There's Just One Way

Merle Haggard's “There's Just One Way” is a country gospel number with a single, unmistakable thesis. The chorus says there is one way to “make that trip to glory,” and gives the reason in a line from John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His son.” A cheerful instruction follows, “Hold your head up high, point your finger to the sky,” a gesture meant to be done on the beat.

The verses supply the argument. The first says peace on earth is something “mortal man won't ever find,” and the second names the answer to “the question for all sinners” and says where to read it, “written in the verse John 3:16.” Both repeat a phrase about “good news in the Good Book for God's children,” a line that sounds like a radio announcement. The promise is simple, “He can wash away your sins and make you clean.”

The title idea echoes John 14:6, where Jesus says no one comes to the Father except through him. The cleansing line is close to 1 John 1:7, which says the blood of Jesus purifies from all sin. The song ends on a shouted “One more time!” and a final run through the chorus.