Top 20 Merle Haggard Songs: Big City (#6)

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For a moment my Zevon song countdown and my Haggard song countdown are on the same number! We lost Merle Haggard, a true legend in music, a week ago. I've been counting down my 20 favorite songs of his in remembrance of a remarkable career. #6: Big City The music is a throwback to Bob Wills (Haggard did an entire album of Bob Wills music in the early 70s) with its Western swing feel. The lyrics are something most of us have probably felt at one time or another: tired of the day-to-day grind of work, Haggard sings of leaving it all behind for freedom from the chains of those commitments. Opting to trade the "big city" for "somewhere in the middle of Montana," he's content to leave behind "your retirement and your so-called 'social security.'" This was the first song I played after I heard that Hag had died. The big city has set him free. Big City Written by Merle Haggard and Dean Holloway From Big City, 1982