Remember When Clint Eastwood and Merle Haggard Topped the Country Chart With Their Western Duet

In the 1980 comedy-drama Bronco Billy, Clint Eastwood plays the owner and star of a struggling traveling Wild West show filled with sharp shooting, trick riding, knife throwing, and other showmanship of a bygone era. As attendance dwindles, Eastwood tries to keep up the morale of his unpaid staff and goes to some drastic measures—including a botched train robbery—to keep the show going.

The film is also accompanied by a Western-leaning soundtrack, featuring songs performed by Ronnie Milsap, Penny De Haven, and Merle Haggard.

That year, Eastwood, already an accomplished musician, had started becoming more involved in composing songs for his films, including “Beers to You,” his co-write with Ray Charles for the 1980 film Any Which Way You Can. 

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Eastwood was also involved in the Bronco Billy soundtrack, sharing a duet with Haggard about cowboy camaraderie, “Bar Room Buddies.”

Hey, I want to sing till the feeling gets right
Well, let’s harmonize, we’ll be dynamite
I’ll yodel the high notes, I’ve done it for years
Good deal, old buddy, and I’ll pour the beer

There’s always some lady alone at the bar
Yeah and you always let her know just who you are
I know a couple gals that we can call down
They’ll shake the pictures right all of the wall

We’re barroom buddies, and that’s the best kind
Nobody fools with a buddy of mine
I’ll laugh when you’re happy, and I’ll cry when you’re blue
We’re barroom buddies, and we’re doing fine

So pour me another, we got nothing but time
Old chug-a-lug-a-lugging bar room buddy of mine
The bartender trying to turn out the lights
Well, maybe it is time we called it a night

[RELATED: 4 Songs You Didn’t Know Clint Eastwood Wrote for Artists]

Written by Dorff, Garrett, Milton Brown, and Cliff Crofford, initially “Bar Room Buddies” was suggested as a duet between Eastwood and George Jones, but because of scheduling conflicts, Haggard stepped in. Released in April 1980 on the soundtrack for Bronco Billy. “Bar Room Buddies” went to No. 1 and remained on the Country chart for 13 weeks.

“I think you can say that Merle Haggard had a hit and sort of dragged me along,” joked Eastwood of their hit in a 1985 interview with Rolling Stone.

Haggard later told Newsweek, “In a way, I think I prostituted myself.” He also contributed another song to the Bronco Billy soundtrack, “Misery and Gin,” which peaked at No. 3 several weeks after the release of “Bar Room Buddies” and was released on his album Back to the Barrooms.

Eastwood, who released his debut album, Cowboy Favorites, in 1959, played the piano compositions for his 1993 film In the Line of Fire, and continued writing and composing music for his films in the decades that followed, including Changeling, Hereafter, J. Edgar, The Bridges of Madison County, Flags of Our Fathers, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, and Gran Torino.

Photo: Warner Brothers / Getty Images