Editing Merle Haggard (section)

===Comeback===
[[File:MerleHaggardJun09.jpg|thumb|Haggard performing in June 2009|upright]]
In 2000, Haggard made a comeback of sorts, signing with the independent record label Anti and releasing the spare ''If I Could Only Fly'' to critical acclaim. He followed it in 2001 with ''Roots, vol. 1'', a collection of [[Lefty Frizzell]], [[Hank Williams]], and [[Hank Thompson (musician)|Hank Thompson]] covers, along with three Haggard originals. The album, recorded in Haggard's living room with no overdubs, featured Haggard's longtime bandmates, the Strangers, as well as Frizzell's original lead guitarist, Norman Stephens. In December 2004, Haggard spoke at length on ''[[Larry King Live]]'' about his incarceration as a young man and said it was "hell" and "the scariest experience of my life".<ref>{{cite web|title=A Look at San Quentin|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0412/16/lkl.01.html|publisher=CNN|date=December 16, 2004|access-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref>

When political opponents were attacking [[the Chicks]] for criticizing President [[George W. Bush]]'s [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], Haggard spoke up for the band on July 25, 2003, saying:

{{blockquote|I don't even know the Dixie Chicks, but I find it an insult for all the men and women who fought and died in past wars when almost the majority of America jumped down their throats for voicing an opinion. It was like a verbal witch-hunt and lynching.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0725-02.htm|title=New Merle Haggard Tune Blasts US Media Coverage of Iraq War|publisher=Commondreams.org|date=July 25, 2003|access-date=December 26, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627174824/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0725-02.htm|archive-date=June 27, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/merle-haggard-sounds-off/|work=CBS News|title=Merle Haggard Sounds Off|date=July 25, 2003}}</ref>}}

Haggard and the Strangers' number-one hit single "Mama Tried" is featured in Bryan Bertino's ''The Strangers'' with Liv Tyler. In addition, his and the Strangers song "Swingin' Doors" can be heard in the film ''[[Crash (2004 film)|Crash (2004)]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/soundtrack|title=Crash (2004)—Soundtracks|website=imdb.com|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> and his 1981 hit "[[Big City (Merle Haggard song)|Big City]]", where he is backed by the Strangers, is heard in Joel and Ethan Coen's film ''[[Fargo (1996 film)|Fargo]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Merle Haggard—"Big City"|newspaper=Billings Gazette|location=Billings, Montana|date=May 21, 2015|url=http://billingsgazette.com/merle-haggard---big-city/youtube_14088077-f574-5720-8d8d-5b085d40390b.html|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref>

{{Quote_box|width=20%|align=left|quote=He's not going to play The Palace in Louisville, he's going pick the tertiary towns, and he's going to play on the outer edge. Merle was a real westerner. Like one of those lizards that thrives in arid heat. He was a California guy, but not the California you see on television with Palm Trees. He was the California that was dusty, that was Merle's.<ref name="Owen13.04.16">{{cite news|last1=Owen|first1=Brent|title=Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show on Merle Haggard, puking in a hotel elevator in Louisville and 'Wagon Wheel'|url=http://www.leoweekly.com/2016/04/28376|access-date=14 April 2016|publisher=Leo Weekly|date=13 April 2016}}</ref>|source= — Ketch Secor, [[Old Crow Medicine Show]]}}

In October 2005, Haggard released his album ''[[Chicago Wind (Merle Haggard album)|Chicago Wind]]'' to mostly positive reviews. The album contained an anti-Iraq war song titled "America First", in which he laments the nation's economy and faltering infrastructure, applauds its soldiers, and sings, "Let's get out of Iraq, and get back on track." This follows from his 2003 release "Haggard Like Never Before" in which he includes a song, "That's the News".
Haggard released a [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]] album, ''[[The Bluegrass Sessions (Merle Haggard album)|The Bluegrass Sessions]]'', on October 2, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/merle-haggards-new-release-bluegrass-sessions/|title=Merle Haggard's New Release – Bluegrass Sessions|website=bluegrasstoday.com|date=September 25, 2007|access-date=March 21, 2020}}</ref>

In 2008, Haggard was going to perform at Riverfest in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], but the concert was canceled because he was ailing, and three other concerts were canceled, as well. However, he was back on the road in June and successfully completed a tour that ended on October 19, 2008.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}

In April 2010, Haggard released a new album, ''[[I Am What I Am (Merle Haggard album)|I Am What I Am]]'',<ref>{{cite web|last=See|first=Elena|title=First Listen: Merle Haggard, 'I Am What I Am'|date=April 12, 2010|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125636724&sc=fb&cc=fp|website=Npr.org|access-date=July 22, 2010}}</ref> to strong reviews, and he performed the title song on ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]'' in February 2011.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Greene|first=Andy|title=Merle Haggard Reflects On Old Age and God on Leno|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/merle-haggard-reflects-on-old-age-and-god-on-leno-20110209|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=February 9, 2011|access-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref> Haggard's final concert was held in Oakland at the Paramount Theatre on February 13, 2016.