

Like " Okie from Muskogee," "The Fightin' Side of Me" catered to the conservative working-man's values and politics Bill Janovitz of Allmusic called the song "patriotic (if not outrightly jingoistic)." In reference to his own 2002 song, " Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)," Toby Keith once called this song "the original Angry American song." The song became one of the most famous of his career.

It was released in January 1970 as the first single and title track from the album The Fightin' Side of Me. "The Fightin' Side of Me" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology Single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers 1970 single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers "The Fightin' Side of Me"
