Merle Haggard Goes Solo

On January 20, country music legend Merle Haggard appeared on Ring of Fire, the Air America Radio program hosted by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Mike Papantonio.

Host Mike Papantonio: Today we welcome the great Merle Haggard, a country music star who has been called a poet for the common man.
The Dixie Chicks paid a great tribute to you. They had a song called Long Time Gone that’s pretty critical of Nashville. It’s a tribute to you, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, that whole Bakersfield Outlaw Country Era. They talk about the dumbing down of music. You had a lot to say, didn’t you Mr. Haggard?

Merle Haggard: Well I thought you were supposed to try to say a lot. You know, that’s what I thought America was about. I thought it was about poetry and stories, opinions and music. Then it became about the soap opera and the love affairs. Our brand of freedom in the old days was far superior to what’s been happening now.

Pap: Your song from Rebuild America First, that’s exactly what you are talking about isn’t it?

Merle: I think that we need to reexamine the Constitution. You know, my brother was a Marine who fought in Okinawa and Iwo Jima. My cousin was a Marine who fought in Korea. When I was 14 years old I tried to enlist and they called me in but they didn’t take me. But our family has always been very red, white and blue.

Pap: When you listen to Merle Haggard you can listen to the words and you hear a story. You have a great line on your album Chicago Wind. It’s a simple line: “Where’s all the freedom that we’re fighting for?” I’ve always thought of you as a patriot.

Merle: Absolutely, I believe in what I put on my records. I’ve been totally wrong in some of my songs over the years. But I think Iraq, and in retrospect the Vietnam War, are mistakes that we shouldn’t have been involved with. It’s about money. It’s about oil. Things are not as they should be. But we can fix the problem. Playing music for a living is a great privilege, but I have gotten really into promoting green energy and solar power.

Pap: You’ve always been a champion of the working class. Do you think that this has something to do with that?

Merle: Well absolutely, if nothing else it will lower people’s power bill. It will put a lot of men to work in good jobs. You could plug your electric car right into the front of your house to get cheap solar power. Or you can zero your power bill out and do it yourself on top of your roof. Solar power eliminates a lot of the emission problems into the air and it protects the environment. Green power should be something everybody is at least aware of. I don’t see that there’s anything else more important.

Pap: Why hasn’t government jumped in to do this?

Merle: This won’t come from government, and its not going to come from the oil companies. It’s going to come from people like me. I’m going to find out who’s building the best solar collector in the world. And I’m going to put my name on it.

Pap: I’m glad to hear that, Mr. Haggard, because a solar panel with your name on it is going to go a whole lot further with many Americans than having a government product out here.

Merle: We’re going to try to be the Jimmy Dean of solar power. I can’t see any harm in putting solar power on the roofs of people who are paying through the nose for power. I am going to do everything I can to bring the cost of the installation down. Also, the rebates should be higher for people that do it and get off the grid. I can’t see why anybody in this United States would not get behind green energy and solar power at this moment.