I think it was Tommy who told me, 'When your song is called 'XYZ' or whatever, every line has got to make sense against your title.' He showed me little methods of proving to yourself whether the line belongs, and ways of finding out whether you were able to get more out of a line if you tried.
Merle HaggardI can't really say why everyone loves Bob Wills' music, but I have yet to meet a person who didn't like it.
Merle HaggardThe guitar's not all that expensive either, when you compare it to gettin' a toothpulled or something.
Merle HaggardWe're turning into the society that is accepting the force-feed. I don't quite understand why we're going for the things we're going for. There's no process of elimination anymore in music. They have these grooming schools, these things, and they're turning out these clones, and the music is sounding so refined that it's not even interesting.
Merle Haggard