"Misery and Gin" is a song written by

Snuff Garrett Thomas Lesslie Garrett (July 5, 1938 – December 16, 2015) known as Snuff Garrett or Tommy Garrett, was an American record producer whose most famous work was during the 1960s and 1970s. Early years Garrett was born in Dallas, Texas, United ...

and John Durrill, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

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 ...

. It was written specifically for inclusion in the 1980 movie,

Bronco Billy ''Bronco Billy'' is a 1980 American Western comedy-drama film starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke. It was directed by Eastwood and written by Dennis Hackin. Plot Bronco Billy McCoy (Clint Eastwood) is a stuntman performing in front of a mea ...

, and released as a single in June 1980. It was co-released both on the Bronco Billy soundtrack album and Haggard's studio album, ''

Back to the Barrooms ''Back to the Barrooms'' is the thirty-first studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard, released in October 1980. He is backed by Norm Hamlet and Don Markham of The Strangers. Background As the title suggests, ''Back to the Barr ...

''. "Misery and Gin" reached number 3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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 and peaked at number 4 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks.

Content

The narrator discusses how he always ends up at the bar trying to drink away memories. The narrator goes on to say how the alcohol makes memories come back to haunt him.

Chart performance

Other versions

Billy Dean William Harold Dean Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition ''Star Search''. Active as a recording artist since 1990, h ...

covered "Misery and Gin" on his 1994 LP '' Men'll Be Boys''.

References

1980 singles Merle Haggard songs Billy Dean songs Songs written by Snuff Garrett MCA Records singles 1980 songs {{1980-country-song-stub