When Times Were Good by Merle Haggard. This man wrote and sang about the life that you and I live. There is still a void in country music that has yet to be filled. Rest in peace Merle!
Showing posts with label The Songs of Merle Haggard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Songs of Merle Haggard. Show all posts
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Thursday, March 08, 2018
Tuesday, March 06, 2018
Listening To The Wind ( Merle Haggard )
Is there anyone that can sing to the heart of a man like Merle Haggard? I don't think so. In his day he had few peers. Listening to the Wind by the late Merle Haggard.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Kern River Blues by Merle Haggard
"Kern River Blues" the final song written and performed by Country & Western Legend (We still call it Country & Western). He doesn't fail. The song is a testimony to his life and career. Merle Haggard still very much on our minds and in our hearts!
Friday, July 15, 2016
Are the Good Times Really Over - Merle Haggard (1982)
A timeless classic by Merle Haggard. This song - Are the Good Times Really Over - released in May of 1982 is as relevant today, maybe even more so, than the day it was released. One of my favorite Haggard songs!
Thursday, July 07, 2016
Swimming the Mighty Kern River (Kern River by Merle Haggard)
Years ago, I'm not exactly 100% sure,
either the summer of 1979 or 1980, I went on a fishing and camping
(and drinking) trip to Kern River with my two friends Ken Robledo and
Mike Teran. Kern River was our old stomping grounds.
We fished, and we drank and we ate and
we had a good time. At some point during the trip I took a short walk
to the bank of the river. I looked across to the other side and there
was a wall of granite. From where I stood it seemed to be at enough
of a slant for someone to climb up and sit for a while. The water
seemed like a sheet of glass with very little movement.
I couldn't tell you how wide it was,
maybe as wide as boulevard. Whatever it was it looked manageable. I
dove in head first, which if you know anything about Kern River, you
know that's a big No-No. I started swimming to the other side and I
realized immediately that the current was much stronger than it
looked. I can say with all honesty, while I can swim, I am not a
great swimmer and I had been drinking. I began to tire. I should have
turned back but I figured I would rest on that giant slab of granite
before swimming back. It all seemed like a good idea at the time.
I was beyond exhausted when I reached
the other side. I tried to climb the rock but it turned out to be
steeper than I had thought. I was trying to hold back my panic. I
went up and down but there was no place for me to get a grip. On top
of that it was all slippery.
As tired and spent as I was, I had no
other choice but to swim back. I had nothing in me. I can say with
absolute certainty that I had never reached the point of tiredness
that I had at that moment. My will was gone. I knew I wasn't going to
make it and for a moment I just gave up, I didn't know what else to
do. I just gave up and I was letting the river take me.
At that moment a picture of my daughter
Meranda popped into my head. She was still a baby The thought of her
growing up without a father, without me, was more than I could take
and I began praying, “Please God..... Please God..... Please!”.
I could not describe to you how I did
it. I have no memory of it but I made it back to the other side. I
found myself gasping and heaving on the sand and dirt and rocks. My
two friends were standing on either side of me laughing. I was just
too damned tired to care. I can't say I blame them though. I must
have been a sight and without realizing what actually happened it
probably did look funny.
I was lucky I didn't break my neck or
crack my skull when I dove into the river. Many people have been
seriously injured or worse. Many have drowned swimming Kern River.
It is an unkind river. There is a sign posted at the entry way into
the canyon letting you know how many people have died. I was almost
one of them. God was watching out for me. I swear to God, I will
never swim Kern River again!
Thursday, April 07, 2016
Remembering Merle Haggard in My Own Way
Whenever I hear a song by Merle Haggard on the radio I always turn the sound up a little and I remember. For me, Haggard's music is almost synonymous with my twenties, the 1970's and the 1980's. My mother was a fan of country music (We still call it Country and Western) and it was through her that I became a fan. Merle Haggard became a quick favorite.
When Jeri and I moved into our first home together on Newlin Avenue in Whittier, in February of 1978, it seems like we were having a party every other weekend. We had a big backyard, so it wasn't a problem. We brought the record player outside, the BBQ grill and plenty of meat to grill, a keg of beer, sometimes two, maybe some Jack Daniels and/or some tequila, and all the albums we owned at the time. Our friends brought their own music too.
Sometimes the parties got a little out of hand and the cops would come and shut us down, at other times they lasted into the wee hours of the early morning. Sometimes the neighbors complained but more often than not they would walk through the gate and join in. We listened to a lot of different music, mostly rock, oldies and Motown but in the very late hours when we were doing our most serious drinking it was Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr. and Merle Haggard. It was Merle Haggard that seemed to reach me the most. His music was so relevant to those things that were going on in my own life, good and bad.
On some days we had a lot of company and on other days it was just a few good friends but the core of our friends that stayed late to close out the night (or morning) were my cousins David and Dolores Robles, and close friends Sergio and Denise Billings, Mike Teran and Ken Robledo. There were others that came and went but this was the core. We would bring out any and all chairs and sit around the grill and talk about life and the future, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying a little and sometimes even arguing. All the while it was Merle Haggard and the boys in the background taking us through the night.
These are the days and nights and friends that come to mind whenever I hear Merle Haggard on the radio. I own many of his CD's but there is still something special about hearing one of your favorite songs or artist on the radio, even if you have all his CD's.
This song “If We Make it Through December” always reminds me of those early, hard, lean times my wife and I had so long ago. The man has been made silent now but his music remains with us.
When Jeri and I moved into our first home together on Newlin Avenue in Whittier, in February of 1978, it seems like we were having a party every other weekend. We had a big backyard, so it wasn't a problem. We brought the record player outside, the BBQ grill and plenty of meat to grill, a keg of beer, sometimes two, maybe some Jack Daniels and/or some tequila, and all the albums we owned at the time. Our friends brought their own music too.
Sometimes the parties got a little out of hand and the cops would come and shut us down, at other times they lasted into the wee hours of the early morning. Sometimes the neighbors complained but more often than not they would walk through the gate and join in. We listened to a lot of different music, mostly rock, oldies and Motown but in the very late hours when we were doing our most serious drinking it was Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr. and Merle Haggard. It was Merle Haggard that seemed to reach me the most. His music was so relevant to those things that were going on in my own life, good and bad.
On some days we had a lot of company and on other days it was just a few good friends but the core of our friends that stayed late to close out the night (or morning) were my cousins David and Dolores Robles, and close friends Sergio and Denise Billings, Mike Teran and Ken Robledo. There were others that came and went but this was the core. We would bring out any and all chairs and sit around the grill and talk about life and the future, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying a little and sometimes even arguing. All the while it was Merle Haggard and the boys in the background taking us through the night.
These are the days and nights and friends that come to mind whenever I hear Merle Haggard on the radio. I own many of his CD's but there is still something special about hearing one of your favorite songs or artist on the radio, even if you have all his CD's.
This song “If We Make it Through December” always reminds me of those early, hard, lean times my wife and I had so long ago. The man has been made silent now but his music remains with us.
Wednesday, April 06, 2016
Merle Haggard Has Died (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016)
My wife and I were on the 605 freeway earlier today heading out to the hospital to see my mother when I heard on the radio that Merle Haggard had died. Sad, sad news. He was a favorite of my wife and I.
Merle Haggard might have had his roots in Oklahoma but he was pure Californian. He was born and raised in Bakersfield. Merle Haggard wrote and sang his songs to and for the American working man and all that went with that: marriage, raising kids, hard drinking, friendships and a life time of working with ones hands. He seemed to have an innate understanding of all of it and this is what connected him to his fans.
Jeri and I saw Merle Haggard in concert three times over the years. The first was at an outdoor concert in the summer of 1982 at the Chino Downs Ranch in Chino, California. The second time was a few years later at Universal Studios during the mid 1980's. The last time we saw Merle Haggard was at the Pechanga Hotel and Casino in Temecula, California in 2010, courtesy of our daughter Meranda, when she gave us two tickets as a Christmas gift in December of 2009. All three concerts were great but this last concert was the most intimate and satisfying of the three. He really connected with the crowd that night. Haggard was an amazing entertainer. We had hopes of seeing him one last time. We will miss him.
Today was also his 79th birthday. R.I.P. Merle Haggard and thank you for sharing your music with us.
The photo below was taken by Jeri at the Chino Downs Ranch concert in 1982.
Merle Haggard might have had his roots in Oklahoma but he was pure Californian. He was born and raised in Bakersfield. Merle Haggard wrote and sang his songs to and for the American working man and all that went with that: marriage, raising kids, hard drinking, friendships and a life time of working with ones hands. He seemed to have an innate understanding of all of it and this is what connected him to his fans.
Jeri and I saw Merle Haggard in concert three times over the years. The first was at an outdoor concert in the summer of 1982 at the Chino Downs Ranch in Chino, California. The second time was a few years later at Universal Studios during the mid 1980's. The last time we saw Merle Haggard was at the Pechanga Hotel and Casino in Temecula, California in 2010, courtesy of our daughter Meranda, when she gave us two tickets as a Christmas gift in December of 2009. All three concerts were great but this last concert was the most intimate and satisfying of the three. He really connected with the crowd that night. Haggard was an amazing entertainer. We had hopes of seeing him one last time. We will miss him.
Today was also his 79th birthday. R.I.P. Merle Haggard and thank you for sharing your music with us.
The photo below was taken by Jeri at the Chino Downs Ranch concert in 1982.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Thursday, December 11, 2014
The Way I Am by Merle Haggard
The Way I Am by Merle Haggard. The song, the words and the feelings it evokes are so personal to me. This is one of my all time favorite Merle Haggard songs.
Saturday, December 06, 2014
I wish Things Were Simple Again by Merle Haggard
A lot going on in the world right now. "I wish things were simple again" by Merle Haggard
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