Mama Tried (song)
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| “Mama Tried” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Merle Haggard from the album Mama Tried |
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| Released | July 1968 (U.S.) | ||||
| Format | 7" | ||||
| Recorded | May 9, 1968 | ||||
| Genre | Country | ||||
| Length | 2:12 | ||||
| Label | Capitol Records 2219 | ||||
| Writer(s) | Merle Haggard | ||||
| Merle Haggard singles chronology | |||||
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"Mama Tried" is an American country music song written and recorded by Merle Haggard. Released in 1968, the song became one of the cornerstone songs of his career.
Contents |
[edit] Background
In Mama Tried, Haggard focuses on the pain and suffering he caused his own mother by being incarcerated in 1957 in San Quentin.[1]
However, the song is not literally autobiographical, as many country music historians point out. While writer Bill Malone's assessment of the song is in agreement with Ace Collins' (referring to his own experiences that saw him sentenced to prison), Malone points out that Haggard never was sentenced to "life without parole," as the protagonist in the song was[2], nor was he an "only child."[3] Still the song's lyrics, and the protagonist's experiences, are heavily influenced by Haggard's early life.
Additionally, All Music Guide writer Bill Janovitz notes Haggard's lyrics are sympathetic to his mother, who tried everything in her power to rehabilitate her rebel son. But, as the lyrics point out, "In spite of all my Sunday learning, towards the bad I kept on turning/'Til mama couldn't hold me anymore"; thus, the observation, "I turned 21 in prison doin' life without parole."[4]
Malone notes that Mama Tried "recalls for us the 1960s California honky tonk and the Merle Haggard sound of those years, featuring the searing electric guitar of Roy Nichols."[5]
[edit] Chart performance
Released in July 1968, Mama Tried became Haggard's fifth No. 1 song on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in August. The song spent four weeks at No. 1, and was his biggest hit to that time.
[edit] In popular culture
Haggard's version of Mama Tried was on the soundtrack of the 1968 film Killers Three, a film which featured his acting debut.
The words Mama Tried - referring to the song - are shown on Miranda Lambert's shirt in several scenes of the music video Kerosene.
The song was featured in the 2008 horror film The Strangers. The song plays loudly on a record player.
[edit] Cover versions
The Grateful Dead covered the song regularly, playing it over 300 times live throughout their career.
Joan Baez covered the song in 1969, though her version went unreleased until it was included on her 1993 boxed set Rare, Live & Classic.
The Everly Brothers covered the song on their 1968 album Roots.
The song has been a live standard for Texas alt-country band Old 97's for their entire career, and was recorded for their debut album.
American Oi! band Forced Reality covered the song. It appears on their Unheard, Unreleased, and Under the Boot compilation.
[edit] Succession
| Preceded by Already It's Heaven by David Houston |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number one single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers August 31-September 21, 1968 |
Succeeded by Harper Valley PTA by Jeannie C. Riley |
[edit] Sources
[edit] References
- ^ Collis, Ace, The Stories Behind Country Music's All-Time Greatest: 100 Songs, Berkley Publishing Group, New York, 1996, p. 198-200. (ISBN 1-57297-072-3)
- ^ Malone, Bill, The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Country Music ((booklet included with The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Country Music 8-volume set). Smithsonian Institution, 1981).
- ^ [1] Janovitz, Bill, Mama Tried at All Music Guide
- ^ ibid.
- ^ Malone.
[edit] See also
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005," 2006.
