About The Song
In 1994 Merle Haggard released a gospel album titled *What A Friend We Have In Jesus*, and one of its standout tracks was his heartfelt cover of “One Day at a Time.” Originally written by Kris Kristofferson and Marijohn Wilkin and first popularized by Marilyn Sellars in the early 1970s, the song became a staple in both country and gospel circles. Haggard’s version arrived late in his career but carried the weight of a man who had lived through enough to understand exactly what the lyrics were asking for: the strength to keep going when the road feels uncertain.
The lyrics are a simple, honest prayer. They acknowledge human weakness — “I’m only human, I’m just a man” — while asking for help to believe in what one can become. The repeated plea to “teach me to take one day at a time” speaks directly to anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by the future or haunted by the past. Haggard delivers the words with the quiet authority of someone who has spent decades turning personal struggle into song. There’s no flashy production or dramatic build; just a steady, lived-in vocal that makes the message feel earned rather than performed.
By the mid-1990s Haggard had already survived prison, multiple marriages, career highs and commercial pressures, and the constant balancing act of staying true to his Bakersfield roots while the broader country landscape shifted around him. His turn toward gospel material in this period wasn’t a sudden reinvention. It was a natural extension of the themes he had explored for years — redemption, resilience, and the daily choice to keep moving forward. Recording “One Day at a Time” let him speak plainly about the kind of faith that doesn’t require perfection, only persistence.
What makes Haggard’s recording especially moving is how little it tries to impress. He doesn’t over-sing or add unnecessary flourishes. Instead, he lets the song’s simple truth land: tomorrow may never come, yesterday is already gone, and the only real task in front of us is to get through today with as much grace as we can muster. That perspective resonated with fans who had followed him through decades of music that often dealt with hard living and harder lessons. Here was the same voice, now offering a measure of hard-won peace.
The song also fits into a long tradition of country artists turning to gospel when life’s weight becomes too heavy to carry alone. Haggard had recorded spiritual material before, but this later version felt particularly personal. It arrived at a time when many listeners were themselves navigating middle age, loss, or quiet reflection, and the message of taking life one day at a time offered both comfort and challenge. It didn’t promise that everything would suddenly be easy. It simply reminded people that they didn’t have to solve the whole future at once.
Decades later “One Day at a Time” remains one of the most quietly powerful entries in Haggard’s vast catalog. It doesn’t demand attention the way some of his rowdier hits do, but it rewards repeated listening with its steady, unpretentious wisdom. In a career built on telling the truth about working-class life, heartbreak, and redemption, this gospel-leaning track stands as a gentle reminder that sometimes the most profound courage is simply showing up for whatever the day brings — and trusting that grace will meet you there.
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Lyric
I’m only human
I’m just a man
Help me to believe in what I can be and all that I am
Show me the stairway
That I have to climb
Lord for my sake teach me to take one day at a time
One day at a time, sweet Jesus
That’s all I’m asking of you
Give me the strength to do everyday
What I have to do
Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine
So for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time
Do you remember when you walked among men?
Well Jesus you know if you’re looking below
It’s worse now than then
Pushing and shoving crowding my mind
So for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time
One day at a time, sweet Jesus (sweet Jesus)
That’s all I’m asking of you
Give me the strength to do everyday
What I have to do
Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus (sweet Jesus)
And tomorrow may never be mine
So, for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time
Yes, for just my sake, teach me to take one day at a time