COUNTRY MARVEL

Merle Haggard sang a song Thursday at the Coach House that helped explain why he hasn’t gone postal on a Nashville establishment that showers all that glitters on the young and the feckless while he, one of the great singers and songwriters in country music history, plugs on at 61 without a recording contract.

“I live the kind of life most men don’t dream of / Make my living writing songs and singing them,” he sang in “Footlights,” a 1978 song--about carrying on for the love of the music--that resonates more powerfully now, a decade after he charted his last Top 10 hit.

The song, in typical Haggard fashion, zeros in on what’s important and leaves any self-pitying to others.

So while he goes about making his living with yet another round of touring--the show launched a West Coast tour that ended a two-month hiatus for Haggard and his band, the Strangers--he exhibited no signs of frustration, only the joy of being back on stage with a group of musicians who revel in playing together.

Without new material, the 80-minute set consisted predominantly of gems from his imposing catalog, sprinkled with choice covers of songs by the artists who shaped his music and a few spotlighting members of his versatile band. As a vocalist, Haggard made even the most familiar songs live and breathe.