Enjoy this wonderful song “Mama Tried” written and recorded by Merle Haggard and The Strangers. Released in July 1968, it was the first single and title track from the album Mama Tried. The song became one of the cornerstone songs of Merle’s career. He 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 Merle Haggard’s death. This song is Merle’s story about his sympathy to his mother who tried everything in her power to rehabilitate her rebel son who ended up in jail.
About Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard, in full Merle Ronald Haggard, (born April 6, 1937, Oildale, California, U.S.—died April 6, 2016, near Redding, California), American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, one of the most popular country music performers of the late 20th century, with nearly 40 number one country hits between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s. Haggard won numerous awards from the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music, and in 1984 he captured a Grammy Award for best country vocal performance for “That’s the Way Love Goes.” He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1994) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2007). In 2010 Haggard was named a Kennedy Center honoree. (Source: Britannica.com)
Top Songs of Merle Haggard
- Lovely Merle Haggard & Bonnie Owens Medley: Faded Love / A Maiden’s Prayer
- Merle Haggard & Bonnie Owens – “Just Between the Two of Us”
- Merle Haggard – “The Farmer’s Daughter” [Live from Austin, Texas, USA]
- Beautiful Merle Haggard Song: “What Am I Gonna Do With The Rest Of My Life” Live from Austin, TEXAS
- Merle Haggard “If We Make it Through December” (Live Performance)
- Merle Haggard Classic: “Listening To The Wind” (Live Performance)
- Merle Haggard – “One Day At A Time” (Country Gospel Song)
Mama Tried Lyrics
Merle Haggard
The first thing I remember knowing
Was a lonesome whistle blowing
And a young’un’s dream of growing up to ride
On a freight train leaving town
Not knowing where I’m bound
And no one could change my mind, but Mama tried
One and only rebel child
From a family meek and mild
My mama seemed to know what lay in store
Despite all my Sunday learning
Towards the bad I kept on turning
Till Mama couldn’t hold me anymore
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
No one could steer me right, but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
That leaves only me to blame ’cause Mama tried
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul
Left my mom a heavy load
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Working hours without rest
Wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right, but I refused
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
No one could steer me right, but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
That leaves only me to blame ’cause Mama tried
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Merle Haggard
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Tags: Merle Haggard, Merle Haggard Music , country music, top country music, classic country music
