Leonard

About Leonard

"Leonard" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard. It was released in February 1981 as the third single from the album Back to the Barrooms. The song reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Tommy Collins's birth name, Leonard Raymond Sipes, was the source of the song's title and like Haggard, was also songwriter with Oklahoma roots. He wrote "Carolyn" and "The Roots of My Raising" for Haggard.

Year:

1980

3:39

219 Views

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[Chorus]
When Leonard finally came to California
He was twenty-one years old, as I recall
He loved to write a song and pick on the guitar
And he came to hang a gold one on the wall

The town in which he lived is not important
But you'll know which town I mean by the time I'm through
He soon became a famous entertainer
But Leonard was a name he never used

He was on his way to having what he wanted
Just about as close as one could be
Hey, once he even followed Elvis Presley
And he wrote a lot of country songs for me

But he laid it all aside to follow Jesus
For years he chose to let his music go
But preaching wasn't really meant for Leonard
But how in the hell was Leonard s'posed to know

Well, life began to twist it's way around him
And I wondered how he carried such a load
He came back again to try his luck in music
And lost his wife and family on the road

After that he seemed to bog down even deeper
And I saw what booze and pills could really do
And I wondered if I'd ever see him sober
But I forgot about a friend that Leonard knew

Well, Leonard gave me lots of inspiration
He helped teach me how to write a country song
And he even brought around a bag of groceries
Hey, back before Muskogee came along

Really, I'm not trying to hide his show name
Or the town in which this episode began

Somehow I had to write a song for old Tommy
If just to see the smilin' faces in the band

[Chorus]

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Merle Haggard

Merle Ronald Haggard (born April 6, 1937) is an American country music song writer, singer, guitarist, fiddler and instrumentalist. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster and the unique mix with the traditional country steel guitar sound, new vocal harmony styles in which the words are minimal, and a rough edge not heard on the more polished Nashville Sound recordings of the same era. more »

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