Lynyrd Skynyrd: Neil Young's Nemesis or Ally?
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young
Please comment and add your thoughts on Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama"
The history of Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1974 song "Sweet Home Alabama" has a long and tortured history. The enormously popular song has an extraordinarily complex backstory involving a wide swath of groups which have laid claim to the song's message and symbols. As this article demonstrates, the complicated saga of "Sweet Home Alabama" is anything but sweet.
This article came about because I've long been fascinated with Neil Young's influence on other bands ever since I heard Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" which was written in response to two of Young's anti-southern songs, "Southern Man", from the album After the Gold Rush, and "Alabama", from the album Harvest. From "Sweet Home Alabama" lyrics:
(Play and listen to a MP3 sample clip of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama"
(Play and listen to a MP3 sample clip of Neil Young's "Southern Man"
(Play and listen to a MP3 sample clip of Neil Young's "Alabama"
Known as a response record, such songs "refer directly to a previous hit and usually do it in a catty, mischievous way". The lines in "Sweet Home Alabama" are a direct response to Young's anti-racist, anti-cross burning "Southern Man" and "Alabama" songs. Lynyrd Skynyrd's comeback was intended to mean, at first glance, "Thank you for your opinion Neil, now leave us alone."
It is this perceived "attitude" which has led to Lynyrd Skynyrd earning a reputation as a "racist" band. Inasmuch as the fact that the band often performed with a Confederate flag as a backdrop, the label and perception has been hard to shake.
"Sweet Home Alabama"'s enduring popularity with conservatives is quite perplexing given the song's lyrics and meaning. The National Review Online's John J. Miller recently listed it among "The 50 greatest conservative rock songs" and wrote that the song is "a tribute to the region of America that liberals love to loathe, taking a shot at Neil Young’s Canadian arrogance along the way: “A Southern man don’t need him around anyhow.”
So how could a song championing such liberal causes as civil rights, justice and equality become such an anthem for the party and policies of segrationist George Wallace? Much as conservatives on the right fundamentally misunderstood Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" and Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World", again there is a wholesale mis-appropriation of Skynyrd's message. (See the 2004 Election in this unbelievably distorted comparison of Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Bush, John Kerry, & Neil Young).
The following article traces the long arc and full circle of the song's history, where -- in the end -- you can be the judge and vote along with several thousand others on the song's true intent and meaning.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" meaning is often interpreted as being "racist" because of the the lyrics reference "In Birmingham [where a black church was bombed killing 4 young girls] they love the governor [George Wallace ]" who was a segrationist. This interpretation and analysis has been intelligently reasoned, hotly debated, passionately argued, bickered over, volleyed about, and scrupulously dissected . After singing this line, Skynyrd sing "Boo, boo, boo!" as if to disapprove of Wallace and his policies of racism.
As for the "Boo, boo, boo!" chorus, some have dismissed it as Skynyrd 's wink at racism. Joshua Marshall writes in Talking Points Memo: "It always seemed to me more likely that that shadow lyric is a mocking allusion to anti-Wallace protestors." Nonetheless, many still regard the song to be a paean to the South's disregard for the civil rights movement.
The last line in the song is an ad-lib by Van Zant that is rarely understood. He says, "Montgomery got the answer". Some of the original band members revealed this in a radio interview a few years back and possibly references the infamous march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, led by civil rights leader Martin Luther King. George Wallace was the governor of Alabama when this was released and -- apparently -- loved the song, especially the line, "In Birmingham they love the governor." At best, this is ambiguous. At it's worst, this can be seen as an endorsement of the racist policies of the Alabama state capitol. Wallace, in the end, made the band honorary Lieutenant Colonels in the state militia. So is the song "Sweet Home Alabama" racist?
Immediately after the band sings the verse "Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her," one can hear in the background what sounds like the phrase "Southern Man." Many believe it was Young's original recording being played. However, others claim it to be the album's producer, Al Kooper, impersonating Young.
Furthermore, Lynyrd Skynyrd sang "Now Watergate does not bother me". Sadly, it would seem not only were Lynard Skynard untroubled by racism but were not terribly concerned by corruption at the highest levels of the U.S. government.
The response song "Sweet Home Alabama" was inspired by the two Neil Young songs "Southern Man" and "Alabama". Specifically, lyrics to "Southern Man":
I saw cotton
and I saw black
Tall white mansions
and little shacks.
Southern man
when will you
pay them back?
I heard screamin'
and bullwhips cracking
How long? How long?
And "Alabama"'s lyrics:
(Play and listen to a MP3 sample clip of Neil Young's "Alabama"
In Young's anthology album "Decade" liner notes, he wrote about "Southern Man" in his usual obliquely ironic fashion:
Others have made different interpretations of the contretemps. In Glide Magazine by Ross Warner, this opinion is ventured on Skynyrd's song:
The "feud myth" was further fueled with the Drive-By Truckers 2002 album "Southern Rock Opera" song "Ronnie and Neil":
Now Ronnie and Neil became good friends
their feud was just in song
Skynyrd was a bunch of Neil Young fans and Neil he loved that song
So He wrote "Powderfinger" for Skynyrd to record
But Ronnie ended up singing "Sweet Home Alabama" to the lord
(Play and listen to a MP3 sample clip of Drive By Truckers' "Ronnie and Neil"
Drive By Truckers guitarist Patterson Hood explains:
Ronnie Van Zant wearing a Neil Young "Tonight's the Night" album cover t-shirt
(front row with hat)
As for Neil Young's reaction to all of this? One widely circulated theory during the 1970's was found in Neil's stunning response to Lynyrd Skynyrd with On The Beach's "Walk On."
Little did I realize at the time the symbolism in "Walk On", but years later as On The Beach surfaces and makes its place with other classics, did some of Neil's meanings sink in. (The lyrics in "Walk On" have also been interpreted to refer to bandmates Crosby, Stills, & Nash.)
So were Neil and Skynyrd really friends or foes? If you look closely at the cover photo of the last Lynyrd Skynyrd album "Street Survivors", you can see Ronnie Van Zant wearing a Neil Young "Tonight's the Night" album cover t-shirt.
Brothers in Arms or Rebels With A Cause?
Neil on "Journey Through The Past" album cover and Ronnie on "Street Survivors" album cover
Or, as Fred Mills puts it in his book review of Lynyrd Skynyrd: Remembering The Free Birds Of Southern Rock by Gene Odom, "[Ronnie Van Zant would] just as soon go onstage wearing one of several Neil Young T-shirts that he owned in order to fuck with any yahoos in the crowd who missed the humor and irony of the “Sweet Home Alabama” lyrics."
And Kenny C. posted on the comments another interesting t-shirt observation: In the concert film "Rust Never Sleeps", Billy Talbot, the Crazy Horse bass player, is wearing a Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt! It's the Skynyrd shirt that looks like a Jack Daniels whiskey label. Just something else to ponder...
Ronnie Van Zant sporting Neil Young "Tonight's The Night" T-shirt
Oakland Coliseum Stadium, July 2, 1977
Photographer: Michael Zagaris on Wolfgang's Vault
It seems that whatever grudges Lynyrd Skynyrd had for Neil's music may have been resolved - if there ever was any feud to begin with. From an interview with Ronnie Van Zant:
As for the rumor that Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded the Neil Young song "Powderfinger" (see for lyrics analysis), here's an interview in MOJO Magazine , where Young said:
Interviewer Q. Surprising, that. After all, Lynyrd Skynyrd put you down by name on Sweet Home Alabama, their first hit single....
Young: Oh, they didn't really put me down! But then again, maybe they did! (laughs) But not in a way that matters. Shit, I think Sweet Home Alabama is a great song. I've actually performed it live a couple of times myself. "
In addition to the song "Powderfinger", Young allegedly also gave the band the song “Sedan Delivery” and "Captain Kennedy" to record.
It should also be noted that shortly after the band was involved in a fatal plane accident, Neil Young performed a rare live version of "Alabama" at Bicentennial Park, Miami, Florida on 11-12-1977 for Children's Hospital Charity with The Gone With The Wind Orchestra and he changed the lyric chorus from "Alabama" to "Sweet Home Alabama".
Recalling the concert tribute in an interview with the Boston Globe, Young said: "I just sang 'I hope you all will remember. I thought it was a cool thing."
Back to the Driveby Truckers song "Ronnie and Neil" and the implication that Neil Young was a pallbearer at Van Zant's funeral:
This is another Neil Young/Lynyrd Skynyrd "urban legend" which is debunked in an interesting essay in Tone and Groove. As for the rumor that Ronnie Van Zant was buried wearing a Neil Young t-shirt, again this seems to be another example of a myth to propogate the tragic legend. Even more bizarre, are the rumors that some Skynyrd fans dug up Ronnie's grave to prove whether Van Zant was buried in a Neil Young T-shirt. Some of the fans/grave diggers report seeing VanZant's body in a black Neil Young "Tonight's the Night" t-shirt, however police reports indicate the coffin was never opened. Regardless of their motive for desecration of a grave, Van Zant and Gaines remains were relocated to an undisclosed location. The relocation was prompted by a June 29, 2000 break-in at the crypts for Van Zant and Gaines at Jacksonville Memory Gardens in Orange Park, Florida where fans had gathered to pay tribute to the band.
And the myths and legends surrounding Skynyrd & Young and racism are again addressed on the Drive By Truckers epic "Southern Rock Opera" song "Three Great Alabama Icons". From the song's lyrics:
But in the tradition of Merle Haggard writin' Okie from Muskogee
to tell his dad's point of view about the hippies in Vietnam,
Ronnie felt that the other side of the story should be told.
And Neil Young always claimed that Sweet Home Alabama was one of his favorite songs.
And legend has it that he was an honorary pall bearer at Ronnie's funeral -
such is the Duality of the Southern Thing.
One that certainly exists, but few saw beyond the rebel flag…
And this applies not only to their critics and detractors, but also from their fans and followers.
So for a while, when Neil Young would come to town, he’d get death-threats down in Alabama…
As for the dangers Neil faced in the south alluded to by the Drive-by Truckers, Young has made statements about never wanting to play in the south. There are only 2 dates from 1973 where Neil was scheduled to play in the state of Alabama. Neither show has a known setlist and it is unclear whether Neil has actually ever performed in the state of Alabama. And while his tours through the south have been limited, this is most likely an economic decision rather than a deliberate avoidance.
From the book Freebirds: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Story by Marley Brant:
"We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," Ronnioe told Rolling Stone magazine regarding the creation of the answer song. The band felt that Young's lyrical content was representative of the shortsighted "Yankee" belief that all Southern men should be held accountable for the verbalizations and actions of a racist minority.
While the rebuttal was heartfelt, Skynyrd held Neil Young in high regard for his musical achievementts and they weren't intending to start a feud of any kind. "Neil is amazing, wonderful... a superstar," said Van Zant. "I showed the verse to Ed King and asked him what Neil might think. Ed said he'd dig it; he'd be laughing at it." Ed King says that the tune was not so much a direct attack on Young but just a good regional song.
The song was well received but immediately put a stigma on the band as rednecks. Producer Al Kooper added. "Hey, you have to be more careful when you write a song now. But I'll tell you something -- Neil Young loved it. That's true, he told me so to my face." "
(Read more excepts from the book Freebirds: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Story by Marley Brant
Some fans vindicate the band as anti-racist by pointing to the lyrics of the song "The Ballad of Curtis Loew", a tune Van Zant wrote professing his love for a black man's blues playing.
Old Curt was a black man with white curly hair
When he had a fifth of wine he did not have a care
He used to own an old dobro, used to play it across his knee
I'd give old Curt my money, he'd play all day for me
(chorus)
Play me a song Curtis Loew, Curtis Loew
(Complete lyrics for "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" below. Lynyrd Skynyrd's "The Ballad Of Curtis Lowe"
The song "Southern Man" was at the center of an unfortunate event on the 1973 tour and has been recounted by Neil in concert. The incident ocurred on March 31, 1973 in Oakland, CA. During the performance of "Southern Man", an excited fan approached the stage dancing and having a good time. A security guard approached the fan and proceeded to "beat the crap out of him" and have him removed. Young stopped playing the song, left the stage, and abruptly canceled the rest of the performance. Young believed that the assault flew directly in the face of the song's message of tolerance and diversity and was sickened by the attack. A final irony of the Oakland "Southern Man" performance was that the officer was black and the beaten fan was white.
The "urban legends" surrounding the tragedy of Lynyrd Skynyrd are seemingly endless and no doubt fueled by the survivors themselves. On VH1's show "Lynyrd Skynyrd's Uncivil War", keyboardist Billy Powell comments on the lies he told in an interview on VH1's Behind the Music in 1997, about the plane crash.
Surprisingly (not really), in 2003, VH-1 has the Lynyrd Skynyrd versus Neil Young controversy as one of the Top 40 Celebrity Feuds of all time. What a joke, please. Pretty ridiculous, but nothing compared to some of the other feuds featured. Sadly, the folks at VH1 do very little solid research which they pass off as facts. I guess facts don't make for good ratings. And facts are the enemy of truth, as many have observed of the famous quote by Don Quixote.
Warren Zevon mentioned the controversy in his song "Play it all Night Long" with the lyrics: "Sweet home Alabama/play that dead band's song..."
Much as John Lennon's murder put an end to the 1960's love and peace spirit (albeit some twenty years later) or Kurt Cobain's death marked the end of the grunge era, Ronnie Van Zant's death ended a chapter in Southern Rock history.
The contretemps seem to provide endless fascination for Ronnie and Neil fans.
Lastly, there's a connection between Young's "Needle and The Damage Done" and Skynyrd's "The Needle and The Spoon". But we'll save that analysis for another day. ;)
Thrasher
Here's a poll on Neil and Lynyrd. (Note: You may see an error message after voting but your vote is being tabulated properly. Weird code.)
Please comment and add your thoughts on Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama"
Well I used to wake the morning before the rooster crowed
Searching for soda bottles to get myself some dough
Brought 'em down to the corner, down to the country store
Cash 'em in and give my money to a man named curtis loew
Old curt was a black man with white curly hair
When he had a fifth of wine he did not have a care
He used to own an old dobro, used to play it across his knee
I'd give old curt my money, he'd play all day for me
(chorus)
Play me a song curtis loew, curtis loew
I got your drinking money, tune up your dobro
People said he was useless, them people are the fools
'cause curtis loew was the finest picker to ever play the blues
He looked to be sixty, and maybe I was ten
Mama used to whip me but I'd go see him again
I'd clap my hands, stomp my feets, try to stay in time
He'd play me a song or two
Then take another drink of wine.
Chorus
Yes sir
On the day old curtis died, nobody came to pray
Ol' preacher said some words, and they chunked him in the clay
But he lived a lifetime playin' the black man's blues
And on the day he lost his life, that's all he had to lose
Play me a song curtis loew, hey curtis loew
I wish that you was here so everyone would know
People said he was useless, them people all are fools
'cause curtis you're the finest picker to ever play the blues
(Play and listen to a MP3 sample clip of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "The Ballad Of Curtis Lowe"
Is the song "Sweet Home Alabama" racist?
Ronnie Van Zant and Neil Young: Rebels with a Cause?
American Idol drops Neil Young verse from "Sweet Home Alabama"
Grammys 2005 Southern Rock Tribute
Play and listen to a MP3 sample clip of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama"
Read more excepts from the book Freebirds: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Story by Marley Brant
More Neil Young polls.
More on Drive By Truckers and Patterson Hood and search on Thrashers Blog.
Also, more on the Neil Young song "Powderfinger".
More on Neil & Lynyrd on HyperRust and Lynyrd Skynyrd on Wikipedia.
A writer sees Southern rock as refuge from racism in the book "Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race and New Beginnings in a New South" by Mark Kemp.
Also, see Taking Sides Debate: "Southern Man" by Neil Young vs. "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynrd Skynrd.
Also, more on Neil and Ronnie (Ronald Reagan that is).
Also, the 2005 Grammy tribute to Southern Rock with Leonard Skinard and "Sweet Home Alabama".
Neil Young Blog - Musical Influences on Other Artists
Jammin' with Neil Young
Neil Young