28. Did you forget that we're talking about Merle Haggard here?

Expecting him to adhere to liberal PC-speak is like expecting Snoop Dogg not to say 'ho.'

It's just not happening and frankly, probably shouldn't even be encouraged.

[loyalsister]

31. sigh

Yea... a guy with such a limited range of topics to choose to write about shouldn't be expected to think about how his words may be interpreted and show the president a slight bit of respect.

[ecstatic]

33. That jumped out at me too

+1. The wording was strange.

[HiPointDem]

48. Not at all. To the folks saying that things are crap because Obama's President (and those that

mean that things are crap because we have a black President), he's says that's ridiculous, you can't blame the crap on one black man. Which doesn't imply that you *can* blame it on many black men, or any other such nonsense.

[TransitJohn]

23. FFS

[Zax2me]

24. He wasn't speaking from singular personal thought -

'One black man' phrase is indirect reference to.......someone sitting on a front porch saying 'that black man done screwed up this country'
Can't you see that?

[loyalsister]

27. And can't you see

that he didn't reference the white guy who came before him or those white guys in congress?

[Obamacare]

29. What are you talking about?

The man was basically calling out all the idiot racist teabaggers who want blame Obama for Bush's mistakes. Why are you attacking this man?

[loyalsister]

30. lol

Kind of like how Okie From Muscokie was satire, right?

[Telly Savalas]

46. Okie from Muskogee was satire

[loyalsister]

50. And the nationalistic themes

that also appear in "Fightin' Side of Me"? Both are really satire?

[HiPointDem]

53. People don't fit in your boxes.

A consistent theme in Haggard's lyrics has been patriotism and the ideal of freedom. He's also supportive of rank-&-file soldiers & the "little guy". That can come out sounding "right" and it can come out sounding "left," according to circumstances.

Not to mention that like all people, Haggard changes his mind, contradicts himself, emphasizes different issues or different aspects of them, speaks clearly or not so clearly, on any given day.


"It's another one of Merle Haggard's social commentaries," he said. "This time it's kind of opposed to the tone of 'The Fightin' Side of Me.'" That 1970 song was a pro-America anthem at the height of the Vietnam War.

The new song chides the media for focusing on celebrity news and the death of Laci Peterson and her unborn child while fighting continues in Iraq.

Haggard sings, "Suddenly it's over, the war is finally done/Soldiers in the desert sand still clinging to a gun/No one is the winner and everyone must lose/Suddenly the war's over, that's the news."

The song ends with the lines, "Politicians do all the talking, soldiers pay the dues/Suddenly the war is over, that's the news."


He also said this, among other things, during the Iraq war:

I don't even know the Dixie chicks, but I find it an insult for all the men and women who fought and died in past wars when almost the majority of America jumped down their throats for voicing an opinion. It was like a verbal witch-hunt and lynching. Whether I agree with their comments or not has no bearing.... As a country we need to look inward for the answers to the energy of the future. We need to bring down our demands for oil, rebuild some bridges and highways and allow the farmers to grow something that replenishes the soil. Those who don't know what that is, should do some research. The problem is not in Iraq and the answers are not in Iran. I hope were not buried alive beneath this pending financial collapse if the pipeline doesn't get through. Surely everything doesn't depend on oil!..."

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0725-02.htm


He's spoken against the war on drugs and the police state:

"America has sure gone to some sort of a police state in the last 10 years," says Haggard, who is at the Flynn Theatre in Burlington, Vt., tomorrow and Lowell Memorial Auditorium on Sunday.

He hasn't played in New England since 1990, mainly because the region used to serve as a connecting stop for his tours of Canada, which he has cut out temporarily. He says he's sick of the US "zero tolerance" laws, which make reentering the States an indignity.

"If they find a seed of marijuana in your car or bus, they'll run it all over the news," says Haggard, speaking from his home in northern California. "I've got 30 people working for me. There is liable to be a seed of marijuana, so it makes it very uninviting to go into Canada, knowing that the United States is going to harass you coming back.

Like I say, you can't personally shake people down that work for you. I'm not going to do that. You don't know who's doing what and who isn't, but [the police] come on and this 'zero tolerance' thing they've got going is really amazing. They've got private enterprise building prisons now. It's scary. It's overkill."

http://www.cleartest.com/psotm/merle-haggard/

And this:

The folks don't have a say-so anymore. They're being force-fed—music, yeah, but every other darn thing too. I supported George W. I'm not exactly a liberal. But I know how that Texas thing works, who those oil folks are and what they wanted in Iraq...I'm a born-again Christian too, but the longer I live, the more afraid I get of some of these religious groups that have so much influence on the Republicans and want to tell us how to live our lives."

But Haggard's greatest complaint is a matter of pride—and pride, in his hardscrabble past and his country, has always been his favorite song. "The thing that gets under my skin most about George W. is his intention to install fear in people," he said, after walking me down a hallway lined with gold and platinum records. "This is America. We're proud. We're not afraid of a bunch of terrorists. But this government is all about terror alerts and scaring us at airports. We're changing the Constitution out of fear. We spend all our time looking up each other's dresses. Fear's the only issue the Republican Party has. Vote for them, or the terrorists will win. That's not what Reagan was about. I hate to think about our soldiers over in Iraq fighting for a country that's slipping away."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1670520,00.html#ixzz1rQyctabX


And yeah, he's smoked pot, despite "Okie":

Haggard said he had started smoking marijuana when he was 41 years old. He admitted that in 1983 he bought "$2,000 (worth) of cocaine" and partied for five days afterward, when he says he finally realized his condition and quit for good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Haggard


*Anyone* can be turned into a caricature if you quote them selectively, micro-analyze their words & phrasing & actions. That's how witch-hunts generally work -- and I've seen it done.

That's one of the disturbing things about the move away from the 60s emphasis on systemic & structural causes of oppression to the fragmentation of present-day interest groups which spend an inordinate amount of time calling out INDIVIDUALS over gaffes, labeling INDIVIDUALS, drawing up speech codes and arguing about whether such-&-such a word is racist, sexist, homophobic, whatever. A lot of it is just witch-hunting, and accomplishes little to nothing of value.

[loyalsister]

54. Never argue with those who worship

be it religion or some guy whose music they like.

[HiPointDem]

56. I don't worship Haggard at all, or any entertainer -- including political figures.

Neither do I flagellate people because they don't express themselves precisely the way I would, or insist I know what they meant based on a sentence.

Be wary of those who insist they know what other people are thinking and feeling & infer worlds from an idle turn of phrase is more my thoughts on the matter.

I don't particularly like Haggard's music, either. My mother did.

[loyalsister]

58. I made no inference as to his meaning

I said he was careless. I find it ironic that a person who puts together words for a living would be so careless.

[Zalatix]

35. "One black man" sounds to me like he was mocking the racists who hate

President Obama because he's black.

[loyalsister]

39. That would make sense if he had been an outspoken critic

I have not seen evidence of that. Has he been?

[UnrepentantLiberal]

40. Yes.

He was very much against the invasion of Iraq.

New Merle Haggard Tune Blasts US Media Coverage of Iraq War

By John Gerome
Associated Press
July 25, 2003

"I don't even know the Dixie chicks, but I find it an insult for all the men and women who fought and died in past wars when almost the majority of America jumped down their throats for voicing an opinion. It was like a verbal witch-hunt and lynching. Whether I agree with their comments or not has no bearing.... As a country we need to look inward for the answers to the energy of the future. We need to bring down our demands for oil, rebuild some bridges and highways and allow the farmers to grow something that replenishes the soil. Those who don't know what that is, should do some research. The problem is not in Iraq and the answers are not in Iran. I hope were not buried alive beneath this pending financial collapse if the pipeline doesn't get through. Surely everything doesn't depend on oil!" - Merle Haggard, June 2003

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A new Merle Haggard song that's critical of the media's coverage of the war in Iraq is garnering so much attention that it's being rushed to thousands of radio stations around the country, a spokesman for the country singer said Thursday.

"We're mailing it out as we speak," Tom Thacker, vice president of Hag Records, said of the song "That's the News." "It's going to a broad range of stations."

Thacker said the song has generated interest from media and fans.

"It's another one of Merle Haggard'ssocial commentaries," he said. "This time it's kind of opposed to the tone of 'The Fightin' Side of Me.'"

More: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0725-02.htm

[loyalsister]

43. I was talking about the tea party

Has he criticized them? Has he criticized the racism directed toward Obama via birthers?
That is what would make your interpretation of that comment make sense.

[HiPointDem]

47. Haggard is 75. I doubt he's making commenting on politics his major priority at this time in his

life. He's a redneck, not a racist. They don't always overlap.

"Irma Jackson" is a song by Bakersfield, California-based outlaw country artist Merle Haggard, released on his 1972 album Let Me Tell You About a Song. The song, which was about the then-controversial topic of an interracial romance, was actually written several years prior to 1972, but not released at first because Capitol Records thought it would hurt Haggard's image at the time.


I'd love to shout my feelin's from a mountain high
Tell the world I love her and I will till I die
There's no way the world will understand that love is colour blind
That's why Irma Jackson can't be mine

I remember when no one cared about us bein' friends
We were only children and it really didn't matter then
But we grew up too quickly in a world that draws a line
Where they say Irma Jackson can't be mine

If my lovin' Irma Jackson is a sin
Then I don't understand this crazy world we're livin' in
There's a muddy wall between us standin' high
But I'll love Irma Jackson till Idie

She tells me she's decided that she'll go away
And I guess it's right but she alone should have the final say
But in spite of her decision forcin' us to say goodbye
I'll still love Irma Jackson till I die

If my lovin' Irma Jackson is a sin
Then I don't understand this crazy world we're livin' in
It's a muddy wall between us standin' high
But I'll love Irma Jackson till I die


He wrote it just three years after Loving v. Virgina, which ruled that miscegnation laws were unconstitutional. Interracial dating & marriage still highly controversial when he wrote it. How many country singers do you think were writing songs about interracial romance in the 70s? How much of a risk do you think he took releasing a song like that to a country audience in the early 70s?

You're overanalyzing the *way* he spoke in support of Obama instead of seeing the context and *what* he was saying. Missing the forest for the trees, completely.

[loyalsister]

49. For a guy whose profession is dealing with language

one might think he would know more about how it sounds once it comes out of his mouth. His language was careless at best.

[HiPointDem]

51. His profession is *music,* not public relations. He grew up dirt poor and didn't even graduate

from high school, as he spent most of his youth in detention centers and prison.

The microscopic, nit-picky way you are analyzing speech is more likely to alienate people from your goals. Unless your goal is to punish everyone who doesn't phrase things as you think they should.


Haggard's father died when Merle was nine years old. He soon began committing petty crimes and truancy. Due to shoplifting in 1950 (aged thirteen), Merle was sent to a juvenile detention center. In 1951, aged 14, Haggard ran away to Texas with a friend, but returned that same year and was arrested for truancy and petty larceny. Again escaping the juvenile detention center, he went to Modesto, California. He worked odd jobs—legal and not—and began performing in a bar.

Once he was found again, he was sent to the Preston School of Industry, a high-security installation. He was released fifteen months later, but was sent back after beating a local boy during a burglary attempt. After his fourth release, Haggard saw Lefty Frizzell in concert with his friend, Bob Teague. After hearing Haggard sing along to his first two songs Frizzell allowed Haggard to sing at the concert. The audience enjoyed Haggard and he began working on a full-time music career. After he had earned a local reputation, Haggard's money problems caught up with him. He was arrested for attempting to rob a Bakersfield tavern in 1957[3] and was sent to the San Quentin state prison for three years.

While in prison, Haggard ran a gambling and brewing racket from his cell. During a time of solitary confinement, he encountered an alcoholic mathematician and death row inmate, Drunk Adam. Haggard had the opportunity to escape with a fellow inmate (nicknamed "Rabbit&quot but passed. The inmate successfully escaped, only to shoot a police officer and return to San Quentin for execution. Drunk Adam's predicament along with that of "Rabbit" inspired Haggard to turn his life around. Haggard soon earned a high-school equivalence diploma, kept a steady job in the prison's textile plant, and played in the prison's band.


The prison GED certificate is Haggard's entire education.

People have different minds and different experiences. I wouldn't be so quick to judge on a turn of phrase.

[loyalsister]

52. so, he doesn't write the lyrics?

Has he had anything to say about the tea party using his song?

http://teapartyorg.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=4301673:Topic:640537&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_topic

[HiPointDem]

55. Yes, he writes the lyrics. Do you think they're particularly sophisticated lyrics?

So far as I can tell he's not said anything about the Tea Party whatsoever. That includes performing at their events or endorsing them in any way. Do you think their posting that video, which is Haggard's music accompanying someone else's content, constitutes an endorsement by Haggard?


He *did* write this song for Obama's election, though:

Merle Haggard pens new song in honor of Obama

Country legend and Oildale favorite son Merle Haggard was so moved by the historic events unfolding in Washington this week that he wrote a song praising President Barack Obama.

Haggard penned “Hopes Are High” late Sunday night and was recording it Tuesday, according to publicist Tresa Redburn.


“Hopes Are High”

Hopes are high, faith is strong
If we all try we can get along
Cause there’s a new day and a brighter day
With a new song to sing along
And there’s sunshine and blue sky
And hopes are high

There’s a blue bird atop a tree
Singing loud for you and me
He’s got a new note and a brighter note
That we should sing and let ring
Cause there’s sunshine and a blue sky
And hopes are high

We’ve got the bad times behind us
And the Good times up ahead
Bet your money on the promise land
And the good things that He said
We got a new style with a sincere smile
And a new song to sing along
And we’ve got sunshine and a new guy
And hopes are high
Hopes are high

http://merlehaggard.com/2009/01/haggard-pens-new-song-in-honor-of-obama/
http://merlehaggard.com/2009/01/a-new-song/


And here's what he said after being a Kennedy Center honoree in 2010:

It was also nice to meet Obama and find him very different from the media makeout. It's really almost criminal what they do with our President. There seems to be no shame or anything. They call him all kinds of names all day long, saying he's doing certain things that he's not. It's just a big old political game that I don't want to be part of. There are people spending their lives putting him down. I'm sure some of it's true and some of it's not. I was very surprised to find the man very humble and he had a nice handshake. His wife was very cordial to the guests and especially me. They made a special effort to make me feel welcome. It was not at all the way the media described him to be.

What's the biggest lie out there about Obama?

He's not conceited. He's very humble about being the President of the United States, especially in comparison to some presidents we've had who come across like they don't need anybody's help. I think he knows he's in over his head. Anybody with any sense who takes that job and thinks they can handle it must be an idiot.

Did you talk to the President much?

I told him, "You and I have something in common: our wives are both taller than we are." And he said "No! She's got on 3-inch heels! And she is not that tall!" He was like me. He grabbed that real quick.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-merle-haggard-on-his-kennedy-center-honor-meeting-obama-and-oprah-and-more-20101228#ixzz1rRK0ohQP


Haggard is less sanguine about Obama today. He had the same reaction to Bush after Abu Ghraib and the Iraq War generally, & all the "terror, terror, terror" stuff. In Obama's case, he doesn't like the health care bill.

No doubt he shares some views with the average tea partier. He's not a liberal; likewise, he's not a fascist. He's said all kinds of things about why he wrote 'Okie,' some of them mutually contradictory.

"Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes."

[HiPointDem]

57. As he had surgery for lung cancer in 2008, I doubt he was following politics very closely. But he

said this at the kennedy honors in 2010:

It was also nice to meet Obama and find him very different from the media makeout. It's really almost criminal what they do with our President. There seems to be no shame or anything. They call him all kinds of names all day long, saying he's doing certain things that he's not. It's just a big old political game that I don't want to be part of. There are people spending their lives putting him down.


I'm sure there are better targets for your linguistic dissection.

[spanone]

25. merle is an american treasure

a great singer and a great songwriter

[tomp]

41. he's written some good stuff but i think he's overrated....

....and i'll never forgive him for okee from muskogee.

[pacalo]

26. That tacky suit & the white boots say it all.

Why a backward-thinking hick would be asked about anything more substantial than "what brand of toothpicks do you use?" is beyond me.

[Quantess]

32. WHO CARES?!

He's just an entertainer.

[bigtree]

34. maybe just folks who've listened to and enjoyed his music over the years

Although, I admit, I do wonder the same thing about many of the folks quoted and solicited about their political views.

I took a long look at this statement and I thought it was interesting how Merle bit his tongue as he remembered his fine visit to the White House and his gracious hosts. I've been acquaintances of a great many Merle Haggard music lovers and I've been party to more comments like his than I can remember. I'd take his remarks as about as positive a statement as a 'good old' man can manage, and I appreciate the sentiment as much as I have from other conservatives in the past that I've engaged in discussions with.

I wouldn't underestimate the number of folks that like Merle who will read these remarks and be influenced by them, for whatever they believe his opinion is worth.

[Quantess]

37. I didn't mean that as a swipe at your OP, just so you know.

And I didn't direct it only to Merle Haggard, either. I just think that in general people are too interested in celebrities' opinions on things that have nothing to do with whatever made them famous.

But that's just my .02 for the day. The rest of you can carry on this conversation in peace without me.

[obamanut2012]

36. I read it much differently than you

In that he was implying everyone blaming it on Obama ie one black man, are being ridiculous.

[bigtree]

38. that's pretty much how I read it

. . . although, it's got to make some folks wonder why he bothered to say 'black' man in the first place. It's not an especially supportive statement -- more of a resignation on his part, I suspect, that there's no one in the running on the republican side that he believes in or believes can beat the President. Maybe he thinks a 'black' man is at a significant disadvantage in the job. I don't know if that's what he meant, but, I'd disagree. I wouldn't go too far out on a limb for any interpretation of his characterization tho . . .

I'd also disagree with him the President has done 'nothing' like him . . .

"He kind of did what I do. I didn't do anything. He hasn't done anything that I can see that's made any real difference."

I think that it's not terrible to have a conservative view the President as a decent human being ("a fine gentleman&quot and not be ashamed to say it publicly out of fear his buddies might rag on him. That's about what I'd expect from Merle Haggard.

[bayareaboy]

42. I had the occasion to meet Mr. Merle and his Family a couple ...

of years ago while I was a volunteer at a Russian Gulch SP near Mendocino. Very nice person with a very nice family. he and his family was a lot easier to handle than the abolone divers that hang out earlier in the spring. It does look like he has slowed down though.

[mmonk]

44. "It is going to take more years than I got left."

Most likely. Maybe more than I have left.

[Tarheel_Dem]

45. K&R