I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am

Album: The Fightin' Side Of Me (1970)
Play Video
  • Things I learned in a hobo jungle
    Were things they never taught me in a class room
    Like where to find a hand out
    While bummin' through Chicago in the afternoon

    Hey, I'm not braggin' or complainin'
    I'm just talkin' to myself man-to-man
    This ol' mental fat I'm chewin' didn't take a lotta doin'
    But I take a lot of pride in what I am

    I guess I grew up a loner
    I don't remember ever havin' any folks around
    But I keep thumbin' through the phonebooks
    And looking for my daddy's name in every town

    And I meet lots of friendly people
    But I'll always wind up leavin' on the lam
    Hey, where I've been or where I'm goin'
    Didn't take a lotta knowin'
    But I take a lot of pride in what I am

    I never travel in a hurry
    Because I got nobody waitin' for me anywhere
    Home is anywhere I'm livin'
    If it's sleepin' on some vacant bench in City Square

    Or if I'm workin' on some road gang
    Or just livin' off the fat of our great land
    I never been nobody's idol but at least I got a title
    And I take a lot of pride in what I am

    I never been nobody's idol but at least I got a title
    And I take a lot of pride in what I am

    I take a lot of pride in what I am
    I take a lot of pride in what I am Writer/s: MERLE HAGGARD
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Grandpopdk from Odense, DenmarkCan you get any closer to "Gentle on my mind" than this????
see more comments

Editor's Picks

John Parr

John ParrSongwriter Interviews

John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Who Did It First?

Who Did It First?Music Quiz

Do you know who recorded the original versions of these ten hit songs?

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors ExaminedSong Writing

Doors expert Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, talks about some of their defining songs and exposes some Jim Morrison myths.

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Jon Foreman of SwitchfootSongwriter Interviews

Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.

Devo

DevoSongwriter Interviews

Devo founders Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale take us into their world of subversive performance art. They may be right about the De-Evoloution thing.