49 min listen
CR005 - Breaking Down Merle Haggard's "Okie from Muskogee"
CR005 - Breaking Down Merle Haggard's "Okie from Muskogee"
ratings:
Length:
66 minutes
Released:
Nov 21, 2017
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
The song was just what so many Americans needed at the time, in 1969. Conservatives needed someone to stand up and defend small town, traditional values. Politicians needed someone to justify America's continuing involvement in the Vietnam War. Oklahomans needed someone to redeem the meaning of the word "okie," a hateful slur that arose from The Great Depression.
The only thing is, Merle Haggard wasn't doing any of those things when he wrote the song.
Then what the exact hell was he doing, you ask?
Maybe things will become a little bit more clear once you know what Merle Haggard knew about Herbert Hoover, The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl, okies and satire. Maybe.
This episode is also recommended if you like: Gram Parsons, Ray Wylie Hubbard and the Revisionist History podcast.
Source
The only thing is, Merle Haggard wasn't doing any of those things when he wrote the song.
Then what the exact hell was he doing, you ask?
Maybe things will become a little bit more clear once you know what Merle Haggard knew about Herbert Hoover, The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl, okies and satire. Maybe.
This episode is also recommended if you like: Gram Parsons, Ray Wylie Hubbard and the Revisionist History podcast.
Source
Released:
Nov 21, 2017
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (34)
Ernest Tubb: The Texas Defense: In Texas, there's a legal defense known locally as the He Needed Killin' Defense, aka Justifiable Homicide. Ernest Tubb, one of the most beloved figures in country music, could have used it when he tried to shoot Jim Denny in 1957. by Cocaine & Rhinestones: The History of Country Music