Slyboots from Muskogee

My confederate Billy Silvermen advised me some time ago how fine Merle Haggard’s interviews are. To the singular Mr. Silvermen I say, Quite so!

Q: In the Vietnam era, you, or at least your songs, seemed more aligned with the more conservative folks.
A: Well, now, wait a minute. I open my shows by saying, "Good evening, friends and conservatives." Listen, I was raised in a family that voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and he was a Democrat. My grandpa was a hard-nosed Republican, and he voted for Dewey when Truman ran. I'm Merle Haggard, and I believe in backing the commander-in-chief. I don't agree with him. There's a lot of things he did that I don't like and a lot of things he didn't do that I don't understand. But I'm not in a position to criticize, because I don't have all the facts. And they're certainly not going to give 'em to me.

More from Merle hereabouts.