Latest Merle Haggard Quotes from Interviews

Quotes about:

• I think we have to have capital punishment, I think there has to be something to contain certain people. Those deterrents I think are necessary, especially in prison. You can threaten people for just so long, but they can flip you off and do what they want to; but not if they have to die. I hate it, though, the thought of the death penalty is terrible, but it's completely necessary.

  Merle Haggard

  Hate, Thinking, People

  Source: www.esquire.com

• Women are God's last creation. You suppose he's saying, "What should I do to follow this?" Well, it's really a head -scratcher. I think women are absolutely wonderful. I think this world is going to be governed by women.

  Merle Haggard

  Thinking, World, Wonderful

  Source: www.esquire.com

• In my life there were a lot of situations where I could have been killed or some officer might have been killed chasing me, a lot of things could be different. Now, you know that's experience you can't buy. And it's there in my rearview mirror and I can refer to it in my writing. I have the experience to talk about things some people only imagine.

  Merle Haggard

  Writing, People, Different

  Source: www.esquire.com

• I just follow my nose, and instead of letting someone run my affairs and probably make me wealthy within a matter of years, I've just kept the board of directors down to zero. I make all the decisions, and they can't all be right, and my lifestyle is very expensive, so that means I have to work a lot. It's the opposite side of the coin from sinking back into the recliner and becoming somebody they bury.

  Merle Haggard

  Running, Mean, Decision

  Source: www.avclub.com

• If I had a choice, and there was a "Y" in the road, I would always take the one that was more fun as opposed to the one that might make me more money.

  Merle Haggard

  Fun, Choices

  Source: www.avclub.com

• There are so many conditions to programming in America, where it's dominated by these people that own 800 radio stations that have no idea who to play and who not to play, and they listen to somebody or read somebody else's programming sheet and go by Buck Owens' opinion or something. Eight hundred stations are controlled by some guy that doesn't have a clue as to what to do about music.

  Merle Haggard

  People, Guy, Opinion

  Source: www.avclub.com

• We're turning into the society that is accepting the force-feed. I don't quite understand why we're going for the things we're going for. There's no process of elimination anymore in music. They have these grooming schools, these things, and they're turning out these clones, and the music is sounding so refined that it's not even interesting.

  Merle Haggard

  School, Interesting, Accepting

  Source: www.avclub.com

• Keep your opinions to yourself. I think it's important that I stay neutral on politics and remain hard to understand. I don't want to be pigeonholed as conservative, liberal, independent or anything. I back the man for the things the man believes in, not whether it says "R" or "D" down there beside his name.

  Merle Haggard

  Believe, Independent, Men

  The Billboard Magazine Interview, www.billboard.com. March 26, 2005.

• We are under [government's] control, and if people don't realize that, they haven't looked around. And if they're not paranoid, they haven't thought about it.

  Merle Haggard

  Government, People, Realizing

  "A Q&A With Merle Haggard". Billboard Interview, www.billboard.com. March 24, 2005.

• Guitar playing is very important to me. It's like golf to some other people; it's important to me that I play good.

  Merle Haggard

  Golf, Guitar, Play

  "A Q&A With Merle Haggard". Billboard Interview, www.billboard.com. March 24, 2005.

• Lay in the weeds and wait, and when you get your chance to say something, say something good.

  Merle Haggard

  Weed, Waiting, Chance

  "A Q&A With Merle Haggard". Billboard Interview, www.billboard.com. March 24, 2005.