''Someday We'll Look Back'' is the thirteenth studio album by American recording 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 a ...

and The Strangers, released in 1971. It reached number 4 on the '' Billboard'' country albums chart.

Recording and composition

The album is best remembered for the number-one hit, "Carolyn", written by Haggard's friend and mentor Tommy Collins. Haggard had his doubts that the pop-tinged ballad was right for him, as Collins explains in the liner notes to the 1994 Haggard retrospective ''Down Every Road'', "He said, 'It's just not for me. It's not country enough or something.' And the only time I ever said this to Merle was at this time. I said, 'Would you give it a try?' And (co-producer) Lewis Talley said, 'Hey, you oughta cut that song. That's a hit.'"''Down Every Road 1962–1994'' compilation album. Liner notes by Daniel Cooper Haggard also returns to the theme of the plight of the

working poor The working poor are working people whose incomes fall below a given poverty line due to low-income jobs and low familial household income. These are people who spend at least 27 weeks in a year working or looking for employment, but remain und ...

on "One Row at a Time," "California Cotton Fields," and the self-penned "Tulare Dust," a song that led music journalist Daniel Cooper to observe in 1994, "Merle has often driven home the point that life is hard, but he's never driven it with quite so few words as he does in 'Tulare Dust.'" The LP's title track was another

Top 5 ''Top Five'' is a 2014 American comedy film written and directed by Chris Rock. Produced by Scott Rudin and Eli Bush, the film stars Rock, Rosario Dawson, and Gabrielle Union, and follows New York City comedian and film star Andre Allen (Rock), ...

hit, peaking at number 2.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album "a terrific early-'70s LP from Merle Haggard, one that showcases not only his exceptional songwriting skills, but also his rich, subtle eclectism... one of the finest albums he ever recorded." Music critic Robert Christgau wrote "An honest two days' work, but don't let the keynote tune fool you into expecting a lot of class-conscious reminiscences."

Track listing

All songs by Merle Haggard unless otherwise noted. #" Someday We'll Look Back" – 2:31 #"Train of Life" ( Roger Miller) – 2:42 #"One Sweet Hello" – 2:47 #"One Row at a Time" (

Red Lane Red Lane, born Hollis Rudolph DeLaughter with surname pronounced ''Dee-LAW-ter'' (February 9, 1939 – July 1, 2015), was an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist who was a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1993) ...

Dottie West Dorothy Marie Marsh West (October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and fellow recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most in ...

) – 3:06 #"Big Time Annie's Square" – 2:34 #"I'd Rather be Gone" – 2:35 #"California Cottonfields" (

Dallas Frazier Dallas Frazier (October 27, 1939 – January 14, 2022) was an American country musician and songwriter who had success in the 1950s and 1960s. Life and career Frazier was born in Spiro, Oklahoma, on October 27, 1939, but was raised in Bakersfi ...

, Earl Montgomery) – 2:46 #" Carolyn" ( Tommy Collins) – 2:33 #"Tulare Dust" – 1:47 #"Huntsville" (Haggard,

Red Simpson Joe Cecil "Red" Simpson (March 6, 1934 – January 8, 2016) was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his trucker -themed country songs. Biography Joe Cecil Simpson was born in 1934 in Higley, Arizona, and was raised ...

) – 3:06 #"The Only Trouble With Me" – 3:11

Personnel

– vocals, guitar The Strangers: *

Roy Nichols Roy Ernest Nichols (October 21, 1932 – July 3, 2001) was an American country music guitarist best known as the lead guitarist for Merle Haggard's band The Strangers for more than two decades. He was known for his guitar technique, a mix o ...

– lead guitar * Norman Hamlet – steel guitar, dobro *Bobby Wayne - rhythm guitar, background vocals *Dennis Hromek – bass, background vocals *Biff Adam – drums with *Lewis Talley – guitar *

– guitar * Tommy Collins– guitar *George French – piano *Jerry Ward – bass *Eddie Burris – drums *

Johnny Gimble John Paul Gimble (May 30, 1926 – May 9, 2015) was an American country musician associated with Western swing. Gimble was considered one of the most important fiddlers in the genre. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 ...

– fiddle and *

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

– guitar, dobro *

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

– guitar, background vocals * Glen D. Hardin – piano *

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lor ...

– piano *Willard Price – bass *Leon Copeland – bass *

Chuck Berghofer Charles Curtis Berghofer (born June 14, 1937), professionally known as Chuck Berghofer, is an American jazz double bassist and electric bassist, who has worked as a studio musician and in the film industry for more than 60 years, including workin ...

– bass *Tommy Ash – drums

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums Merle Haggard albums Capitol Records albums Albums produced by Ken Nelson (United States record producer) Albums recorded at Capitol Studios