Misery and Gin Lyrics
Merle Haggard and his "Bar Room Buddies."
The Misery and Gin lyrics was written by John Robert Durrill and
Snuff Garrett and became a #3 hit song for Merle Haggard in 1980.
I originally thought Merle had written these classic old country music lyrics because it seemed to fit his early lifestyle.
Misery
and Gin was the first single off the album "Back to the Barrooms" and
although Merle didn't write this one he did write or co-wrote seven of
the eleven songs on this album.
Hard to imagine anyone else singing these lyrics and trying to out do Merle on this tune. He owns this one.
Misery and Gin Lyrics.
Words Alone Make This One A Honky-tonk Classic.
Looking at the world through the bottom of a glass
All I see is a man who's fadin' fast.
Man oh man...and then the fourth verse tells you why this is a bar room favorite.
Sit down beside me and say, "It's alright"
"Take me home and make sweet love to me tonight."
After listening to that verse I went for another cold one, put on my headphones and added a couple of notches to the volume control.
My evening with classic honky-tonk was just getting started. The needle made contact with the record and those magical Merle Haggard sounds began to play.
Sounds that can only be appreciated with the warmth of vinyl and the solid gold hidden in those grooves.
The video below shows the fiddle player smiling after that fourth verse. I think we can all figure out what he was thinking.
Is This The Best Barroom Song Ever Written?
Follow along with the Misery and Gin lyrics. When finished what else can you say...Damn that's a good song and an even better melody.
Merle may not have written the song, but his whiskey-soaked voice certainly made this classic a bar room favorite, and among my favorite vinyl record memories in my Merle Haggard collection. One of the final hits of Haggard’s brief stint at MCA, no song in his catalog evokes sadness and loneliness as much as this potent number. A rarity in the case that he didn’t write it, but he made this song all his own.
This song should be in the top 5 of all bar room songs ever written, I'd say even #1. Just my opinion.
Understand....I didn't say - "best song ever written" just the best bar room song.
Enjoy...
Misery and Gin Lyrics - #3 song in 1980
Written by John Robert Durrill and Snuff Garrett
Recorded by Merle Haggard
Memories and drinks don't mix too well
And jukebox records don't play those wedding bells
Looking at the world through the bottom of a glass
All I see is a man who's fadin' fast
Tonight I need that woman again
What I'd give for my baby to just walk in
Sit down beside me and say it's alright
Take me home and make sweet love to me tonight
But here I am again...mixing misery and gin
Sittin' with all my friends and....talkin' to myself
I look like I'm havin' a good time....but any fool can tell
That this honky tonk heaven....really makes you feel...like hell.
I light a lonely woman's cigarette
We start talkin' bout what we want to forget
Her life story and mine are the same
We both lost someone....and only have ourselves to blame
But here I am again...mixing misery and gin
Sittin' with all my friends and...talkin' to myself
I look like I'm havin' a good time....but any fool can tell
That this honky tonk heaven....really makes you feel...like hell
An all time favorite - That's The Way Love Goes.
Return to Merle Haggard main page.
Return Home from Misery and Gin Lyrics
Songs that will make you cry.
"Tear Time" takes you through a feminine emotional experience and will touch your heart with the lyrics, "All it takes is the smallest thought of you ... Then tear time starts crying all night through." Read more ...
Storms Never Last
A Love Story
Storms Never Last, a song about passing through the hardships of marriage, and knowing their love for one another will endure. A final duet with Jessi Colter and husband, Waylon Jennings. Read more...
FTC Disclosure: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a small commission on the transaction - at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
Vinyl Record Lovers - This free newsletter is delivered monthly, straight to your INBOX. It covers all new pages since the last issue. Sign up here ...
I value your trust and will use your email address only two send you the Vinyl Record Lovers newsletter.
You're The Only One.
This song brings back those special vinyl record memories of the summer of '79 when I spent many nights alone with Dolly and she whispered in my ear.
You're the only one...
You're the only one...
Take me back to where
we started from.
And let's make it now
Like we made it then.
This old heart ain't gonna break your heart again. Read More...
Cowboy Campfire Songs.
Polish up your spurs, Saddle up ole paint and get ready to relive your childhood! Come with me and let's relive those bygone days with these cowboy campfire songs and fond memories of your favorite silver screen cowboys. Read more...
Suzy Boggus does Patsy Montana proud in this live video of Montana's "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart."
Montana's cowboy song lyrics paints a different picture of a woman who wants to rope and ride and sleep out under the stars, just like her Cowboy Sweetheart. Read more.
"Mona Lisa" is a mid-tempo ballad about a broken love affair, featuring allusions to the iconic Da Vinci painting. A beautifully done country classic by Coe at his best.. Read more.
Why did Patsy dislike the song "Crazy" when she first heard it? Read more.
"Cattle Call Duet"
LeAnn Rimes, Eddie Arnold
Cattle Call was originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1945, and re-recorded in 1955, spending 26 weeks on the country chart, 2 of the 26 at #1. Forty years later, Eddy Arnold joined 13-year-old Texan LeAnn Rimes on a version of "Cattle Call" for her 1996 Curb debut album, Blue. Read more.
"Dream" - Roy Orbison cover of this 1944 Johnny Mercer classic.
The song "Dream" reminds us of those glamorous movie stars of the '40s,' 50s, and early '60s. The one thing they all shared was a level of glamor we still aspire to today. This is a song everyone should have in their music collection. Read more ...
Amarillo By Morning.
Amarillo By Morning is a Rodeo ballad first recorded in 1973, but the George Strait version which came out ten years later is the one everyone knows and turned Strait into an overnight star. The whining fiddle arrangement will stay with you long after the song ends. Read more...
