The Fightin' Side of Me

1970 single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

"The Fightin' Side of Me"

Single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

from the album The Fightin' Side of Me

B-side

"Every Fool Has a Rainbow"

Released

January 26, 1970

Recorded

December 23, 1969 (studio version)

Genre

Country

Length

2:52 (studio version)
3:11 (live version)

Label

Capitol 2719

Songwriter(s)

Merle Haggard

Producer(s)

Ken Nelson

Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology

"Okie from Muskogee"
(1969)

"The Fightin' Side of Me"
(1970)

"Street Singer"
(1970)

"The Fightin' Side of Me" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in January 1970 as the first single and title track from the album The Fightin' Side of Me. The song became one of the most famous of his career.

In reference to his own 2002 song, "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)," Toby Keith once called this song "the original Angry American song."

Content

Like "Okie from Muskogee," "The Fightin' Side of Me" catered to the conservative working-man's values and politics; Bill Janovitz of Allmusic 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," a reference to the then-ongoing Vietnam War.^[2] 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."

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 reached No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart, where it remained for three weeks.^[3] 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.

Chart (1970)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[4]	1
US Billboard Hot 100^[5]	92
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

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."^[6]

References

^ Janovitz, Bill, "Okie from Muskogee" at Allmusic
^ Ace Collins, Songs Sung Red, White and Blue, New York: Harper Collins, 2003, pp. 75-79.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 146.
^ "Merle Haggard Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
^ "Merle Haggard Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ Merle Haggard Archived 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine - Country Music Association Awards Database

Strangers
Swinging Doors ‡
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive ‡
Branded Man ‡
Sing Me Back Home ‡
The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde ‡
Mama Tried ‡
Pride in What I Am ‡
Same Train, a Different Time ‡
A Portrait of Merle Haggard ‡
A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills) ‡
Hag ‡
Someday We'll Look Back ‡
Let Me Tell You About a Song ‡
It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) ‡
If We Make It Through December ‡
Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album ‡
Keep Movin' On ‡
It's All in the Movies ‡
My Love Affair with Trains ‡
The Roots of My Raising ‡
Ramblin' Fever
A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today ‡
My Farewell to Elvis
I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall
Serving 190 Proof
The Way I Am
Back to the Barrooms
Big City
Going Where the Lonely Go
That's the Way Love Goes
It's All in the Game
Kern River
Out Among the Stars
A Friend in California
Chill Factor
5:01 Blues
Blue Jungle
1994
1996
If I Could Only Fly
Roots, Volume 1
The Peer Sessions
Haggard Like Never Before
Unforgettable
Chicago Wind
The Bluegrass Sessions
I Am What I Am
Working in Tennessee

Compilations

Songs I'll Always Sing
Merle Haggard's Greatest Hits
His Epic Hits: The First 11 (To Be Continued...)
Down Every Road 1962–1994
16 Biggest Hits
Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard

Live albums

Okie from Muskogee ‡
The Fightin' Side of Me ‡
I Love Dixie Blues ‡
Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium
The Epic Collection (Recorded Live)
Amber Waves of Grain

Gospel albums

The Land of Many Churches ‡
Songs for the Mama That Tried
Cabin in the Hills
Two Old Friends (with Albert E. Brumley, Jr.)

Holiday albums

Singles

1960s	"Sing a Sad Song" "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" "Swinging Doors" ‡ "The Bottle Let Me Down" ‡ "The Fugitive" ‡ "I Threw Away the Rose" ‡ "Branded Man" ‡ "Sing Me Back Home" ‡ "The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde" ‡ "Mama Tried" ‡ "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" ‡ "Hungry Eyes" ‡ "Workin' Man Blues" ‡ "Okie from Muskogee" ‡
1970s	"The Fightin' Side of Me" ‡ "Jesus, Take a Hold" ‡ "I Can't Be Myself" ‡ "Soldier's Last Letter" ‡ "Someday We'll Look Back" ‡ "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)" ‡ "Carolyn" ‡ "Grandma Harp" ‡ "It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)" ‡ "I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me" ‡ "The Emptiest Arms in the World" ‡ "Everybody's Had the Blues" ‡ "If We Make It Through December ‡" "Things Aren't Funny Anymore" ‡ "Old Man from the Mountain" ‡ "Kentucky Gambler" ‡ "Always Wanting You" ‡ "Movin' On" ‡ "It's All in the Movies" ‡ "The Roots of My Raising" ‡ "Here Comes the Freedom Train" ‡ "Cherokee Maiden" ‡ "If We're Not Back in Love by Monday" "Ramblin' Fever" "A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today" ‡ "From Graceland to the Promised Land" "Running Kind" ‡ "I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall" "It's Been a Great Afternoon" "Red Bandana" "My Own Kind of Hat"
1980s	"The Way I Am" "Misery and Gin" "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" "Leonard" "Rainbow Stew" "My Favorite Memory" "Big City" "Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)" "Going Where the Lonely Go" "You Take Me for Granted" "What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)" "It's All in the Game" "That's the Way Love Goes" "Someday When Things Are Good" "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room" "A Place to Fall Apart" "Kern River" "I Had a Beautiful Time" "A Friend in California" "Almost Persuaded" "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star" "Chill Factor" "We Never Touch at All" "You Babe" "5:01 Blues" "A Better Love Next Time" "If You Want to Be My Woman"

Collaborations

Albums	Just Between the Two of Us (with Bonnie Owens and The Strangers) A Taste of Yesterday's Wine (with George Jones) Pancho & Lefty (with Willie Nelson) Heart to Heart (with Leona Williams) Walking the Line (with George Jones and Willie Nelson) Seashores of Old Mexico (with Willie Nelson) Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again (with George Jones) Last of the Breed (with Willie Nelson and Ray Price) Django & Jimmie (with Willie Nelson)
Singles	"Bar Room Buddies" (with Clint Eastwood) "Yesterday's Wine" (with George Jones) "C.C. Waterback" (with George Jones) "Reasons to Quit" (with Willie Nelson) "Pancho and Lefty" (with Willie Nelson) "Wreck on the Highway" (with Chester Smith)
As guest	"Street Singer" (by The Strangers) "Walking the Floor Over You" (by Ernest Tubb) "Politically Uncorrect" (by Gretchen Wilson)