z+Fightin'+Side+of+Me

Fightin’ Side of Me by Merle Haggard

I hear people talkin' bad, About the way we have to live here in this country, Harpin' on the wars we fight, An' gripin' 'bout the way things oughta be. An' I don't mind 'em switchin' sides, An' standin' up for things they believe in. When they're runnin' down my country, man, They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me. Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me. Runnin' down the way of life, Our fightin' men have fought and died to keep. If you don't love it, leave it: Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin'. If you're runnin' down my country, man, You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

I read about some squirrely guy, Who claims, he just don't believe in fightin'. An' I wonder just how long, The rest of us can count on bein' free. They love our milk an' honey, But they preach about some other way of livin'. When they're runnin' down my country, hoss, They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me. Runnin' down the way of life, Our fightin' men have fought and died to keep. If you don't love it, leave it: Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin'. If you're runnin' down my country, man, You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me. Runnin' down the way of life, Our fightin' men have fought and died to keep. If you don't love it, leave it: Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin'. If you're runnin' down my country, man, You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

I chose this song because I think that it talks about the war in a way that is not to subtle, but isn’t spelling out the message of the song either. I also chose this song because it drew me in with the title of “Fightin’ Side of Me.” This drew me in because I thought it would talk about different sides of him, when in fact, that is not what the song is about but all the same it sends a good message. I think the message of this song is that we should love our country and respect the decisions that our leaders make, because our country is a lot better off then many others. Also, I think the message is that Merle is saying that if you are talking bad about the U.S.A., then your messing with him to. I think that this song expresses that people should definitely be willing to fight for their country, if they want to live free like we do. I also think that it is trying to say that people shouldn’t be complaining about the war if they won’t fight themselves, or wouldn’t be willing to make the decision to have it stop. I think some people, like anti-war activists, would not be very happy about this song promoting the war effort. I think a solider would be happy that some people appreciate what they did when they heard this song. I personally agree with the message this song is sending, and I think that Merle Haggard obviously had some pretty strong and passionate feelings if he was willing to write and record this song.

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