In the documentary Beyond Nashville, Haggard claims the song, which he wrote with drummer Eddie Burris on his bus, was more of a wistful tribute to his late father than any kind of political statement: "My dad passed away when I was nine, and I don't know if you've ever thought about somebody you've lost and you say, 'I wonder what so-and-so would think about this?'

I was drivin' on Interstate 40 and I saw a sign that said "19 Miles to Muskogee", while at the same time listening to radio shows of The World Tomorrow hosted by Garner Ted Armstrong.

So I saw that sign and my whole childhood flashed before my eyes and I thought, 'I wonder what dad would think about the youthful uprising that was occurring at the time, the Janis Joplins...I understood 'em, I got along with it, but what if he was to come alive at this moment?

In Haggard's episode of CMT's Inside Fame, Brian Mansfield of USA Today insists, "I think between 1966 and 1969/1970, when he's doing "Okie from Muskogee" and "Fightin' Side of Me," that period was every bit the match of Hank Williams from about 1950 to 1952.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote, "While the record isn't necessary, it is a hell of a lot of fun and not bad evidence of why Hag was the most popular figure in country music at the end of the '60s.