20. He Wishes He Was Santa Claus

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Introduction. “Silver Wings”: Kansas City, Missouri, September 14, 2001 1
4. 1. “Hungry Eyes,” 1969 9
5. 2. The Roots of His Raising 12
6. 3. “Mama Tried,” 1968 30
7. 4. Toward the Bad He Kept on Turnin’ 32
8. 5. He Loves Them So: A Playlist of Early Influences 45
9. 6. “Leonard,” 1981 66
10. 7. The Bakersfield Sound and Fury 70
11. 8. Someone Told His Story in a Song 82
12. 9. “I Started Loving You Again,” 1968 92
13. 10. The Legend of Bonnie and Him 96
14. 11. “Sing Me Back Home,” 1967 102
15. 12. They Won’t Let His Secret Go Untold 107
16. 13. He’s Living in the Good Old Days: Countrypolitan, Country Soul, Country Rock 117
17. 14. “Workin’ Man Blues,” 1969 133
18. 15. He Likes Living Right and Being Free 136
19. 16. “Irma Jackson,” 1969 149
20. 17. His Fightin’ Side 153
21. 18. He’d Rather Be Gone 165
22. 19. “It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad),” 1972 173
23. 20. He Wishes He Was Santa Claus 174
24. 21. Merle Loves Dolly 179
25. 22. Songs He’ll Always Sing 182
26. 23. He Takes a Lot of Pride in What He Is (Hint: He’s a White Boy) 194
27. 24. “A Working Man Can’t Get Nowhere Today,” 1977 203
28. 25. His Country Girl with Hot Pants On 205
29. 26. He’s Always on a Mountain When He Falls 210
30. 27. “Rainbow Stew,” 1981 227
31. 28. He Wishes a Buck Was Still Silver (Not Really) and Likes the Taste of Yesterday’s Wine (Really) 229
32. 29. “Kern River,” 1985 242
33. 30. He’s Going Where the Lonely Go 244
34. 31. “Me and Crippled Soldiers,” 1990 252
35. 32. The Hag versus the Man in Black 255
36. 33. He’ll Never Be Gone? Merle Haggard in the Twenty- First Century 266
37. 34. “If I Could Only Fly,” 2001 282
38. Epilogue. Cuba, Missouri: July 15, 2010 284
39. Selected Discography 287
40. Acknowledgments 292
41. Selected Bibliography 294
42. Index 303