[Verse 1]
Oh, I marched to the Battle of New Orleans
At the end of the early British war
A young land started growing
The young blood started flowing
But I ain't marching anymore

[Verse 2]
For I've killed my share of Injuns in a thousand different fights
I was there at the Little Big Horn
I heard many men a-lying
I saw many more a-dying
But I ain't marching anymore

[Bridge]
It's always the old to lead us to the wars
It's always the young to fall
Now look at all we've won with the saber and the gun
Tell me is it worth it all?

[Verse 3]
For I stole California from the Mexican land
Fought in the bloody Civil War
Yes, I еven killed my brothers
And so many othеrs
But I ain't marching anymore
[Verse 4]
For I marched to the battles of the German trench
In a war that was bound to end all wars
Oh, I must have killed a million men
And now they want me back again
But I ain't marching anymore

[Bridge]
It's always the old to lead us to the wars
It's always the young to fall
Now look at all we've won with the saber and the gun
Tell me is it worth it all?

[Verse 5]
For I flew the final mission in the Japanese skies
Set off the mighty mushroom roar
When I saw the cities burning
I knew that I was learning
That I ain't marching anymore

[Verse 6]
Now the labor leader's screaming when they close the missile plants
United Fruit screams at the Cuban shore
Call it peace or call it treason
Call it love or call it reason
But I ain't marching anymore
No, I ain't marching anymore
[Outro]
It used to be all the songwriters were left-wing types
And now, as we get toward a fascist America
Which is coming in in the Seventies in a big way, uh
We, uh, we start to see a change in the right wing
The right wing usually does without artists
They usually have to rely on William Buckley and his good looks
And a lot of television time
To present the facade that the right wing has a mind, or a sense of art
Uh, which Buckley has, but which the right wing doesn't have
Now, uh, but just lately they've gone up with an artist
A genuine songwriter who's as good as anybody around
His name is Merle Haggard
And uh, he has the possibility of being today's Hank Williams
Who is, uh, still the foremost songwriter
And, uh, so I've been accused many times in my career of being a radical
And, uh, troublemaker
Which is not true, which is not true
I'm just a regular American guy like anyone else
Just like anybody in a gas station
So I'm going to sing a Merle Haggard song tonight
Which I think shows the other side of America
Just in answer to all those critics
It's a song called "Okie from Muskogee"