Tag Archives: Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard- A Great Californian

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Who isn’t sad about the passing of the great Merle Haggard?T

“The first thing I remember knowin’ was a lonesome whistle blowin’,

  • And a youngun’s 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 Momma Tried.
  • One and only Rebel child from a fam’ly meek and mild
  • My momma seemed to to know what lay in store,
  • ‘Spite all my Sunday learnin’ towards the bad I kept on turnin’,
  • ‘Til momma couldn’t hold me anymore.
  • And I turned twenty-one in prison doin’ life without parole,
  • No one could steer me right but Momma Tried, Momma Tried
  • Momma Tried to raise me better but her pleading I denied
  • And that leaves only me to blame, cause Momma Tried
  • Dear ole’ daddy, rest his soul left my mom a heavy load,
  • She tried so very hard to feel his shoes,
  • Workin’ hours without rest, wanted me to have the best
  • She tried to raise me right but I refused.
  • And I turned twenty-one in prison doin’ life without parole,
  • No one could steer me right but Momma Tried, Momma Tried
  • Momma Tried to raise me better but her pleading I denied
  • And that leaves only me to blame, cause Momma Tried”

This song is pretty near perfect.  Merle, you will be missed. Happy trails.

On The Cover Of Rolling Stone

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Last Christmas my present to myself was a subscription to Rolling Stone. I hadn’t had a subscription to it since 1967 when the first issue came out. My then-roommate and I were early adopters.  We’d sit in the Coop at the UC Davis campus, ostentatiously flashing our copies of RS. I kind of gave up on them when they moved to New York but I was wrong. They have since become a major force in American journalism, with a million and a half subscribers.

So, a year later, here’s my notice to resubscribe.  Will I?  Oh hell yeah.  In recent months, along with the now-discredited story about the rape culture at UV, they’ve covered climate change in depth.  Bernie Sanders is on the cover this week and the last issue had in-depth coverage of Adele, Buddy Guy and Martin O’Malley.  Matt Taibbi is a noted pundit who frequently shows up on CNN or MSNBC.  But what I enjoy most is the trivia.  Here’s an example: Johnny Cash,  Willlie Nelson and Merle Haggard were best friends for years. Did you know that Johnny Cash’s friends never called him “Johnny’? It was always “John”.

To me that’s worth a few bucks.  Actually, the intro rate is usually $20 a year; for renewals you pay about $30 but you get a second subscription for free.  YMMV. Study hard.

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