"Irma Jackson" is a song by

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

-based outlaw country artist

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

, released on his

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

album '' Let Me Tell You About a Song''. The song, which was about the then-controversial topic of an interracial romance, was actually written several years prior to the 1972, but not released at first because

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

thought it would hurt Haggard's image at the time. Fellow country singer Tony Booth recorded a cover version of "Irma Jackson" in 1970, which was released as his first single for MGM Records. Booth's version of the song charted at #67 on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart.

Musical structure

"Irma Jackson" is in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

and features an AABAB musical structure, with the first two verses played back-to-back, then a chorus, then the third verse, and finally another chorus. The song's running time is 2 minutes and 56 seconds. The song's guitar chords are C-G⁷-C in the verses, and F-G⁷-C in the choruses.

Lyrics

In the song, the narrator expresses his love for his sweetheart Irma Jackson, but also acknowledges that she "can't be mine" because "there's no way the world will understand that love is

colorblind Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...

". He also points out that no one cared when the two of them were childhood friends, but now that they are grown up, the world "draws a line" and won't let them be together because they are of different races. Eventually, Irma herself decides to leave the narrator, but he proclaims that he will always love her "'till I die".

Reception

According to

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

, "some conservatives who had flocked to '

Okie An Okie is a person identified with the state of Oklahoma. This connection may be residential, ethnic, historical or cultural. For most Okies, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Oklahoman. ...

' were shocked by 'Irma Jackson', Haggard's pro-tolerance take on interracial romance", but Haggard was "unfazed" by this. Haggard said that he and

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

both believed strongly in

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

. Haggard had earlier recorded a cover of "Go Home", a song by Tommy Collins with a similar theme.

References

{{authority control Merle Haggard songs Songs against racism and xenophobia Songs written by Merle Haggard 1972 songs