This song still rings true today. Merle was never afraid to speak what was on his mind.

FINALLY! Real country music! Merle is awesome. So many good songs.

The country had been through (or in) "the great malaise" of the '70s and recession and Merle captured the feeling of the day. Merle did that - a lot. May the Hag RIP.

Thank you for playing Merle...He was the singer of everyday blue collar working people...He was known for being on the side of the struggle..He smoothed the wrinkles, in the soul...

You guys need to listen to Merle's "I think I'll just stay here and drink"... Lots of solos and fast paced. Great tune.

Walking on the fightin side of me is another great Merle song.

Well I wasn't expecting to cry this morning. Great song and reaction. Merle was my mom's favorite singer, she passed in 93 when I was just 14. And he still makes me think of her. He had such a great voice

I think this song rings truer now than it did 40 years ago. Stand up for the flag and let's all ring the Liberty bell!! 🇺🇸

Rainbow Stew is the most visionary song ever written for the time and I believe it was written in the 80’s as well!

I have s shitty day today but then I watched your video and now I feel a bit better. Loved this song. 1981 is too early for me and I was just 4 years old, when the Berlin Wall came down. So not much memories about that here. But of course I’ve been to berlin, saw check point Charlie and I know, all Germans know that the strong US superpower kept and keeps us Germans/Europeans free and brought the wall down. To this day. And we are, at least I’m very thankful for this. And the good times are only over, when we let them be over. And I tell Stephen that all the time, too. Thank you for this reaction. And now my day is not so shitty anymore.

He’s singing about the 60s and 70s. What is happening now is a direct reflection of the 60s and 70s which is why the song resonates.

I believe Merle was truly asking if the good times were over (which they weren’t yet). I believe he was hoping to spark people into changing the way things were going at that time. Today I honestly believe everything he was afraid our country was fixing to turn into has happened. There is a small remnant of people who want things to be like in “the good old days” but most people don’t & even the ones that do don’t want to put in the effort.

Merle hit the airwaves in 62...wrote over 700 songs ... spent a couple of years in San Quinten...heard Johnny Cash while in quinten..decided to change his life, and never again give up his freedom...made it VERY big in country music...said to be the working man's poet.

Merle is by far my favorite OG! Thanks Stephen!

The Hag is still the man! Thanks for the giggles! 😊

Thank you Steven! I have been waiting and watching for them to react to more Merle. THE GOAT!

AMEN!!!

One of my favorite Merle Haggard songs, and so much truth.

Music is a great teaching tool.

the Highwaymen also did a song called the 'The 20th century is almost over'

That was the way it was then and the way it still is now! The more things change, the more they stay the same! I love love Merle. Truth and wisdom in life's experiences. I don't consider music a political thing. I consider it food for thought!

What we complained about then, we complain about today, only the snowball has picked up speed. We should demand decncy in those that represent us and live it ourselves.

Merle is Cali Born

One of my absolute favorite songs. Merle is the truth. The way. The light.

Wonderful reaction!I loved Merle, makes me sad thinking of how much momentum that snowball gained.

And guys, whenever you can always play his ACL live performance. It’s so good and you might even get more instrumentals, Merle on electric or fiddle. He was truly the goat! ♥️ Almost glad he’s not here to see what all is going on now. It is even truer today than it was then. What a songwriter! Love you Hag, R.I.P. Remember tho, this was at the end of Carter and just the beginning of Reagan. Do y’all remember the failed rescue mission for the hostages in Teheran and the horrible economy, sky high interest rates? Things weren’t the best. But we really don’t know when this song was written, maybe years before but dang, it sure fits. Thankfully it did get better under Reagan IMO. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Fantastic reaction guys!! New subscriber within the last 3 weeks and I truly enjoy the conversation about the songs and their content as well as about the Bourbons. Now I have to go buy some and start some new conversations.

keep your gratitude higher than your expectations.... HAKAD

"Fighting Side of Me" is another way ahead of it's time song. Give it a listen.

We had stagnant 70’s got through them. We’ll get through current trouble too.

The Hag…just pick any song!! Y’all should pick some live performances. Y’all must watch: Stay Here And Drink…you’ll see his Big Band that traveled with him!

And that bottle came from vine and table and I believe it was about 25 bucks for the bottle

Fightin' Side of Me, Seashores of Old Mexico, I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink (which, by the way, Warrant - yeah, Cherry Pie Warrant - covered really well). He's got SO MANY great tunes.

I'm a child of the 60's, so I can tell you that in 1981, we were just coming out from under the catastrophic Presidency of Jimmy Carter, and into the Presidency of Ronald Reagan. Now there is where Merle was coming from with this song.

Another good one is Vince Gill "A world without Haggard!"

In regards to the question of the song, I agree with Dustin and I agree Merle. I agree with Dustin that we can, and should make our own good times regardless of whats going on around us. On the other hand I agree with Merle about the world and specifically our County. The good times might be gone unless we as a Nation make changes. I think you hit on something when you talked about moral decay. As the times have changed, people have lost sight of their moral compass, and many unfortunately have completely thrown theirs away. I think part of problem can be summarized by saying people have forgotten the meaning of Respect. When you stop and think about it, so much boils down to a lack of respect. Respect for people, respect for property, respect for the environment around us. People think only of themselves and don't care about anybody else. I don't have a good solution. I don't believe this is a political issue deep down. If America is going to change and get back to the "Good Times", politicians and the government are not going to be what gets us there. As a people, we are going to need to stand up and change our mentally, change our focus off of ourselves and think about others. Ok, rant over (for now). Great video, y'all did a great job with this.

You should check out Merle''s guitar picking on his song Working Man's Blues for some cool licks. I am a huge fan of his and I have just about all of his records. I heard Keith say some unflattering things about Jazz music on your last reaction but what you don't know is that Haggard was a huge fan of the genre and also recorded a Jazz album with some of the big names in Jazz in 1973 called 'I Love Dixie Blues' and in some quarters (probably the French one) he is known as the 'Country Jazz Messiah' as well as the greatest jazz guitarist of all time. If you listen to a lot of his music you can hear the influence but mostly what you will hear is the influence of Lefty Frizzel. For me the only reason why The Hag is #2 in my book is because of a man named Waylon Jennings, the greatest country singer of all time. Which is funny because the two of them didn't get along after Merle hustled a drunken Waylon out of $5000 in a poker game and they never spoke again. Waylon did manage to get away with Merle's steel guitar picker, the legendary Ralph Mooney, but only after Merle fired Mooney for trying to steal his tour bus when they were stranded in a snow storm.

One my favorites

this is one of the best truth songs ever

I though of this song the other day. It’s certainly as relevant today as it was back then. I’m glad you got a bribe for it. Could I suggest He Went To Paris in honor of Jimmy Buffet? It’s been covered by a few country artists (Waylon and Doug Supernaw) and I would say it definitely fits into the country genre.

Love watching you guys! 😆

And it’s 75% corn 25% malted barley and aged up to 6 years

I'd drink to this song and for me, it would be a return to the Good Times Again. I stopped whiskey, tobacco again and non-prescribed drugs in 1983. I'm thinking this Natural High is overrated lately! Take me Home Again Mr. Merle Haggard. The Amelas One

Oklahoma's finest Merle Alice's restaurant by Arlo Guthrie

That was the year I was born

Great songs are timeless.

Girl was a truth-teller nuff said. This was a good reaction gentleman. And that sounds you were hearing we're rim shots from the drummer

Merle was from Oildale, California.

It was a question based on what was going on at that time and the question was answered by saying Stop

One of Merle's best. You tell 'em, Merle. Y'all looked so surprised at the lyrics.

Yall should check out his song America First.

A little ironic now, in that one of the last videos Merle made was with Willy making "The Whole World is Going to Pot" and both were smoking a joint. Love them both so much!

Luv this song...u should check out RAINBOW STEW!

You aught to hear Yuri Bezmenov talk about the "decline" in a video called "Yuri Bezmenov's Warning to America" from 1984. It's eerie to listen to.

That song was written 42 years too soon.

You guys should flip or rock/paper/scissors for it on video!

The word you’re looking for is “timeless”. This song is more relevant today than it was in 1981.

He had it right

Big City is a really good one.

I wish a buck was still silver and lady liberty has wings and a dollar said one dollar .Those days are past us.

Stephen is the man…again…for playing Merle! Love the Hag! ♥️♥️♥️

Mighty Merl.Americas best poet

Honey. Teeling has a sweet honey taste.

Merl was a great singer died exactly on his 79th birthday In 2016

Merle has a great Live album, LIVE RAINBOW STEW AT ANAHEIM STADIUM, and SEAHORES OF OLD MEXICO with Willie.

I belive merle cut all his music out of Bakersfield instead of nashvile

Listen to more Merle walk-in on the fighting side of me silver wings love him he was awesome in concert

Its almost a divine song

Hey guys, sorry to keep cutting in on unrelated videos. I spoke to my friend today and I thought she only generally drink rye but she told me that she doesn’t mind bourbon either so I think I’m gonna just get her a bottle of Woodford reserve. Thanks for the help.

Wish I Were Down is another good one. He had 37 #1 hits. Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink as well.

Before 1965

"Is that a tuba?" ...now I gotta sub to see what other things you'll say.

81 was the end of Jimmy Carter's disastrous term, interest rates for home loans were 11%, Iran Hostage Crisis was going on from 1979 until Reagan finally took over in January 1981. Times were not great when this song was written.

Song was recorded in 1981

While Teeling is labeled Irish Whiskey, the process is exactly like scotch... Used not new barrels and re aged in a sweet barrel... Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Teeling, but it ain't bourbon.

I’ve always thought that there is a tuba playing in there.

Merle normally had a "small orchestra" as part of his band...sax, trumpet, trombone, etc.

Please check out Chris Melanson from Canada the song is called Room's For Rent it is the best REAL country song I have heard in a long time.

I am old, seventy-two, and the country is no less powerful than it ever was. We have allowed big corporations to outsource jobs to increase their profits and the cold war end, but our power has not decreased. Former third world countries, China and India primarily are just catching up. They each outnumber us by three to one. As they catch up technologically, we will inevitably become the world's third most powerful country unless they fight and damage or destroy each other. We can only hope.

Merle was from Oklahoma.

Listen to merles under the bridge

in fairness, Ford and Chevy have both improved since the 70's

You need do the Bellamy Brothers jalapeños its a funny song

Your getting above your RAISIN

Looked like it hit the dude on the right kinda hard while listening.

You need to listen Vince Gill’s tribute song to Merle. A World Without Haggard

Merle had a tendency to create songs that were prescient for the time.

That's a Trombone

Can you please do Dollies song I Dreamed about Elvis ?

Should check out"KERN RIVER

Merle haggard is a wormhole of a different kind. So is waylon jennings.

In 1981 America was in a recession and still suffering from the inflation of the 1970's. There was an energy crisis due to the two OPEC embargoes and the American auto industry was losing to the Japanese after failing to transition to fuel efficient vehicles. Our manufacturing and aerospace industries were increasingly shedding jobs. The Vietnam war ending with the fall of Saigon along with the Watergate scandal and Iran hostage crisis were national embarrassments. Ronald Reagan, who had been elected on the promise of rebuilding America and standing up to Soviet aggression after their invasion of Afghanistan, had only been in office a little over a year and his policies hadn't come to fruition yet. It didn't help that Reagan was shot in an attempted assassination n March of '81. The outlook that year was still bleak. Fast forward 3 years later and there was a renewal in American pride, patriotism and optimism. It was there with the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and 'Born in the U.S.A.' on the radio. That turn around in American attitudes is what led to Reagan's landslide re-election in 1984. By the way, Mere Haggard grew up in California and was also a convicted felon but received a pardon for his crimes from the California Governor, a man named Ronald Reagan. Merle would later go on to perform at the White House at Ronald Reagan's Presidential request.🇺🇸

Spoons wouldn't surprise me at all. The idea of the tuba completely throws me. And BTW, it is entirely possible to be a liberal and agree with the sentiment of this song. I cringe a bit at the two gender role lines but I can also put it into the context of the time it came out and see it for what it was. I don't think Okie from Muskogee was among the previous Merle songs Dustin listed, so I recommend that one...along with Fightin' side of me Guys, this is far from being the only song you are gonna walk a line on because of politicization if you keep listening to the OGs -- that includes the female artists as well.

No need to defend my honor 😡 Keith, the whiskey did a fine enough job of doing that. The only time I will ask for help in defending my honor is if I’m a bar and fighting civilians and they gang up then all military throws branch aside and jumps in.

I'm so glad my dad can't see our country now. He wad from this generation, and I woke up sometime in the esrly 2000's and realized the country wasnt making men and women anymore like these I had grown up under. We are in hell now and melting. Maybe God will pick us up and get us out of there!

Now they all lie!!