The Fightin' Side of Me
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| “The Fightin' Side of Me” | |||||
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| Single by Merle Haggard from the album The Fightin' Side of Me |
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| Released | January 1970 (U.S.) | ||||
| Format | 7" | ||||
| Recorded | December 23, 1969 (studio version) | ||||
| Genre | Country | ||||
| Length | 2:52 (studio version) 3:11 (live version) |
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| Label | Capitol Records 2719 | ||||
| Writer(s) | Merle Haggard | ||||
| Merle Haggard singles chronology | |||||
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"The Fightin' Side of Me" is an American country music song performed by its writer, Merle Haggard. Released in 1970 as the follow-up to "Okie from Muskogee", the song became one of the most famous of his career.
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[edit] Song background
Like "Okie from Muskogee," "The Fightin' Side of Me" cashed in on the working-man's conservative values and politics; Bill Janovitz of All Music Guide called the song "patriotic (if not outrightly jingoistic)."[1]
Here, the singer fills the role of a man frustrated with people deriding the country, particularly those who are "harpin' on the wars we fight" and "runnin' down my countrymen," perhaps a reference to the then-ongoing Vietnam War. People who do this, claims the singer, are "walkin' on the fightin' side of me" and warns them that "if you don't love it, leave it."
Session personnel included Roy Nichols and Tommy Collins on guitar, bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Sam Goldstein.
[edit] Chart performance and popularity
Like its predecessor "Okie from Muskogee," "The Fightin' Side of Me" immediately broke in popularity when released in January 1970. The song eventually reached No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart, where it remained for three weeks. It also charted in the lower regions of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In addition to the studio version of the song, a live version of "The Fightin' Side of Me" was issued as part of Haggard's live album of the same name.
[edit] Awards
In 1970, "The Fightin' Side of Me" was nominated for Song of the Year and Single of the Year by the Country Music Association. The song did not win either award, with it losing the Single award to "Okie from Muskogee."[2]
[edit] Sources
[edit] References
- ^ [1] Janovitz, Bill, "Okie from Muskogee" at All Music Guide
- ^ [2] Country Music Association Awards Database — Merle Haggard.
[edit] See also
- Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs: 1944-2005," 2006.
[edit] Succession
| Preceded by "It's Just a Matter of Time" by Sonny James |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number one single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers March 14-March 28, 1970 |
Succeeded by "Tennessee Birdwalk" by Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan |
