HE WATCHED HIS FRIEND WALK TO THE GAS CHAMBER — AND TURNED THAT LAST GOODBYE INTO ONE OF THE SADDEST SONGS EVER RECORDED. Merle Haggard was prisoner A45200 at San Quentin. He was twenty, furious, and planning to escape. His cellmate Rabbit talked him out of it. Rabbit believed in Haggard’s talent more than Haggard did himself — told him not to throw his future away. Then Rabbit escaped alone. He killed a highway patrolman, was captured, and brought back to San Quentin to die. Haggard stood behind the bars and watched the guards lead his friend down the corridor for the last time. The only request Rabbit made was to hear one more song before the end. Years later, Haggard still remembered the smoke rising from the prison chimney. He never forgot that walk. And he poured every last drop of survivor’s guilt into a song so devastating it haunts you long after the last note fades.

Introduction He Watched His Friend Walk to the Gas Chamber — And Turned That Last...

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