Merle Haggard recorded a ton of big songs over many decades. What makes this important, it dares to ask a question I think we've all silently asked at one time another when faced with an overwhelming challenge, like the pandemic or 911. When this was out a few things were happening. An ongoing brutal recession with jobs being lost rapidly and forever. Many people were really hurting and needed a voice and this spoke directly to them. The Big City album where this is from was a new and reinvented Haggard and was a big commercial and critical success. This addresses the loss of much that was once perceived as good, and then facing the new, is it better? But this pivots hard and ends as a song of hope that fans gravitated to. Much of the feel of what Haggard is singing about has been relatable a few times since, namely subsequent recessions and even the pandemic and 911 with all of us feeling big loss during those times. I get it, this song is very slow tempo, is sad at times by an artist not played anymore. But Merle reminds us that life is not always a party, and there are times for rallying words. Granted some here sound dated but time marches on in music. This #2 hit - Was an anthem for hard times.
