Merle Haggard to Release New Album ‘Working in Tennessee’ on October 4

Merle Haggard has settled on the 11 tracks that will make up his next album, 'Working in Tennessee,' available on October 4. The 74-year-old country legend wrote nine of his 77th studio album's cuts, including the title track, which tells the story of his frequently volatile relationship with Music City. The two remaining songs are Johnny Cash classics.

The "poet of the common man" makes this album a family affair. His wife Theresa and daughter Janessa co-wrote a number of the songs, with Theresa playing the role of June Carter-Cash on 'Jackson.' Haggard's son Ben and Willie Nelson are featured on a re-tooling of the classic 'Working Man Blues.'

“I’m swinging back in full throttle right now," Haggard says in a press release. "Music keeps me alive. It makes me breathe better. It’s funny, but I feel better when I come off a tour than when I start out.”

Haggard is just three years removed from lung cancer treatment, but shows no signs of slowing down as he begins his sixth decade in the music business.

'Working in Tennessee' Track List:

1. 'Working in Tennessee'
2. 'Down on the Houseboat'
3. 'Cocaine Blues'
4. 'What I Hate'
5. 'Sometimes I Dream'
6. 'Under the Bridge'
7. 'Too Much Boogie Woogie'
8. 'Truck Driver's Blues'
9. 'Laugh It Off'
10. 'Working Man's Blues'
11. 'Jackson'

Watch Merle Haggard sing 'Working in Tennessee'