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Alan Kotlyar sings Okie from Muskogee by Merle Haggard and Roy Edward Burris

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"Okie from Muskogee" is a song recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard, which Haggard co-wrote with drummer Roy Edward Burris. "Okie" is a slang name for someone from Oklahoma, and Muskogee (population 40,000) is the 11th largest city in the state. The song was released in September 1969. Haggard wrote the song after he became disheartened watching Vietnam War protests. Haggard says, "When I was in prison, I knew what it was like to have freedom taken away. Freedom is everything. During Vietnam, there were all kinds of protests. Here were these [servicemen] going over there and dying for a cause—we don't even know what it was really all about. And here are these young kids, that were free, complaining about it. There's something wrong with that and with [disparaging] those poor guys." He states that he wrote the song to support the troops. "We were in a wonderful time in America, and music was in a wonderful place. America was at its peak, and what the hell did these kids have to complain about? These soldiers were giving up their freedom and lives to make sure others could stay free. I wrote the song to support those soldiers."
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Merle Haggard
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