Cover art for Branded Man by Merle Haggard

Branded Man

Merle Haggard
Track 22 on Down Every Road 1962-1994 

Producer

Ken Nelson (Country)
Jun. 19671 viewer

Branded Man Lyrics

[Chorus]
I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am
But they won't let my secret go untold
I paid the debt I owed 'em, but they're still not satisfied
Now I'm a branded man out in the cold

[Verse 1]
When they let me out of prison, I held my head up high
Determined I would rise above the shame
But no matter where I'm living, the black mark follows me
I'm branded with a number on my name

[Chorus]
I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am
But they won't let my secret go untold
I paid the debt I owed 'em, but they're still not satisfied
Now I'm a branded man out in the cold

[Verse 2]
If I live to be a hundred, I guess I'll never clear my name
'Cause everybody knows I've been in jail
No matter where I'm living, I've got to tell 'em where I've been
Or they'll send me back to prison if I fail

[Chorus]
I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am
But they won't let my secret go untold
I paid the debt I owed 'em, but they're still not satisfied
Now I'm a branded man out in the cold

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

This song bio is unreviewed
Genius Annotation

This song is about Haggards time spent a San Quentin in 1957 for robbery. While in prison he saw Johnny Cash perform there which had a major influence on his career, obviously.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Who produced “Branded Man” by Merle Haggard?
When did Merle Haggard release “Branded Man”?
Who wrote “Branded Man” by Merle Haggard?
Down Every Road 1962-1994 (1996)
  1. 1.
    Skid Row
  2. 2.
    Sing a Sad Song
  3. 3.
    You Don’t Even Try
  4. 4.
    Sam Hill
  5. 5.
    (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers
  6. 6.
    Just Between the Two of Us
  7. 7.
    If I Had Left It Up to You
  8. 8.
    I’m Gonna Break Every Heart I Can
  9. 9.
    Swinging Doors
  10. 10.
    The Bottle Let Me Down
  11. 11.
    High on a Hilltop
  12. 12.
    I’ll Look Over You
  13. 13.
    The Fugitive
  14. 14.
    House of Memories
  15. 15.
    All of Me Belongs to You
  16. 16.
    Mary’s Mine
  17. 17.
    Someone Told My Story
  18. 18.
    Go Home
  19. 19.
    Whatever Happened to Me
  20. 20.
    Loneliness Is Eating Me Alive
  21. 21.
    I Threw Away the Rose
  22. 22.
    Branded Man
  23. 23.
    You Don’t Have Very Far to Go
  24. 24.
    Somewhere Between
  25. 25.
    Sing Me Back Home
  26. 26.
    The Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp
  27. 27.
    Seeing Eye Dog
  28. 28.
    The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde
  29. 29.
    I Started Loving You Again
  30. 30.
    Is This the Beginning of the End?
  31. 31.
    I’ll Always Know
  32. 32.
    Mama Tried
  33. 33.
    In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)
  34. 34.
    Teach Me to Forget
  35. 35.
    I’m Looking For My Mind
  36. 36.
    The Day the Rains Came
  37. 37.
    California Blues
  38. 38.
    I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am
  39. 39.
    I’m Bringin’ Home Good News
  40. 40.
    I Can’t Hold Myself in Line
  41. 41.
    It Meant Goodbye to Me (When You Said Hello to Him)
  42. 42.
    Hungry Eyes
  43. 43.
    Silver Wings
  44. 44.
    Waitin’ for a Train
  45. 45.
    Jimmie Rodgers’ Last Blue Yodel (Women Make a Fool Out of Me)
  46. 46.
    California Cottonfields
  47. 47.
    White Line Fever
  48. 48.
    Workin’ Man Blues
  49. 49.
    Okie from Muskogee
  50. 50.
    I Can’t Stop Loving You
  51. 51.
    Huntsville
  52. 52.
    Irma Jackson
  53. 53.
    The Fightin’ Side of Me
  54. 54.
    I’ll Be A Hero (When I Strike)
  55. 55.
    Right or Wrong
  56. 56.
    Trouble in Mind
  57. 57.
    Stay a Little Longer
  58. 58.
    The Farmer’s Daughter
  59. 59.
    Tulare Dust
  60. 60.
    Carolyn
  61. 61.
    Someday We’ll Look Back
  62. 62.
    Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)
  63. 63.
    Grandma Harp
  64. 64.
    It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad)
  65. 65.
    I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me
  66. 66.
    If We Make It Through December
  67. 67.
    The Emptiest Arms in the World
  68. 68.
    Everybody’s Had the Blues
  69. 69.
    Things Aren’t Funny Anymore
  70. 70.
    Honky Tonk Night Time Man
  71. 71.
    Holding Things Together
  72. 72.
    Here in Frisco
  73. 73.
    Kentucky Gambler
  74. 74.
    Always Wanting You
  75. 75.
    Living with the Shades Pulled Down
  76. 76.
    Running Kind
  77. 77.
    It’s All in the Movies
  78. 78.
    The Way It Was In ’51
  79. 79.
    I Never Go Around Mirrors
  80. 80.
    What Have You Got Planned Tonight, Diana
  81. 81.
    If We’re Not Back In Love By Monday
  82. 82.
    Ramblin’ Fever
  83. 83.
    It’s Been a Great Afternoon
  84. 84.
    Red Bandana
  85. 85.
    Footlights
  86. 86.
    My Own Kind of Hat
  87. 87.
    Misery and Gin
  88. 88.
    Leonard
  89. 89.
    I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink
  90. 90.
    Rainbow Stew
  91. 91.
    Big City
  92. 92.
    Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)
  93. 93.
    You Take Me for Granted
  94. 94.
    Pancho and Lefty
  95. 95.
    That’s the Way Love Goes
  96. 96.
    Someday When Things Are Good
  97. 97.
    Let’s Chase Each Other Around the Room
  98. 98.
    Kern River
  99. 99.
    Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star
  100. 100.
    In My Next Life
Credits
Producer
Writer
Released in
June 1967
Tags
RockCountry
Comments
Sign Up And Drop Knowledge 🤓
Genius is the ultimate source of music knowledge, created by scholars like you who share facts and insight about the songs and artists they love.
  翻译：