If it weren't for Merle Haggard, the world might not have had the Christmas classic "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer." Songwriter Randy Brooks tells "The Dallas Morning News" he was inspired to write the song after hearing Hag's "Grandma's Homemade Christmas Card," noting it gave him the idea of killing off the song's title character. He explains that in Haggard's track, quote, "grandma didn't die, but listening to the song, I thought she was going to." Brooks adds, quote, "Country music featured so many songs like that -- two verses that get you to fall in love with the character, and then 'kill 'em! I thought it would be better to kill them in the first line, and then if you came up with three verses and a chorus, you'd have something. So I came up with the first line, and there was no looking back." Brooks says he wrote the song in the mid '70s, but it wasn't until the bluegrass comedy duo Elmo and Patsy heard it that "Grandma" went anywhere.Elmo Shropshire notes he had faith in the novelty song's potential. He recorded it, sold the single at his concerts, and gave it away to family and friends. Once a copy made its way to a San Francisco radio station disc jockey, "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" became part of American holiday music fare.
