Silver Wings Lyrics

Merle performed Silver Wings during his first appearance on the popular Austin City Limits.

When he stepped onto that stage in Austin, Texas for the first time in 1978 Merle was at the top of his game.

He had already been named Entertainer of the Year by both the Country Music Awards and Academy of Country Music in the same year (1970). His recent release of a tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (My Salute to Bob Wills), sparked a renewed interest in western swing.

With his band, the Strangers, it was no stretch to say that he had the best live show in country music. Haggard is joined by longtime band members, the Strangers, which in 1978 featured his then-wife Bonnie Owens.

Before singing "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" Merle remarked, “We’ll go into what is known as our prison segment. We’ll dedicate it especially for all the shut-in friends over at the county jail.” He follows up with his 1967 hit song, "Sing Me Back Home." Both are included in the 16-song set with his debut on the popular Austin City Limits series.

Haggard recalled the story of this mournful song to the UK magazine Uncut: "It was written on a plane – a 707 coming out of Phoenix, Arizona going to LA with Bonnie Owens," he said. "I looked out and those silver wings were just gleaming. I thought, what a great title for a song."

I moved to a small town outside of Austin, Texas two years after he first sang the Silver Wings lyrics on Austin City Limits.  I later purchased the video to this classic Merle Haggard concert so I could view it over and over. If I had known he was going to be there I believe I would have moved two years earlier.

Silver Wings was written by Haggard but was never released as a single. 

The song was on the 1969 album "A Portrait Of Merle Haggard" and the album went to #3. A rebellious soul with a kind spirit, he lived a rich blue-collar life, and his music reflected it in every way. With songs like "Workin' Man Blues," "The Fightin' Side of Me," and "If We Make it Through December" that's hard to argue.

Two songs off that "Portrait" album, "Workin' Man's Blues" and "Hungry Eyes" would both become #1 songs for Merle and were among several signature songs for Haggard.

Haggard wrote four of the LP's ten songs himself, including the mournful "Silver Wings" which, much like his earlier composition "Today I Started Loving You Again," was never released as a single but became immensely popular with audiences.

Silver Wings has since become a Merle Haggard standard and a favorite at his concerts. Romanticizing an airplane’s “silver wings” that took away his lover, Haggard sang so intimately that you wondered if you were eavesdropping.

"Don’t leave me, I cried
Don’t take that airplane ride
But you locked me out of your mind
And left me standing here behind."

See if you agree after watching this great Live performance more than 40 years ago.