"Sing Me Back Home" | ||||
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Single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers | ||||
from the album Sing Me Back Home | ||||
Released | November 1967 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 2:51 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | Merle Haggard | |||
Producer(s) | Ken Nelson | |||
Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology | ||||
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"Sing Me Back Home" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in November 1967 as the first single and title track from the album Sing Me Back Home . The song was Merle Haggard and The Strangers third number one. The single spent two weeks at number one and a total of 17 weeks on the country chart. [1] In 2019, Rolling Stone ranked "Sing Me Back Home" No. 32 on its list of the 40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time. [2]
The song was among several notable Haggard songs that touched on a common theme of his 1960s and early 1970s recordings—prison. Haggard himself spent three years at San Quentin State Prison in California for his role in a botched robbery. [3]
"Sing Me Back Home" draws upon Haggard's relationships with two fellow inmates: Caryl Chessman, the "first modern American executed for a non-lethal kidnapping"; [4] and James "Rabbit" Kendrick, who was executed in 1961 for killing a California Highway Patrolman after escaping from prison. [3] [5] [6]
Here, the singer takes the role of an inmate at a state penitentiary, where a condemned prisoner is being led toward the death chamber. The inmate, who regularly plays guitar and sings in his jail cell to pass the time, is asked to perform a final song at the condemned prisoner's request before he and the guards continue on. As the song is completed, he reflects on a church choir's visit to the prison just a week earlier, where members performed hymns for the inmates; one of the songs evoked the soon-to-be-executed prisoner's memories of his mother and carefree childhood ... before his life went wrong.
The Everly Brothers recorded a version of the song for their 1968 album Roots along with another Haggard song, "Mama Tried".
Joan Baez recorded the song, along with another Haggard song, "Mama Tried", in 1969, during sessions for her (I Live) One Day at a Time album, though neither song was included on the final album; they would eventually be released on her 1993 boxed set Rare, Live & Classic.
The Flying Burrito Brothers recorded a version with Gram Parsons singing that never appeared on a studio album but was included in the 1974 compilation, Close up the Honky Tonks. A 1969 live recording by the Byrds, was released on the 2006 box set, There Is a Season .
The Grateful Dead performed the song 38 times in concert between 1971 and 1973. [7]
Alabama recorded their version of the song for a 1994 tribute album titled Mama's Hungry Eyes: A Tribute to Merle Haggard. Prior to recording the song, it was also the first song that Alabama performed on the stage together at a high school talent contest for which they won the first prize and tickets to the Grand Ole Opry.
Marianne Faithfull recorded the song as a collaboration with Keith Richards for her 2008 album Easy Come, Easy Go .
Don Williams has also performed the song. [8]
Richard Shindell performed the song on his 1997 album Reunion Hill. It is not in the track listing, but it appears in full after a pause at the end of the album's last track ("I'll Be Here in the Morning").
Chart (1967–1968) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [9] | 1 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 7 |
Merle Ronald Haggard was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Caryl Whittier Chessman was a convicted robber, kidnapper and serial rapist who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was charged with 17 counts and convicted under a loosely interpreted "Little Lindbergh law" – later repealed, but not retroactively – that defined kidnapping as a capital offense under certain circumstances. His case attracted worldwide attention, and helped propel the movement to end the use of capital punishment in the state of California.
One Day at a Time is the 11th studio album by Joan Baez, released in January 1970. Recorded in Nashville, the album was a continuation of Baez' experimentation with country music, begun with the previous year's David's Album. It is significant in that it was the first to include Baez' own compositions, "Sweet Sir Galahad" and "A Song for David", the former song a ballad for her younger sister Mimi Fariña, and the latter song being for her then-husband, David Harris, at the time in prison as a conscientious objector. One Day at a Time also included work by The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, and Pete Seeger.
Branded Man is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released on Capitol Records in 1967.
"Mama Tried" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in July 1968 as the first single and title track from the album Mama Tried. The song became one of the cornerstone songs of his career. It won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999, and was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry due to its "cultural, historic, or artistic significance" on March 23, 2016, just 14 days before Haggard's death. In 2021, it was ranked at #376 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
"Okie from Muskogee" is a song recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers, which Haggard co-wrote with drummer Roy Edward Burris. "Okie" is a slang name for someone from Oklahoma, and Muskogee is the 11th largest city in the state. The song was released in September 1969 as first single and title track from the album Okie from Muskogee, and was one of the most famous songs of Haggard's career.
Roots is a 1968 studio album by American singing duo the Everly Brothers. Originally on the Warner Bros. label, the album was re-released on CD in 1995 by Warner Bros. and in 2005 by Collectors' Choice Music. The album is a classic example of early country rock.
"Workin' Man Blues" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in May 1969 as the second single from the album A Portrait of Merle Haggard. The song was released during his early peak and became one of several signature songs during his career.
Going Where the Lonely Go is the thirty-fifth studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1982.
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive is the third studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1967.
Mama Tried is the seventh studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released on Capitol Records in 1968. It reached number 4 on Billboard's country albums chart. The title song was one of Haggard's biggest hit singles and won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
Pride in What I Am is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers released in 1969 on Capitol Records.
Sing Me Back Home is the fifth studio album by American country singer and songwriter Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1968 on Capitol Records.
The Fightin' Side of Me is the second live album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1970. Like the song "Okie from Muskogee" led to a quickly released album, The Fightin' Side of Me was also quickly released because of the run of success of Haggard's patriotic hit single "The Fightin' Side of Me".
Keep Movin' On is the eighteenth studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers released in 1975. It reached number one on the Billboard country albums chart. "Movin' On" was a full-length version of a song Haggard recorded as the theme song to the TV series Movin' On.
Songs for the Mama That Tried is a studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard with backing by the Strangers, released in 1981. A gospel album, it reached Number 46 on the Billboard country albums chart.
The Strangers were an American country band that formed in 1966 in Bakersfield, California. They mainly served as the backup band for singer-songwriter Merle Haggard, who named them after his first hit single "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers". In addition to serving as his backing band, members of the Strangers also produced many of Haggard's records, sang lead vocals on select tracks, and co-wrote many of Haggard's songs with him, including the No. 1 singles, "Okie From Muskogee" and "I Always Get Lucky with You".
Songs I'll Always Sing is a two-record compilation album by American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard, released in 1977. It reached No. 15 on the US Country Charts. The album collects many of Haggard's best known recordings during his successful run at Capitol Records, including nine of his twenty-four No. 1 hits, dating back to 1966.
Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium is a live album by American country music artist Merle Haggard with backing by The Strangers. It was recorded in October 1980 and released in July 1981 on MCA Records.
Heart to Heart is a duet album by Merle Haggard and Leona Williams with backing by the Strangers, released in June 1983 on Mercury Records. It reached number 44 on the Billboard Country music chart.