One of my favorite country singers and songwriters asks, what the hell is going on?

Not at peace with events
Merle Haggard's new song about the ongoing war in Iraq is one even liberals might applaud.

By Robert Hilburn, Times Staff Writer

TULARE -- As arguably the most gifted country music songwriter since Hank Williams, Merle Haggard has given his fans dozens of songs over the last 30 years that they'll never forget; tales of yearning and heartache that chronicle the life of the common man with uncommon character and grace.

But Haggard has also written at least one song that some people will never forgive: "The Fightin' Side of Me," a love-America-or-leave-it anthem that was all over country radio during the height of the Vietnam War.

Though the recording struck such a nerve with Haggard's core country audience that the words "Fighting Side" still appear on the red, white and blue T-shirts on sale at his shows, the song raised considerable ire among liberal Americans. So it felt like a redefining pop-culture moment last week when the white-haired performer sang a new song about the war in Iraq that even liberals might applaud.

Haggard's "That's the News" is a thoughtful, provocative commentary in which he asks why the U.S. government and media give the impression that the war is over although Americans are still dying in the Middle East.

Just moments after 1,000 or so fans attending the Electric Barnyard tour cheered a spirited rendition of "Fightin' Side," a hush fell as Haggard began the new song in this agricultural center, where an electronic sign on the edge of town states the time, the temperature and "God Bless America":

Suddenly it's over

The war is finally done

Soldiers in the desert sand

Still clinging to a gun.

No one is the winner

And everyone must lose

Suddenly the war is over

That's the news...





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