Songfacts®:

• This song takes a look at the close relationships both Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard had with Johnny Cash. Haggard came up with the idea for the track when they were putting the Django and Jimmie album together. "I ran it by Willie, and he liked it," Haggard said. "It was just some words that I had some chords to, but really not a melody to it."
  
  The project's producer, Buddy Cannon, added: "[Haggard] just had the lyric, and he created the arrangement on the spot. Johnny Cash and Merle, their history goes back. I think the first time Merle saw Johnny Cash, he was an inmate in one of the prison shows that Cash played. They were friends all the way up to the end."
• This homage to the Man in Black features guest vocals from country music singer Bobby Bare.

Comments: 1

• Barry from Sauquoit, NyPer: http://www.oldiesmusic.com/news.htm
  Country star Merle Haggard, whose 1970 tune, "Okie From Muskogee" (#41-Pop, #1-Country, 1970) made him a star, died Wednesday (April 6th, 2016) of pneumonia on his 79th birthday...
  He had been in poor health for quite some time. Born in Bakersfield, California, he spent three years in San Quentin (California) Prison for burglary, starting in 1957. Continuing his love of music upon his release, he became part of the Bakersfield sound popularized by Buck Owens. Merle charted in 1964 on tiny Tally Records with "Sing A Sad Song" (#19 Country) and a year later he was signed to Buck's own label, Capitol. All told, he charted 105 times on the Country charts (12 times on the Pop charts) in 42 years, including crossovers like "The Fighting Side Of Me" (#92-Pop, #1-Country, 1970) and "If We Make It Through December" (#28-Pop, #1-Country, 1973). Merle was granted a full pardon for his early offenses by then-California Governor Ronald Reagan in 1972. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and was granted an honorary doctorate in fine arts by California State University in Bakersfield in 2013...
  May he R.I.P.

More Songfacts:

Oh WellFleetwood Mac

"Oh Well," from their 1960s Peter Green era, is the only Fleetwood Mac song played in concert in every decade they've been extant.

Ring Of FireJohnny Cash

Johnny Cash's wife, June Carter, wrote "Ring Of Fire" about their relationship.

Crocodile RockElton John

Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" borrows a bit from Don McLean's "American Pie." Both songs feature a Chevy, and are about young people who are heartbroken when their music "dies."

IrisThe Goo Goo Dolls

The Goo Goo Dolls got the title for their song "Iris" from a country singer named Iris DeMent.

Ballroom BlitzSweet

Sweet's hit "Ballroom Blitz" was inspired by an incident in 1973 when the band were performing in Scotland and driven offstage by a barrage of bottles.

Everything ZenBush

References to David Bowie, Tom Waits and Allan Ginsburg are peppered into the Bush song "Everything Zen."

Editor's Picks

The Evolution of "Ophelia"Song Writing

How five songs portray Shakespeare's character Ophelia.

Fire On The StageSong Writing

When you have a song called "Fire," it's tempting to set one - these guys did.

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

Butch VigSongwriter Interviews

The Garbage drummer/songwriter produced the Nirvana album Nevermind, and Smashing Pumpkins' Gish and Siamese Dream.