1.

(# 1 country hit)

Branded Man

Merle Haggard

© Blue Book Music, BMI

I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am
But they won't let my secret go untold
I paid the debt I owed 'em but they're still not satisfied
Now I'm a branded man out in the cold

When they let me out of prison I held my head up high
Determined I would rise above the shame
But no matter where I'm living a black mark follows me
I'm branded with a number on my name

I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am...
[ instrumental ]
If I live to be a hundred I guess I'll never clear my name
Cause everybody knows I've been in jail
No matter where I'm living I got to tell 'em where I been
Or they'll send me back to prison if I fail

I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am...
Now I'm a branded man out in the cold

**********

2.

Loneliness Is Eatin' Me Alive

Hank Cochran

© Pamper Music, BMI

There hasn't been one bit of laughter in this house so long
Just the howlin' of the wind asking why
I know this house ain't growing but it seems bigger since you're gone
And this loneliness is eatin' me alive

If there's any forgiveness in ye wrap it up and come on home
Yeah I may not change completely oh but I'll try
And honey you have to hurry or there'd be no reason to come home
Cause this loneliness is eatin' me alive

The bigger the house the harder the tear falls
I found it out since your goodbye
And honey you'll have to hurry
Or there'll be no reason to come home
Cause this loneliness is eatin' me alive
Yeah this loneliness is eatin' me alive

**********

3.

Don't Get Married

Tommy Collins

© Tree Pub, BMI

Julie they've taken me to prison
I pulled the gun and robbed the jewelry store
The only thing I took was that big diamond
You know the one you said you wished was yours

The diamond in the window called for money
The price was just too much for me to pay
But the price I'm paying now is so much bigger
Oh Julie don't I have the right to say

Don't get married Julie wait for me
Don't get married cause someday I'll be free
[ instrumental ]
Julie when I serve the time they gave me
I'll walk out through the gates and I'll be free
I hope you didn't only want the diamond
Cause I pray that you also wanted me

Don't get married Julie wait for me
Don't get married cause someday I'll be free

**********

4.

Somewhere Between

Merle Haggard - Bonnie Owens

© Blue Book Music, BMI

Somewhere between your heart and mine
There's a window that I can't see through
There's a wall so high it reaches the sky
Somewhere between me and you

I love you so much I can't let you go
And sometimes I believe you love me
But somewhere between your heart and mine
There's a door without any key

Somewhere between your heart and mine...
[ instrumental ]
Somewhere between your heart and mine
There's a love I can't understand
It's there for a while then it fades like a smile
And I'm left in the middle again

Somewhere between your heart and mine...

**********

5.

You Don't Have Very Far To Go

Merle Haggard - Red Simpson

© Owen Publications, BMI

You always find the way to hurt my pride
If I'm not cryin' you're not satisfied
I don't know why you want to hurt me so
But if you're tryin' to break my heart
You don't have very far to go

You don't have very far to go before the heartache begins
I already feel the sadness of a heartbreak settin' in
You're turnin' down the flame of love too low
If you're tryin' to break my heart
You don't have very far to go
[ instrumental ]
You don't have very far to go before the heartache begins
I already feel the sadness of a heartbreak settin' in
You can't love me and still love to hurt me so
If you're tryin' to break my heart
You don't have very far to go

**********

6.

Gone Crazy

Merle Haggard - Bonnie Owens

© Blue Book Music, BMI

Well you took my love for granted and I gave it all willingly
But seeing you with someone else was the breaking point for me
I know I'm goin' crazy I can feel it comin' on
The signs are all around me and I know I'll soon be gone

Gone crazy I may be hard to find
Gone crazy somewhere out of my mind
[ instrumental ]
There'll be laughter all around me when they come and take me away
And in case you see me leavin' you can bet I've gone to stay
I know you're gonna miss me when you find I've gone insane
But I got the right to lose my mind if I can't stand the pain

Gone crazy I may be hard to find
Gone crazy somewhere out of my mind
Well I'll be somewhere out of my mind

**********

7.

(# 2 country hit)

I Threw Away The Rose

Merle Haggard

© Blue Book Music, BMI

Once I lived the life of wine and roses
And I drank a lot back then for one concern
Success for me lay just around the corner
I thought my social friends would help me make the turn

But now I'm paying for the days of wine and roses
A victim of the drunken life I chose
Now all my social friends look down their noses
Cause I kept the wine and threw away the rose
[ instrumental ]
I stood by and watched the bottle take control of me
The turn I made was not the one I'd planned
I watched my social standings slip away from me
While I watched the bottle slowly take command

And now I'm paying for the days of wine and roses...
Cause I kept the wine and threw away the rose

**********

8.

My Hands Are Tied

Tommy Collins - Merle Haggard - Kay Adams

© Blue Book Music, BMI

She came her to see me today
In prison where I have to stay
But this time she came here to tell me goodbye
Pretending that I understood
I held back the tears best I could
But I know that she knew I wanted to cry

Cause my hands are tied
I'm locked here inside
I want her I need her I love her
But my hands are tied
[ instrumental ]
Her visits kept my world alive
Our love found the way to survive
But now it's all over I've lost her for good
She waited with arms open wide
Till somebody else stepped inside
But I know she waited as long as she could

Cause my hands are tied...

**********

9.

Some Of Us Never Learn

Merle Haggard

© Blue Book Music, BMI

There'll always be a few of us to keep the barrooms busy
And there'll always be fools like me with no place else to turn
Cause liquor have the charm that takes to keep you coming back
For it's true I guess that some of us never learn

A crowded bar can't ever change the past
But from time to time we drown it in a glass
Cause liquor have the charm that takes to keep you coming back
Well it's true I guess that some of us never learn
[ instrumental ]
A crowded bar can't ever change the past...
Never learn

**********

10.

Long Black Limousine

Bobby George - Vern Stovall

© Hill And Range Songs, BMI

There's a long line of mourners coming down our street
Their fancy cars are such a sight to see
They're all of your rich friends that knew you in the city
And now they finally brought you back to me

The papers told of how you lost your life
Of the party and that fatal crash that night
The race on the highway the curve nobody seen
Now you're riding in that long black limousine
[ instrumental ]
When you left home you told me that someday you'd be returnin'
With a fancy car for a whole town to see
Well now everybody's watchin' now and I guess you finally got your dream
You're riding in one of them long black limousines

Through tears I watch as you ride by
With a chauffer at the wheel dressed up so fine
I'll never love another for my heart and all my dreams
Ride with you in that long black limousine

**********

11.

Go Home

Tommy Collins

© Owen Publications, BMI

In old Padres Nadres Old Mexico
Once in my travel I happened to go
I met Maria and we fell in love
It seemed like heaven came down from above

Dark skin and dark eyes and dark wavy hair
All kept me spellbound as love filled the air
I held her tightly then to my surprise
She whispered soft words with tears in her eyes

Go home go home your people would not understand
Go home go home go back to your own homeland
[ instrumental ]
With gentle persuasion I changed her mind
I said they'd love her and treat her so kind
So we went together to my old hometown
I wanted to show my old friends what I'd found

But hate made my sweet dream a nightmare
One day I came home and she was not there
A note on the table tore my world apart
My old friends has been there and told my sweetheart

Go home go home your place is not with this man
Go home go home go back to your own homeland

**********

12.

I Made The Prison Band

Tommy Collins - Jimmy Bryant - Ernest Ball

© Tree Pub, BMI

Deep inside this lonely prison where the pleasures are so few
Where the walls are strong and the days are long and there's nothin' new
I learned to play the guitar now I'm a doin' the best I can
I guess I could be worse because I made the prison band
I made the prison band

Now there's ole bashful Bill on the doghouse bass Willie on the steel guitar
He hails from Pocatello where he dragged a pretty mean bar
And back on the drum there's two-time Tom our in-shot tempo man
The boys call me their singin' MC since I made the prison band
I made the prison band
[ instrumental ]
I've been plannin' a break since Christmas I had the details all worked out
But now I know that I ain't a gonna go and there's no doubt
I had my try-out Sunday and the outcome changed my plans
I gotta rehearse for the Friday night show cause I made the prison band
I made the prison band

Now there's ole bashfull Bill on the doghouse bass...

**********