Top 20 Merle Haggard Songs: Sing Me Back Home (#1)

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And now for my number one, all-time favorite Merle Haggard song. There's nothing even close to this one in my personal taste. #1: Sing Me Back Home Set on death row, a condemned man has a final request: "sing me back home with a song I used hear, make my old memories come alive, take me away and turn back the years. Sing me back home before I die." Haggard based the song on a friend of his in San Quentin who was executed after killing a guard during an escape attempt. The picture Hag paints is vivid and somber: "the warden led a prisoner down the hallway to his doom, and I stood up to say goodbye like all the rest." That gets your attention immediately. More than a song about a prisoner asking for a final song before he meets his Maker, "Sing Me Back Home" also speaks to the incredible power of music. "Take me away and turn back the years" doesn't have to be the words from the lips of a prisoner. We've all had songs that "made our old memories come alive," whether they remind us of a departed family member, an old love, or a great vacation. So many times in my life Merle Haggard sang me back home. Here's hoping that a favorite singer or band sings you back home frequently, too. Thanks, Hag. Sing Me Back Home Written by Merle Haggard From Sing Me Back Home, 1967