Sharp Notes Monday: ‘Okie from Muskogee’

By Jandoli Institute on July 24, 2023 • ( 0 )

Long before Jason Aldean ignited controversy with “Try That In A Small Town” and the song’s accompanying video, another country star sang about what he found disturbing in America.

Merle Haggard’s “Oakie from Muskogee,” co-written with Roy Edward Burris in1969, took aim at Vietnam protesters, long-haired hippies and a cultural shift that was rattling the nation.

“We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee. We don’t take our trips on LSD,” Haggard declared in the song’s opening lines.

The lyrics, much like those in “Try That In A Small Town,” painted a picture of contrasts.

In Muskogee, people don’t burn draft cards, engage in free love or wear beads and sandals. Instead, they fly the American flag, hold hands and wear leather boots in “a place where even squares can have a ball.”

Haggard’s song rubbed some people the wrong way, but the overall reaction – even from the types of folks chastised in the lyrics – was more amusement than anger.

Performers such as the Grateful Dead, the Beach Boys, Phil Ochs, recorded cover versions. Other entertainers wrote parodies. Among them were the Youngbloods’ “Hippie From Olema” and David Peel and The Lower East Side Band’s “Hippie From New York City.”

“He does not position the protagonist as angry, reactionary, or judgmental; it is more that the guy, a self-confessed ‘square,’ is confused by such changes and with a chuckle comes to the conclusion that he and his ilk have the right sort of life for themselves,” Allmusic writer Bill Janovitz explained in a review of the song.

The protagonist in Aldean’s song is a much different person, which in part explains the reaction he is receiving. Also, to paraphrase Dylan, the times have changed. The nation is even more polarized today, and social media amplifies the polarization.

Instead of arguing and posting mems and GIFs, take a break from your phone and give the late Merle Haggard a listen.