"Hungry Eyes" is an American country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 song written and recorded by Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard

Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...

. Recorded in December 1968, the song became one of the most famous of his career.

Background

During the late 1960s, Haggard released a series of recordings many critics have deemed to be not only some of his greatest works, but some of the most significant in the history of country music. "Hungry Eyes" — sometimes known as "Mama's Hungry Eyes" — is one of those recordings.

According to genre historian Bill Malone, Haggard wrote the song as a tribute to his mother and the sacrifices she made for her family as a single mother (Haggard's father having died when he was 9). The song itself is not autobiographical, Malone noted, as the Haggard family never lived in a labor camp.

However, "Hungry Eyes" is a tribute to Oklahomans and others who lived in labor camps during the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, the time period in which this song is set. "(I)t is Haggard's way of commemorating a whole generation of Okies who persisted through persecution and suffering to transplant their culture to California," Malone wrote.

"Hungry Eyes," whose somber tone underscored the hope-filled despair of its main subject, Mama, was a track on Haggard's 1969 album A Portrait of Merle Haggard

A Portrait of Merle Haggard

A Portrait of Merle Haggard is an album by country singer Merle Haggard, released in 1969.Two number one singles were contained on the album — "Workin' Man's Blues" and "Hungry Eyes" — both would become signature songs for Haggard.-Track listing:...

. Music critic Mark Deming noted that the song was among three of Haggard's finest songs to appear on the album; "Silver Wings" and "Workin' Man's Blues" were the other two. "(M)ost country artists would be happy to cut three tunes this strong during the course of their career, let alone as part of one of six albums Hag would release in 1969," wrote Deming.

Chart performance

"Hungry Eyes" was released in February 1969, and reached number one on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

chart.

Chart (1969)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	2