About The Song
In 2005 Merle Haggard released the album *Chicago Wind* and included one of his most direct statements on national priorities. “America First,” written entirely by Haggard, is a plainspoken call to put the needs of American citizens ahead of foreign aid, open borders, and global commitments. The track arrived late in his career but carried the same unapologetic clarity that had marked much of his work since the late 1960s.
The lyrics focus on the idea that a country should take care of its own people before extending unlimited resources elsewhere. Haggard sings about American workers, veterans, and families who have been overlooked while attention and money flow outward. There’s no elaborate metaphor or softening language — just a straightforward argument that loyalty to one’s own begins at home. His delivery is steady and matter-of-fact, the voice of someone who has spent decades watching economic and cultural shifts from the perspective of working-class America.
By the mid-2000s Haggard had already lived through enough cultural and political change to speak with authority on what he saw as the country’s drift. He had delivered anthems like “Okie from Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me” that captured working-class frustrations in earlier decades. *Chicago Wind* found him returning to similar territory with a more contemporary edge. “America First” fit naturally into that thread — a song that reflected his long-standing belief in self-reliance, national sovereignty, and the dignity of ordinary Americans who felt their concerns were being ignored.
The track also reflected a broader conversation happening in the mid-2000s about immigration, trade, and foreign policy. While many artists avoided these topics or approached them from different angles, Haggard had never shied away from saying what he believed, even when it was unpopular in certain circles. The song’s directness made it both praised and debated, depending on the listener’s politics. For fans who shared his perspective, it felt like a rare mainstream country voice willing to say the quiet part out loud.
What keeps “America First” resonant is how clearly it expresses a viewpoint that has persisted across generations of working-class Americans. Haggard didn’t present it as a new idea or a partisan slogan. He framed it as common sense: take care of your own house before you try to fix everyone else’s. That framing has allowed the song to outlast the specific political moment in which it was released.
Decades later the track remains one of the most straightforward entries in Haggard’s vast catalog. It doesn’t offer the emotional warmth of some of his ballads or the rowdy energy of his honky-tonk material, but it perfectly captures his willingness to speak plainly about the things he believed mattered most. In a career built on telling the truth as he saw it, this late-career statement stands as a clear example of an artist who never stopped paying attention to the country that shaped him — and who wasn’t afraid to say it needed to look after its own first.
Video
Lyric
Why don’t we liberate these United States
We’re the ones that need it worst?
Let the rest of the world help us for a change
And let’s rebuild America first
Our highways an’ bridges are fallin’ apart
Who’s blessed an’ who has been cursed?
There’s things to be done all over the world
But let’s rebuild America first
Who’s on the Hill, and who’s watchin’ the valley?
Who’s in charge of it all?
God bless the army an’ God bless our liberty
Dad gum the rest of it all
Yeah, the men in position are backin’ away
Freedom is stuck in reverse
Let’s get out of Iraq an’ get back on the track
And let’s rebuild America first
Once more
Why don’t we liberate these United States
We’re the ones who need it the most
You think I’m blowin’ smoke? Boys it ain’t no joke
I make 20 trips a year from coast to coast
Play it again