Gave up on living forever
Willie said, "We're all gonna die"
So I sold all my music to Sony
Told all of my family goodbye

[Verse 2]
Went down to the edge of the water
And I took out my old .22
Willie came by, said "It’s too soon to die
"You've got a whole string of concerts to do"​

​Sturgill Simpson sang Merle Haggard’s last recorded song, “Red Headed Rounder”. Simpson said the song was written by Merle both for and about Willie Nelson.

​

Wish I was riding the steam train
Right out of the pages of time
Down through the ol' Roaring Twenties
To the fall of 1929
Back in heyday of railroads
Before airplanes fluttered and flew
Color me in like a cartoon hobo
Doing what bums used to do
Songs from the great Jimmie Rodgers
Hearing ol' Bing Crosby croon
This is a song of how things used to be
And a script of a hobo cartoon
Show me hopping a freight train
Somewhere south of the yard
Make it a Santa Fe boxcar
Paint it all rusty and hard
Sketch out an old hobo jungle
Make the old days come alive on the page
Build a rough shack
Down by thе track
Weather it heavy with agе
Songs from the great Jimmie Rodgers
Hearing ol' Bing Crosby croon
This is a song of how things used to be
And a script of a hobo cartoon
Sometimes things are great to remember
Some are too good to forget
Things back then were so different
Some things we think of them yet
Songs from the great Jimmie Rodgers
Hearing ol' Bing Crosby croon
This is a song of how things used to be
And a script of a hobo cartoon

CARTOON HOBO
MERLE HAGGARD & STURGILL SIMPSON

JimmieRodgersSaga.com

"Early in his music career Sturgill had a country rock band and then like Jimmie Rodgers before him he went to work for the railroad, then later back to music, something that became a bond between him and Haggard and was mentioned on the last text message from Merle to Sturgill referencing their shared passion for the railroad.  It was for sure one of the first things Merle told me about Sturgill, and his “roots” sound in his music with Merle telling me it must have been from his Kentucky roots and he sure did love that Sturgill was a railroad man."