The Fightin' Side of Me -- Merle Haggard

I hear people talkin' bad, About the way they have to live here in this country,
Harpin' on the wars we fight, An' gripin' 'bout the way things oughta be.
I don't mind 'em switchin' sides, An' standin' up for things that they believe in.
When they're runnin' down our country, man, They're walkin' on the fightin' side
of me.  They're 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 that I'm singin' be a warnin'. When you're runnin' down our country,
hoss,  You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.


I read about some squirrely guy,  Who claims, that 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 our country, man, They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.


They're 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 that I'm singin' be a warnin'. When you're runnin' down my country,
man,  You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.


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




Much like Haggard's "Okie From Muskogee," this was a patriotic song written as an anti-anti war song during the Vietnam War.                                                              (songfacts.com)






U.S. troops fought a jungle war, mostly against the well-supplied Viet Cong. The Viet Cong would attack in ambushes, set up booby traps, and escape through a complex network of underground tunnels. For U.S. forces, even just finding their enemy proved difficult. Since Viet Cong hid in the dense brush, U.S. forces would drop Agent Orange or napalm bombs which cleared an area by causing the leaves to drop off or to burn away. In every village, U.S. troops had difficulty determining which, if any, villagers were the enemy since even women and children could build booby traps or help house and feed the Viet Cong. U.S. soldiers commonly became frustrated with the fighting conditions in Vietnam. Many suffered from low morale, became angry, and some used drugs.                                                            (wikipedia) 


                                

                                        (From google images)