Merle Haggard released “Okie From Muskogee” in 1969. The song became a controversial answer to the era’s anti-war protest music: it satirised the protesters and expressed support for American servicemen serving in Vietnam.

Haggard said the song began as satire, inspired by his band’s reflections on Muskogee, Oklahoma, and the differences between life there and on the West Coast. He later described writing it to defend soldiers who, in his view, were risking their lives while young Americans protested the war. The article says listeners adopted the hit as a rallying song against the protests.