They sure don’t make ‘em like this anymore, folks! When Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard sang “Okie from Muskogee” together on stage, the two country legends couldn’t stop smiling. It’s easy to understand why, as it’s not every day that two such heavyweight figures from the country world team up for a duet. Haggard began the performance of his signature song on the Last of the Breed tour by giving the opening verse a wry and cheeky vibe.

Haggard then left some space for Shotgun Willie to make his big entrance, which prompted a huge cheer from the crowd. Seeing Haggard and Willie onstage together felt like two old friends catching up, and as they sang the hook, you could tell they were just soaking up the moment together. This is one of The Music Man’s favorite country performances this century, and fans loved it too, as they tuned in to the video 37 million times.

Nelson, Haggard, and Ray Price joined forces for the Last of the Breed tour, and the two-disc live album of the same name was recorded on March 25, 2007, at the Rosemont Theatre in Chicago. Fans loved to see the two country originals together on stage and added comments such as “Absolutely fabulous. This is what you call country music. Can’t get any better” and “The most amazing thing is when Merle takes his hat off when Willie gets on the stage. Sign of respect and honor from each other!”

Perhaps part of the humour the two stars shared on the night was from the fact that “Okie from Muskogee” ostensibly espouses a strong conservative viewpoint, while Nelson is famously liberal for a country artist. It was certainly quite a sight seeing him sing those lyrics. Nelson had previously invited Mighty Merle to join his band on stage for a performance of Nelson’s classic “Mama Tried.” The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that the pair were joined on stage that night by the late great Toby Keith.

Merle Haggard released “Okie from Muskogee” on September 29, 1969. He co-wrote the song with his drummer Roy Edward Burris. Haggard has given various and sometimes conflicting views on the song over the years. Haggard told The Boot that he wrote the song to criticize the Vietnam War protest movement, and to “support [the] soldiers.” In 2010, Haggard told American Songwriter that he now viewed the song as a character study of himself in 1969. He said, “It was the photograph that I took of the way things looked through the eyes of a fool, and most of America was under the same assumptions I was. As it’s stayed around now for 40 years, I sing the song now with a different attitude onstage. I’ve become educated… It’s a different song now. I’m different now.”