Which Merle Haggard song, co-written with Roy Edward Burris, became a controversial 1969 country hit?

Merle Haggard’s “Okie from Muskogee,” co-written with Roy Edward Burris, became a controversial 1969 country hit.

Haggard and Burris wrote the song as a portrait of a fictional conservative small-town American who contrasts his values with the counterculture associated with the late 1960s. The narrator praises conventional behavior and criticizes protests, drug use, and long hair. Because the song’s tone can sound both celebratory and satirical, listeners have long debated whether it should be heard as a sincere anthem, a character study, or a mixture of both.

Capitol Records released the recording in 1969. It became one of Haggard’s best-known songs and reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart. The song’s title refers to Muskogee, Oklahoma, though Haggard did not grow up there.

It is often confused with “The Fightin’ Side of Me,” another Haggard hit associated with patriotism and political identity. “Mama Tried,” by contrast, is primarily an autobiographical account of Haggard’s childhood and youthful troubles.