What many people don't realize is that Merle Haggard wrote the first "Marxist" country hit. Really! Mama's Hungry Eyes----class struggle ("That another class of people put us somewhere just below"), and religion as the opiate of the masses (I remember daddy praying for a better way of life But I don't recall a change of any size).

Yes...he was a complex fellow, not someone who could be classified in black vs white or left vs right terms.

Here are the words.

"Hungry Eyes"

A canvas covered cabin in a crowded labour camp
Stand out in this memory I revived;
Cause my daddy raised a family there, with two hard working hands
And tried to feed my mama's hungry eyes.

He dreamed of something better, and my mama's faith was strong
And us kids were just too young to realize
That another class of people put us somewhere just below;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.

Mama never had the luxuries she wanted
But it wasn't cause my daddy didn't try.
She only wanted things she really needed;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.

I remember daddy praying for a better way of life
But I don't recall a change of any size;
Just a little loss of courage, as their age began to show
And more sadness in my mama's hungry eyes.

Mama never had the luxuries she wanted
But it wasn't cause my daddy didn't try.
She only wanted things she really needed;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.

Oh, I still recall my mama's hungry eyes.