•
Rating: "A chicken wire fence!"
The image of the amazed and intrigued exclamation from the Blues Brothers' saxophonist in front of the stage set for the concert at Bob's country bar, caught between disbelief, worry, and amusement, is the first thing this CD brought to my mind.
Those who are fond of John Landis's legendary film can hardly forget the hilarious sequence of the Blues Brothers performing their blues repertoire protected by a chicken wire fence while the club's audience, impatient because the band wasn't playing country music, threw hundreds of beer bottles at them.
Even before inserting the CD into the player, the booklet takes the listener inside one of these venues, in a world that, for me, is as fascinating as few others: that of the honky-tonk.
These are precisely those places often seen in American movies, and of which the vast American countryside is indeed abundant. They are all those bars with a relative stage where, in the evening, the working class gathered to drink beer and listen to music after a hard day's work.
The world's largest honky-tonk, Billy Bob's Texas, is the stage for this exhilarating performance by Merle Haggard, one of the great old figures in the stars and stripes music scene.
With 40 songs that reached the number one spot on the Billboard charts, in addition to a vast number of songs that entered the charts over more than forty years, Merle Haggard fully deserves the hyperbolic phrases written in the booklet, claiming that very few artists can boast such marked importance for the history and evolution of this musical genre.
Listening to the CD is faithful proof of this. In a truly warm and at times exhilarating atmosphere, the Californian singer-songwriter revisits a small part of his countless great hits from the '60s and '70s, with an arrangement very faithful to the original recordings but refreshed here and there to update the sound to new millennium standards.
The opening medley "Running Kind-I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" harkens back to outlaw music, as does his rendition of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues". There are numerous ballads, including the stunning "Kern River", "Farmer's Daughter", and "Footlights", the classics "Runaway Mama", "Rainbow Stew", "Fighting Side of Me", and many more. With truly excellent audio quality.
For lovers of the most genuine country, absolutely not to be missed.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink (03:56)
Could be holding you tonight
Could quit doing wrong,start right
You don't care about what I think
I think I'll just stay here and drink
Hey, putting you down won't square the deal
A least you'll know the way I feel
Hey, take all the money in the bank
I think I'll just stay here and drink
Hey, listen close so you can hear
That loud jukebox playing in my ear
Ain't no woman gonna change the way I think
I think I'll just stay here and drink
Hey, hurtin' me know don't mean a thing
Since love ain't here I don't feel a thing
My mind ain't nothing but a total blank
I think I'll just stay here and drink
04 Silver Wings (04:02)
Silver wings shinning in the sunlight,
roaring engines headed somewhere in flight.
Their taking you away, leaving me lonley,
silver wings slowly fading out of sight.
Don't leave me i cry, 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,
roaring engines headed somewhere in flight.
Their taking you away, leaving me lonley.
silver wings slowley fading out of sight.
Silver wings shining in the sunlight,
roaring engines headed somewhere in flight,
their taking you away. Leaving me lonley.
Silver wings slowley fading out of sight.
Slowley fading out of sight.
05 Swinging Doors (03:07)
This old smoke filled bar is something I'm not used to
But if gave up my home to see you satisfied
And I just called to let you know where I'll be living
It's not much but I feel welcome here inside
And I've got swinging doors a jukebox and a barstool
And my new home has got a flashing neon sign
Stop by and see me anytime you want to
Cause I'm always here at home till closing time
I've got everything I need to drive me crazy
I've got everything it takes to lose my mind
And in here the atmosphere's just right for heartaches
And thanks to you I'm always here till closing time
And I've got swinging doors a jukebox and a barstool
And my new home has got a flashing neon sign
Stop by and see me anytime you want to
Cause I'm always here at home till closing time
Yeah, I'm always here at home till closing time
06 That's the Way Love Goes (03:04)
I've been throwing horseshoes
Over my left shoulder
I've spent most all my life
Searching for that four-leafed clover
Yet you ran with me,
Chasing my rainbows
And honey I love you, too
that's the way love goes.
That's the way love goes, babe
That's the music God made
For all the world to sing
Its never old; it grows
Losing makes me sorry
well now, "Honey, don't worry."
dont u kno i love u too
that's the way love goes.
thats the way love goes babe
thats the music god made
for all the world to sing
it's never old it grows
losin makes me sorry
you say, honey i dont worry
i love you too
thats the way love goes
07 The Bottle Let Me Down (04:38)
Each night I leave the bar room when it's over
Not feeling any pain at closing time
But tonight your memory found me much too sober
Couldn't drink enough to keep you off my mind
Tonight the bottle let me down
And let your memory come around
The one true friend I thought I'd found
Tonight the bottle let me down
I've always had a bottle I could turn to
And lately I've been turnin' every day
But the wine don't take effect the way it used to
And I'm hurtin' in old familiar ways
Tonight the bottle let me down
and let your memory come around
The one true friend I thought I'd found
Tonight the bottle let me down
Tonight the bottle let me down
08 Ramblin' Fever (04:34)
(Lyrics)
My hat don't hang on the same nail too long
My ears can't stand to hear the same old song
And I don't leave the highway long enough
To bog down in the mud,
I've got ramblin fever in my blood
I caught this ramblin fever long ago
When I first heard a lonesome whistle blow
If someone said I ever gave a damn,
They damn sure told you wrong
I've had ramblin' fever all along
(Chorus)
Ramblin' Fever
The kind that can't be measured by degrees
Ramblin' Fever
There ain't no kind of cure for my disease
(Lyrics)
There's times I like to lay down on the sofa
And let some pretty lady rub my back
Spend the early morning drinking coffee
Talkin' about when I'll be comin' back
'Cause I don't let no woman tie me down
And I'll never get too old to get around
I wanna die along the highway and rot away
Like some old highline pole
Rest this ramblin fever in my soul
(Chorus)
09 The Emptiest Arms in the World (03:01)
THE EMPTIEST ARMS IN THE WORLD
(Merle Haggard)
« © '73 Tree Publishing, BMI »
I only call when I've had that one too many
And my lonely room goes spinning in a whirl
And tonight I couldn't even find my pillow
I've got the emptiest arms in the world
I no longer wear the gold band on my finger
And from time to time I find myself a girl
But when I realize that she's not who I'm holding
I've got the emptiest arms in the world
Empty arms won't ever hold you close again
And these cheap hotels they're like a prison cell that keeps closin' in
And you alone can fill this lonely feelin' of the emptiest arms in the world
And you alone can fill this empty feelin' of the emptiest arms in the world
10 Mama Tried (02:27)
The first thing I remember knowing,
Was a lonesome whistle blowing,
And a young un's dream of growing up to ride;
On a freight train leaving town,
Not knowing where I'm bound,
No-one could change my mind but Mama tried.
One and only rebel child,
From a family, meek and mild:
My Mama seemed to know what lay in store.
Despite all my Sunday learning,
Towards the bad, I kept on turning.
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore.
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing 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 'cos Mama tried.
Instrumental break.
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul,
Left my Mom a 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.
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing 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 'cos Mama tried.
11 Hungry Eyes (03:36)
A canvas covered cabin in a crowded labour camp
Stand out in this memory I revived;
Cause my daddy raised a family there, with two hard working hands
And tried to feed my mama's hungry eyes.
He dreamed of something better, and my mama's faith was strong
And us kids were just to young to realize
That another class of people put us somewhere just below;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.
Mama never had the luxuries she wanted
But it wasn't cause my daddy didn't try.
She only wanted things she really needed;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.
I remember daddy praying for a better way of life
But I don't recall a change of any size;
Just a little loss of courage, as their age began to show
And more sadness in my mama's hungry eyes.
Mama never had the luxuries she wanted
But it wasn't cause my daddy didn't try.
She only wanted things she really needed;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.
Oh, I still recall my mama's hungry eyes.
13 If We Make It Through December (02:56)
If we make it through December
Everythings gonna be all right I know
It's the coldest time of winter
And I shivver when I see the fallin snow
If we make it through December
I got plans of bein in a warmer town come summer time
Maybe even California
If we make it through December we'll be fine
I got laid off down at the factory
And there time is not the greatest in the world
Heaven knows I been workin' hard
I wanted Christmas to be right for daddy's girl
Now I don't mean to hate December
It's meant to be the happy time of year
And my little girl don't understand
Why daddy can't afford no Christmas tree
If we make it through December
Everythings gonna be alright I know
It's the coldest time of winter
And I shivver when I see the fallin' snow
If we make it through December
I got plans of bein' in a warmer town come summer time
Maybe even California
If we make it through December we'll be fine
15 Okie From Muskogee (03:01)
We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;
We don't take no trips on LSD
We don't burn no draft cards down on Main Street;
We like livin' right, and bein' free.
I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all
We don't make a party out of lovin';
We like holdin' hands and pitchin' woo;
We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy,
Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.
And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball.
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin'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.
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.
16 Big City (03:15)
I'm tired of this dirty old city.
Entirely too much work and never enough play.
And I'm tired of these dirty old sidewalks.
Think I'll walk off my steady job today.
Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free.
Been working everyday since I was twenty.
Haven't got a thing to show for anything I've done.
There's folks who never work and they've got plenty.
Think it's time some guys like me had some fun.
Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free.
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By jerome wilder
"I still recall my mama’s hungry eyes" - a poignant nod to poverty, dignity, and maternal strength.
The concert is "a beautiful journey, sometimes melancholic, other times very lively, through the most authentic country music, the one with a true soul."
