Red Bandana Song Lyrics and Chords by Merle Haggard
Red Bandana
Written and Recorded by Merle Haggard
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
We left home when were barely past e
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G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
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E
leven-teen
We've been
C
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D
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E
F
F#
G
G#
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B
back and fourth and all around through
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
hail and rain
I've
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
loved you half of your life and I'll keep o
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
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E
n loving you
But
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
I can't change and
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
live the way you
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
want me to
We spent a lot of time out on the
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G
G#
A
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B
C
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D
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E
highway
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
Coming from some town we played a
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
long the way
After
C
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D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
thirty years and knowing me the
F
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G
G#
A
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B
C
C#
D
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E
way you do
You
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
know I can't change an
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
d live the way yo
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
u want me to
That
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
red bandana tied around your
C
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D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
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B
auburn
hair
You
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
look like you ought to be somebody's
C
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D
D#
E
F
F#
G
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A
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B
wife
somewhere
You ain't
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
never going to be no Bobby McGee but your
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
trying
to
But
C
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D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
I can't change and
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
live the way you
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
want me to
Every time you leave the stage I know you've had
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G
G#
A
A#
B
C
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D
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E
your
fill
And I
C
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D
D#
E
F
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G
G#
A
A#
B
wonder why you grew up and why I
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
never
will
Hey I'm
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
forty-one today still going on
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G
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A
A#
B
C
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D
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E
twenty-two
But
C
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D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
I can't change and
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
live the way you
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
want me to
repeat #3
FAQ
Who sang the the song Red Bandana?
- The song Red Bandana was sang by Merle Haggard.
Who is Merle Haggard?
- Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 - April 6, 2016) was an American country singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, during the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled after the death of his father, and he was incarcerated several times in his youth. After being released from San Quentin State Prison in 1960, he managed to turn his life around and launch a successful country music career. He gained popularity with his songs about the working class that occasionally contained themes contrary to anti-Vietnam War sentiment of some popular music of the time. Between the 1960s and the 1980s, he had 38 number-one hits on the US country charts, several of which also made the Billboard all-genre singles chart. Haggard continued to release successful albums into the 2000s.
He received many honors and awards for his music, including a Kennedy Center Honor (2010), a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2006), a BMI Icon Award (2006), and induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1977), Country Music Hall of Fame (1994) and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (1997). He died on April 6, 2016—his 79th birthday—at his ranch in Shasta County, California, having recently suffered from double pneumonia.