Watch Miranda Lambert Pay Tribute to Merle Haggard With ‘Misery and Gin’
Miranda Lambert was just one of many artists who took the stage on Thursday night (April 6) to honor the late, great Merle Haggard. Click play above to watch Lambert's sweet and melancholy performance of "Misery and Gin" at the Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard tribute concert.
Originally released in June of 1980 as the first single off of Haggard's Back to the Barrooms album, "Misery and Gin" is all about how we try to drink away our memories, only to have them come back to haunt us even more. The song earned Haggard a No. 3 hit and has become a favorite of Lambert's; she also performed the song in his honor at the 2016 ACM Honors.
In many ways, "Misery and Gin" is a perfect fit for Lambert, and not just because of the way her passionate and raw vocals complement the song's aching lyrics. Haggard's track from the '80s has a theme similar to that of Lambert's 2016 single "Vice": Both songs reveal how we try to medicate heartbreak with bad habits. Lambert has credited Haggard for being the reason she writes songs, including those for her award-winning 2016 album The Weight of These Wings, on which "Vice" appears.
Other artists who took the stage to honor Haggard during Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard included Dierks Bentley, John Mellencamp, Keith Richards, Kenny Chesney, Sheryl Crow and Loretta Lynn. A portion of the proceeds from the event benefited the TJ Martell Foundation.
10 Essential Merle Haggard Lyrics