Help

I was gonna do this as a giveaway, but it isn’t really. It’s more a plea for help. I’m just hoping somebody knows the answer to this, because it’s been eating me up for nearly a year, and the internet’s of no help.

So . . . in the jail episode of Bob Dylan’s radio show Theme Time Radio Hour, Dylan plays a snippet of Merle Haggard saying, “It’s funny, all ex-convicts have something in common — they’ve got their time in, and the rest of you still got yours to do.”

This is the complete transcript of what Haggard said (it’s the sixth episode in season one, for you completests):

“Sing Me Back Home” is a popular song because there’s a lot of ex-convicts in America that form a troop of fans that want to hear that song. It’s funny, all ex-convicts have something in common — they’ve got their time in, and the rest of you still got yours to do.”

If it’s of any use to anybody, here’s the song:

Here’s the thing, I need to find where that damn quote came from. I don’t need a recording of it or anything. I just need to be able to pin it down.

Anybody who can tell me gets a signed copy of Cry Father, and a copy of the new book when it comes out, because that’s what I need it for. You’ll also get my undying gratitude, forever and ever.

You can message it to me, post it here, email me, throw it through my window taped to a brick – I don’t care.

Update: Speaking of which, I’ve already given y’all one gift. Every single episode of Theme Time Radio Hour is online.