What song did JD Vance walk out to at the RNC? One of Merle Haggard's political tunes
"America First" was a theme in JD Vance's speech Wednesday at the Republican National Convention, and it was even a theme in his intro music to the stage.
Vance greeted the crowd at the RNC Wednesday night to accept the vice presidential nod from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. His intro music walking on stage along with chants of "JD"? "America First" by Merle Haggard. It's been the song that's played since Vance arrived at Fiserv Forum Monday afternoon.
Nashville-based band Sixwire played Merle Haggard’s “America First," as Vance gave hugs, shook hands and signed autographs with delegates on Day 1.
Haggard's music has long been a favorite among the Republican party, but Haggard lived by his own rules and his music ran the gamut from ultra-patriotic to an ode to longtime Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Who is Merle Haggard?
Haggard was a longtime musician whose music has inspired many a country musician over the years.
Born in Oildale, Calif., in 1937, he was the son of Dust Bowl refugees from Oklahoma and spent his early years living in a house that his father, James Haggard, had fashioned from an abandoned refrigerated train car. After his father died when he was 9, Haggard turned to a life of crime that eventually ended with him going to prison. It was there that he started playing music.
After he was paroled after a two-year stint at San Quentin State Prison in 1960, at 23, he started pursuing music in earnest. Just two years after leaving prison, Haggard signed to Tally Records in 1962. His first charting hit "Sing A Sad Song" hit the final week of 1963. From there, he continued to play and have chart-topping hits for decades.
Merle Haggrad's music covered life and not a particular political view
Haggard sang about interracial romance in the song "Irma Jackson" and illegal immigrants in "The Immigrant".
Later in his life, he criticized the media’s coverage of the war in Iraq in 2003’s "That’s the News" and the war itself in "Rebuild America First." In 2007, he wrote that song supporting Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy with the ode "Hillary."
Is Merle Haggard alive?
No, Haggard died on April 6, 2016, on his 79th birthday.
Watch Merle Haggrad's 'America First'
What are the lyrics to 'America First' by Merle Haggard?
[Verse]Why don't we liberate these United StatesWe're the ones need it the worstLet the rest of the world help us for a changeAnd let's rebuild America first
Our highways and bridges are falling apartWho's blessed and who has been cursed?There's things to be done all over the worldBut let's rebuild America first
Who's on the Hill and who's watching the valley?And who's in charge of it all?God bless the Army and God bless our libertyAnd dadgum the rest of it all
Yeah, men in position are backing awayFreedom is stuck in reverseLet's get out of Iraq and get back on the trackAnd let's rebuild America first
Why don't we liberate these United States?We're the ones who need it the mostYou think I'm blowing smoke? Boys, it ain't no jokeI make twenty trips a year from coast to coast
-From Genius.com
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: JD Vance walks out to Merle Haggard's America First before RNC speech