The Story Behind Merle Haggard’s ‘Sing Me Back Home’

"Sing Me Back Home" is a song that was actually written while Merle Haggard was waiting to get out of San Quintin Prison. He and his cellmate shared one thing in common. Their love for freedom and how often the two had escaped from prison.

Merle's cell mate had been sentenced to life without parole. It was when Haggard was told about a secret break that was about to happen that Merle thought twice about breaking out again.

As the story goes, the escapees were caught and returned to prison. Haggard's cellmate was given the gas chamber for his escape.  It's when his cellmate was on his final walk to the death chamber that Merle first sang the song "Sing Me Back Home" for the first time.

The rest of the story and all the details of the song are in the video as Merle Haggard explains how it all went down.