I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am

This article is about the song by Merle Haggard. For the album by Dean Martin, see I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am (album).

"I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"
Single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers
from the album Pride in What I Am
B-side	"Keep Me from Crying Today"
Released	October 14, 1968
Genre	Country
Length	2:47
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Merle Haggard
Producer(s)	Ken Nelson
Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology
"Mama Tried" (1968) "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" (1968) "Hungry Eyes" (1969)

"I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"
Single by Dean Martin
from the album I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am
B-side	Drowning In My Tears [1]
Released	1969
Genre	Country Pop
Label	Reprise
Producer(s)	Jimmy Bowen [1]
Dean Martin singles chronology
"Gentle On My Mind" (1968) "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" (1969) "One Cup of Happiness (and One Piece of Mind)" (1969)

"I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in October 1968 as the only single from his album Pride in What I Am . The song peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. ^[2] It reached number-one on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks in January 1969.

Personnel

• Merle Haggard– vocals, guitar

The Strangers:

• Roy Nichols – guitar, harmonica
• Norman Hamlet – steel guitar
• George French – piano
• Jerry Ward – bass
• Eddie Burris – drums

Meaning

The song is about a poor train-hopping transient, who as the title suggests, celebrates his outcast identity, perseverance and freedom. ^{[3] [4]}

Dean Martin version and background

Dean Martin came back to the charts in 1964 with his hit Everybody Loves Somebody, ^[5] and continued to do well on the charts ever since, with multiple Easy Listening Number ones. By 1969 his comeback cooled down, and that year he recorded "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am", which did better than his previous single "Gentle On My Mind", reaching No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 15 on the Easy Listening chart. It also did very well in Canada, reaching No. 62 there and No. 3 on Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary. After his next single, "One Cup of Happiness (and One Piece of Mind)" did well on the charts too, he recorded his only album that year, I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am, which included both songs.

Other versions

• A tape recorder version of this song was played at the funeral of late Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant.
• Jerry Butler recorded a version too that year, it did modestly in Canada.

Chart performance

Merle Haggard

Chart (1968–1969)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [6]	3
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Dean Martin

Chart (1969)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100 [7]	75
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [8]	15
Canadian RPM Top Singles	62
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary	3
Australian Top Singles	88

Jerry Butler

Chart (1969)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Top Singles	86

References

1. Dean Martin. I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am, 1969. Album details from Discogs Discogs master no. 417559. Archived at Web Archive.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 146.
3. La Chapelle, Peter. Proud to Be an Okie: Cultural Politics, Country Music, and Migration to Southern California. University of California Press, 2007. p. 196. Google Books preview. Archived at Web Archive.
4. Doe, You Wrote My Life, 2007, p. 56. Google Books preview. Archived at Web Archive.
5. "Dean Martin - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
6. "Merle Haggard Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
7. "Dean Martin Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
8. "Dean Martin Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.