1.

Opening Introduction And Theme

Carlton Haney

© Tree Pub, BMI

Ladies and gentlemen here in Muskogee Oklahoma tonight in the Civic Center
I'd like to introduce to you a man that has dedicated his life to country music
And has written most of his life into the songs that he sings
Make welcome if you will from Bakersfield California
The one and only Merle Haggard and his Strangers

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2.

Mama Tried

Merle Haggard

© Blue Book Music, BMI

(Thank you thank you Carlton)

The first thing I remember knowin' was a lonesome whistle blowin'
And the youngest dream of growin' up to ride
On a freight train leavin' town not knowin' where I'm bound
And no one could change my mind but mama tried

One and only rebel child for my family meek and mild
My mama seemed to know what lay in store
Inspite of all my Sunday learnin' toward the bad I kept on turnin'
Till mama couldn't hold me anymore

I turned twenty one in prison doin' life without parole
No one could steer me right but mama tried mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better but her pleading I denied
That leaves only me to blame cause mama tried
[ instrumental ]
Dear old daddy rest his soul left my mama heavy load
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Working hours without rest wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right but I refused

I turned twenty one in prison doin' life without parole...

(Thank you very much thank you
I certainly appreciate that well thank you
Would you give a big round of applause to my good friends and my Strangers
Right here they are

We wanna do a song that hit home for a lot of folks back in the 30's
It was written by the late and great Jimmie Rodgers
It's called No Hard Time Blues and it goes like this right here)

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3.

No Hard Times

Jimmie Rodgers

© Peer Int, BMI

I got a barrel of flour Lord I got a bucket of lard hey
I got a barrel of flour Lord I got a bucket of lard
Ain't got no blues got chickens in my backyard

I got corn in my crib cotton growin' in my patch
I got corn in my crib cotton growin' in my patch
I got that old hen a sittin' waitin' for that old hen to hatch
De-yodel lyee-oh hard time blues
[ instrumental ]
I'm gonna hitch up my mule and take a holt of my lines
I'm gonna hitch up my mule and take a holt of my lines
I can't be bothered with all these old hard times

Oh go ahead and pick one now
[ instrumental ]
I'm gonna build me a shanty Lord I'm gonna settle down
I'm gonna build me a shanty Lord I'm gonna settle down
Get me a corn fed mama and Lordy quit a runnin a'round
Here he comes
I can make more money with my pick and plow
I can make more money with my pick and plow
With my one-eyed mule and my good ole Jersey cow
De-yodel lyee-oh hard time
Hey hey hey

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4.

Silver Wings

Merle Haggard

© Blue Book Music, BMI

Silver wings shining in the sunlight
Roaring engines headed somewhere in flight
They're taking you away and leaving me lonely
Silver wings slowly fading out of sight

Don't leave me I cried don't take that airplane ride
But you locked me out of your mind left me standing here behind

Silver wings shining in the sunlight...
[ instrumental ]
Silver wings shining in the sunlight...
Slowly fading out of sight

(Thank you very much it's certainly our pleasure to be here
Come over on this mike Carl

(We have a distinguished gentleman here tonight
And I'd like to introduce him to you now
And let him presente you with some well deserved awards
I'd like for you to meet the Mayor of Muskogee Oklahoma Mayor Bob Brown)

Thank you Carlton

(Thank you sir thank you sir
Merle on behalf of the fine govenor of the wonderful state of Oklahoma
I wouldd like to presente you with this pin making you an honorary Okie)

Well I certainly appreciate it thank you thank you Mayor
Wanna pin it on me
I've been called one all my life I might as well put the pin on I'm proud of it

(For the city of Muskogee and making you an honorary citizen
I would like to make another presentation letting you know that you are always welcome
I would like to present you with a key to fabulous Muskogee Oklahoma)

Thank you very much
(Let the good times roll)
Mayor Bob Brown would you give him a hand thank you thank you Bob thank you Mayor

OK we'd like to do a segment of songs that pertain
To people who might had drinkin' problems at one time or another
These were what these songs were written for
More commonly known as the drunks do we have any drunks here with us tonight huh
Well here's some songs that got me out of trouble
Goes like this right here
Swinging Doors)

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5.

Medley Of Hits

Merle Haggard - Liz Anderson - Casey Anderson

© Tree Pub, BMI

SWINGING DOORS

This ol' smoke filled bar is something I'm not used to
But I gave up my home to see you satisfied
I just called to let you know where I'll be livin'
It's not much but I feel welcome here inside

And I got swinging doors a jukebox and a barstool
And my new home has a flashing neon sign
Stop by and see me anytime you want to
Cause I'm always here at home till closin' time
Yeah I'm always here till closin' time

I'M A LONESOME FUGITIVE

Down every road there's always one more city
Thank you
I'm on the run the highway is my home
I raised a lot of cane back in my younger days
While mama used to pray my crops would fail
Now I'm a hunted fugitive with just two ways
Outrun the law or spend my life in jail

I'd like to settle down but they won't let me
A fugitive must be a rolling stone
Down every road there's always one more city
I'm on the run the highway is my home
[ instrumental ]

SING ME BACK HOME

The warden let the prisoner down the hallway to his doom
I stood up to say goodbye like all the rest
And I heard him tell the warden just before he reached my cell
Let my guitar playing friend do my request

Let him sing me back home the song I used to hear
Make my old mem'ries come alive
And take me away and turn back the years
Sing me back home before I die
Sing me back home before I die

BRANDED MAN

One two three four

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 travel 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...

(Would you give a great big round of applause to my steel guitar player Mr Norman Hamlet
And on the lead electric guitar Mr Roy Nichols
Back on the drums Mr Eddie Burris

Over on the bass guitar a fella making his debut in country music
And he writes a fine song and he has a big future in this business I believe
Would you welcome to the microphone as he sings his new record
In The Arms Of Love here he is Mr Gene Price)

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6.

In The Arms Of Love

Buck Owens - Gene Price

© Blue Book Music, BMI

Save me from loneliness rescue me with your love
I'll be safe just as long as you keep me
Wrapped tightly in the arms of love

The arms of love are all I need around me
But I don't know what I'd do if you should go

So please give me what I dream of
The kind of dream sent from above
I'll be satisfied as long as you keep me
Wrapped tightly in the arms of love

(Mr Gene Price In The Arms Of Love thank you Gene

We'd like to do a song for you that we wrote especially for all the workin' men
Do we have any of those type of people here with us tonight huh)

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7.

Workin' Man Blues

Merle Haggard

© Blue Book Music, BMI

(One called The Workin' Man Blues goes like this right here)

It's a big job just gettin' by with nine kids and a wife
Yeah I've been a workin' man dang near all of my life
I'll keep on workin' long as these two hands are fit to use
I'll drink a little beer in a tavern and sing a little bit of these workin' man blues

I'll keep my nose on the grindstone work hard everyday
I might get a little tired on the weekend after I draw my pay
I'll go back workin' come Monday mornin' I'm right back with the crew
I'll drink a little beer in a tavern and sing a little bit of these workin' man blues

Well hey hey workin' man workin' man like me
I ain't never been on welfare that's one place I won't be
And I'll be back workin' as long as my two hands are fit to use
I'll drink a little beer in a tavern and cry a little bit of these workin' man blues

Here come a workin' man right now
[ instrumental ]
Sometimes I think about leavin' do a little bummin' around
Wanna throw my bills out the window catch a train to another town
I go back workin' I gotta buy my kids a brand new pair of shoes Lord Lord
I'll drink a little beer in a tavern and cry a little bit of these workin' man blues
Well here comes that old workin' man yeah
This song is specially for all the workin' men hey

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8.

Introduction To Hobo Bill

Merle Haggard

© Blue Book Music, BMI

The hobo was a subject that the late and great Jimmie Rogers
Sang of many times during his great career
And the freight train served a faithful means of travel for the migrant worker
Or for the fella out of work or some ole boy
That just wanted to live off the fat of our great land
And of course at this time the fat was kind a scarce
Because during the period of Jimmie Rodger's greatest popularity
Our great Nation's economy was at all time low
And it was known as the depression days
During this time it wasn't unusual to see 50 or 75 hobos
Jump from a moving freight train as it neared the edge of a city
This was dangerous but it was done to keep from being caught by the train bulls
That worked the great freight yards during this era
A lot of the hobos were respectable men and rode the rods
Because it provided a dependable means of travel which they could afford
And some of them made their destinations and some of them died along the tracks
And their friends and family never knew what happened to 'em
And I would imagine maybe that Hobo Bill was one of them

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9.

Hobo Bill's Last Ride

Waldo O'Neal

© Peer Int, BMI

Riding on the eastbound freight train speeding through the night
Hobo Bill the railroad bum was fighting for his life
The sadness of his eyes revealed the torture of his soul
He rose a weak and weary hand to brush away the coal
Hey Hobo Bill

No warm lights flickered round him no blankets there to hold
Nothing but the howling wind and the driving rain so cold
When I heard a whistle blowing in a dreamy kind of way
The hobo seemed contented for he smile there where he lay
Yeah Hobo Bill

Pick on
[ instrumental ]
Outside the rain was falling on a lonely boxcar door
But the little form of Hobo Bill lay dead upon the floor
And there was no mother's longing to soothe his weary soul
For he was just a hobo and he died out in the cold
Hey Hobo Bill

(Thank you so very much
We got a brand new song here that we're gonna whup on ya
We hope that you'll like it
We wrote it especially for this album
In fact we wrote it on the way up to Texas about a week ago actually is when it was
Me and Jim Beam and IW Harper we wrote this little thing
It's called Billy Overcame His Size
It goes like this)

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10.

Billy Overcame His Size

Merle Haggard

© Blue Book Music, BMI

Billy never made the football team cause Billy's size was small
But Billy's brother was a mighty led and played lot of high school ball
And Billy's daddy never favored him he cared to the bigger guys
But later on in a bigger way Billy overcame his size

The years flew by and Billy grew but he never got very big
We called him Shorty but never got mad he was always good for dig
But we paid no mind when he fell in line and left with the other guys
And the sergeant left that skinny frame but Billy overcame his size

Billy overcame his size yeah Billy overcame his size
Later on in a bigger way Billy overcame his size

Billy's brother made a football star and the biggest man in town
And the scholar ship that kept him home never seemed to bring him down
But on the other hand his brother Bill put pride in his daddy's eyes
When he died to save those other men Billy overcame his size

Billy overcame his size yeah Billy overcame his size
When he died to save those other men Billy overcame his size

(Thank you very much)

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11.

If I Had Left It Up To You

Merle Haggard

© Owen Publications, BMI

You made plans to leave a thousand times I know
And a thousand times I should have let you go
But each time I'd always beg you back somehow
If I'd left it up to you it'd all be over now

It'd all be over now cept the crying
I'd be used to spending all my nights alone
Wish I'd found the way to let you go somehow
If I'd left it up to you it'd all be over now
[ instrumental ]
It'd all be over now cept the crying...

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12.

White Line Fever

Merle Haggard

© Blue Book Music, BMI

(Here's a song that goes out especially for all the truck drivers we might have with us
Do we have any here tonight in Muskogee)

White line fever a sickness born down deep within my soul
White line fever the years keep flyin' by like the high line poles
The wrinkles in my forehead show the miles I put behind me
They continue to remind me how fast I'm growin' old
Guess I'll die with this fever in my soul

I wonder just what makes a man keep pushin' on
Why must I keep on singin' this old highway song
Yeah I've been coast to coast a hundred times or more
I ain't seen one single place where I ain't been before

White line fever a sickness born down deep within my soul...

(Hey right now we'd like to feature all the Strangers
With an instrumental they wrote especially for this album
One called Blue Rock and here's Roy Nichols to kick it off
It goes like)

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13.

Blue Rock

Roy Nichols - Norman Hamlet

© Blue Book Music, BMI

[ instrumental ]

(They's some of you in the audience that may or may not know I wasn't actually born here in Muskogee
But my family on my mother's side lived here for many years
And I think most all of my dad's folks were born in between here and Checotah somewhere
And around Brush Hill you know where Brush Hill or Kneebow Mountain or somewhere over
And I've heard 'em talk so many times about it that when I finally began to tour on the road
We made a special plan to come through here and kinda look around and see where they used to live
And Muskogee was a word and town that I've heard about ever since I was knee high
And the fact that Oklahoma for some reason or another has been able to keep out of the conflict
And the college campuses haven't had any trouble that I know of they haven't been in news anyway
And as far as I know just about hippy free I haven't seen any hippies around here either
Except of course except for Carlton I mean he
Course Carlton's a country hippy now we can allow that see
Carlton's just short of money that's the only thing wrong with him
He's broke see he had too many Merle Haggard shows
No seriously these things and the fact that like I say I was very familar with Muskogee
The ideas came together and we wrote a song called Okie From Muskogee
Goes like
One two three four)

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14.

(# 1 country hit)

Okie From Muskogee

Merle Haggard - Eddie Burris

© Blue Book Music, BMI

We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee
We don't take our trips on LSD
We don't burn our draft cards down on Main Street
Cause we like living right and being free

We don't make a party out of loving
But we like holding hands and pitching woo
We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy
Like the hippies out in San Francisco do

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Ol' Glory down at the courthouse
And white lightning's still the biggest thrill of all

Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear
Beads and Roman sandals won't be seen
Football's still the roughest thing on campus
And the kids here still respect the college dean

And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee...

We still wave Ol' Glory down at the courthouse
In Muskogee Oklahoma USA

(Thank you thank you very much
Thank you very much really thank you
Oh my goodness thank you)

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee
A place where even squares can have a ball
Thank you
We still wave Ol' Glory down at the courthouse
And white lightning's still the biggest thrill of all

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