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Ben & Noel Haggard & the Strangers – Heaven Was a Drink of Wine

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Introduction

Picture this: you’re sitting on a porch swing, the kind that creaks just right, with a sunset bleeding orange and pink across the sky. There’s a glass of something strong in your hand, and Merle Haggard’s Heaven Was a Drink of Wine is pouring out of an old radio. That’s the vibe of this song—a raw, soul-stirring moment where life’s highs and lows collide in a single, perfect sip. Written by Sanger D. Shafer and released in 1979 on Haggard’s Serving 190 Proof album, this track is pure country heartbreak, wrapped in a melody that feels like a warm, bittersweet hug.

What makes this song hit so hard? It’s the way it captures that fleeting escape we all chase—when a drink, a memory, or a fleeting moment feels like touching heaven itself. Merle’s voice, weathered and wise, tells the story of a man who’s been through the wringer, finding solace in the bottle but knowing it’s a fleeting kind of salvation. The lyrics are simple but cut deep: “Heaven was a drink of wine / And losin’ you was hell on earth.” It’s not just about love lost; it’s about the ache of trying to hold onto something good in a world that keeps slipping through your fingers.

There’s a story behind the song, too, one that feels like it was born in a smoky bar. Shafer wrote it with Haggard’s life in mind—Merle’s struggles with love, liquor, and the road all bleed into the track. You can almost see him in the studio, eyes closed, pouring every ounce of his soul into the microphone. And that steel guitar? It’s like a cry from the heart, weaving through the chords to remind you that pain and beauty are two sides of the same coin.

Why does this song still matter? Because it’s universal. Whether you’re nursing a broken heart or just craving a moment of peace, Heaven Was a Drink of Wine feels like it was written for you. It’s the kind of song that makes you want to call an old friend, crack open a bottle, and talk about the things that matter—or maybe just sit in silence and let the music say it all. Ever had a moment where a song felt like it knew you better than you know yourself? That’s what Merle does here.

So, next time you’re feeling a little lost, put this one on. Let it take you somewhere soft and sad and strangely hopeful. Because if heaven’s a drink of wine, this song is the glass it’s poured into.

Video

Lyrics

That psycho, that psychologist
Asked me about my drinking ways
Every question that he asked me
All related back on to my childhood days
But if the truth was known
I never took the drinking long, long as she was mine
But when she left me I went to hell
Heaven was a drink of wine
That good doctor said, “Look at all
These ink spots and tell me what you see
Could I help it if they all look like
Big ol’ broken hearts to me?”
Ah, my friends in Cane’ll tell you
Ol’ Haggard ain’t a drinking kind
But when she left me I went to hell
And heaven was a drink of wine
Get back, get back
Get on back and leave me alone
Can’t you see that you can’t help
A man that’s just for gone
Hey, good doctor, I’ve got something
You can’t find in my mind
When she left me I went to hell
Heaven was a drink of wine
Hey, good doctor
Heaven was a drink of wine

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TWELVE YEARS AFTER WALKING OUT OF SAN QUENTIN, THE FORMER INMATE HAD BECOME ONE OF THE BIGGEST COUNTRY STARS IN AMERICA. THEN CALIFORNIA’S GOVERNOR SIGNED THE PAPER THAT FINALLY REMOVED THE OLD CONVICTIONS HANGING OVER MERLE HAGGARD’S LIFE. Merle Haggard left San Quentin in 1960, but prison did not simply disappear when the gate closed behind him. He had been convicted in Kern County of second-degree burglary and escape without force after years of arrests, reform schools and failed attempts to straighten himself out. California’s official clemency record shows that Haggard served two years and nine months in prison, followed by more than two years on parole. He was discharged from his sentence in 1963. By then, his second life had already begun. Haggard worked labor jobs, played bass for Wynn Stewart and slowly built a recording career in Bakersfield. By the end of the 1960s, “Mama Tried,” “Sing Me Back Home,” “Workin’ Man Blues” and “Okie from Muskogee” had made the former prisoner one of country music’s dominant stars. Success, however, did not erase the conviction. In July 1971, California’s Adult Authority formally recommended a pardon on the grounds of rehabilitation. Because Haggard had more than one felony conviction, the matter also went before the California Supreme Court. The justices recommended clemency that October. On **March 1, 1972**, Governor Ronald Reagan granted the full pardon. That date comes directly from Reagan’s official report to the California legislature. For Haggard, the meaning went beyond public relations. He later spoke of the pardon as a genuine second chance—relief from having to carry the legal status of an ex-convict into parts of his adult life even after years of proving that the young man sent to San Quentin no longer existed in the same form. There was one more scene waiting. Ten years later, Reagan was president. In March 1982, Haggard performed for him at a private concert in California. Before singing, Merle joked that he hoped Reagan would be as pleased with the performance as he had been with the pardon. Then he added another line: he had come to “beg your pardon one more time.” Reagan laughed. By then, the prison number **A-45200** belonged to an old government file. The man attached to it was standing in front of the president with a guitar.

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