One of Merle Haggard’s very first hits was a song called "Branded Man" about a former convict who continued to pay for his crime even after leaving prison. It makes sense that Merle and Toby Keith are friends, because Toby now feels as if he’s been branded by the colors of the American flag.
It’s been six years since he had a hit with "Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)" — almost seven years since the terrorist attack on American soil that inspired the song. Despite the passage of time, and his continued ability to launch new material onto the radio, Toby is astounded to find that that song is still the one by which much of the media judges him.
"It's amazing that I can sell 35 million albums and have 50 million spins as a writer, and one three-minute song carries more weight than all of that combined," he told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "You realize that?