"Footlights" (1979) (Ben says 23 years)
By the end of the Seventies, Haggard had spent nearly half his 41 years playing music professionally (or at least semi-professionally) and was feeling some wear and tear. For his album Serving 190 Proof, he wrote the song "Footlights" about a musician who doesn't always enjoy being onstage the way he used to but doesn't really have a backup plan. Instead, he puts on his game face and tries to "kick the footlights out again," to ensure the people get their money's worth. It's hard not to wonder how tough it was for Haggard to do the same thing 40 years later.