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Lynyrd Skynyrd -The Needle And The Spoon

Lynyrd Skynyrd - The Needle And The Spoon Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Second Helping
Released: 1974

The Needle And The Spoon Lyrics

Thirty days, Lord, and thirty nights
I'm coming home on an airplane flight
Mama waiting at the ticket line
Tell me son, why do you stand there cryin'?

It was The Needle And The Spoon
And a trip to the moon
Took me away
Took me away

I've been feeling so sick inside
Got to get better, Lord, before I die
Some doctors couldn't help my head, they said
You'd better quit, son, before you're dead

Quit the needle, quit the spoon
Quit the trip to the moon
They gonna take you away
Lord, they gonna take you away

It was the needle and the spoon

I've seen a lot of people who thought they were cool
But then again, Lord, I've seen a lot of fools
I hope you people, Lord, can hear what I say
You'll have your chance to hit it some day

Don't mess with a needle or a spoon
Or a trip to the moon
They'll take you away

Lord, their gonna bury you boy
Don't mess with the needle
Now I know, I know, I know, I know, I know

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / COLLINS, ALLEN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Needle And The Spoon

In this song, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was warning about the dangers of hardcore drugs, which the band was just learning about.

In 2015, Guitar World honored guitarist Allen Collins' solo, and his use of the wah-wah pedal to inject the Southern rock song with a hit of '70s psychedelia, by ranking it at #19 on the magazine's list of greatest wah solos of all time.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - The Ballad Of Curtis Loew

Lynyrd Skynyrd - The Ballad Of Curtis Loew Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Second Helping
Released: 1974

The Ballad Of Curtis Loew Lyrics

Well, I used to wake the mornin'
Before the rooster crowed
Searchin' 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 'cross his knee
I'd give old Curt my money
He'd play all day for me

Play me a song
Curtis Loew, Curtis Loew
Well, I got your drinkin' money
Tune up your Dobro
People said he was useless
Them people all were 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 whoop me
But I'd go see him again
I'd clap my hands, stomp my feet
Try to stay in time
He'd play me a song or two
Then take another drink of wine

Play me a song
Curtis Loew, Curtis Loew
Well, I got your drinkin' money
Tune up your Dobro
People said he was useless
Them people all were fools
'Cause Curtis Loew was the finest picker
To ever play the blues

Yes, sir

On the day old Curtis died
Nobody came to pray
Ol' preacher said some words
And they chunked him in the clay
Well, 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 were fools
'Cause Curtis you're the finest picker
To ever play the blues

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / COLLINS, ALLEN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Ballad Of Curtis Loew

Curtis Loew is not the name of an actual person from Ronnie Van Zant's life. Rather, Curtis Loew is a composite of different people, including Skynyrd lead guitarist Ricky Medlocke's grandfather, Shorty Medlocke. Contrary to the song's lyrics, Shorty was not black. In a 1997 interview on the Lyve From Steel Town album, the band was quoted as jokingly saying, "We needed to 'color' the song up."

A dobro is a resonator guitar with a mechanical amplifier. It was originally released in 1927. Gibson now owns the rights to the dobro guitar.

According to Ronnie Van Zant's widow Judy Van Zant Jenness, the unusual spelling of "Loew" was Skynyrd guitarist Ed King's idea. When he was writing the liner notes for the Second Helping album, he decided to name the character after Loew's Theater - thus giving an old Bluesman a Jewish name.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Am I Losin'

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Am I Losin' Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Nuthin' Fancy
Released: 1975

Am I Losin' Lyrics

I recall when I used to come home never had a dime
But Lord I always had a good time
And I recall drinkin' wine with one of my friends
Lord, I can't go back again

[Chorus)]
Am I Losin' my own way back home
Am I losin' a good friend that I've known
Am I losin' won't you tell me how I've sinned
Why am I losin one of my bets friends

And I recall this friend of mine I knew so well
It goes to show Lord you just can't tell
Now my friend won't talk to me Let me tell you why
He thinks I 've changed because of a dollar sign

[Chorus]

And its so strange when you get just a little money
Your so called friends want to act just a little funny
They'll blame you

But I'm not the one that's here to blame
Its you my friend that's really changed
Its a shame, such a shame
Am I losin' once again

Why these things happen, Lord I don't understand
But Lord it can sure hurt a man
Why my friend won't take me as I am
'Cause your friend Lord is the most important thing

[Chorus]

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / ROSSINGTON, GARY ROBERT
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Am I Losin'

This is about drummer Bob Burns leaving the band due to the stress of heavy touring. After release of the album, Lynyrd Skynyrd started a 90-day 61-concert tour called "The Torture Tour." Ed King walked out during this tour.

An acoustic version is featured on Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1994 album Endangered Species.

Skynyrd is one band that's familiar with hardship. Al Kooper relates in his memoir Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards that, while he was still in the early stages of taking over management of the band, Ronnie Van Zant phoned him at 2 a.m. This was to report the news that Lynyrd Skynyrd's equipment van had been stolen. They had a tour to fulfill and no equipment. So Van Zant asked Kooper to wire them $5,000 on the spot. Kooper immediately obliged, to which Van Zant remarked, "Al, you just bought yourself a band for five thousand dollars!"

Lynyrd Skynyrd - All I Can Do Is Write About It

Lynyrd Skynyrd - All I Can Do Is Write About It Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Gimme Back My Bullets
Released: 1976

All I Can Do Is Write About It Lyrics

Well this life that I've lead has took me everywhere
There ain't no place I ain't never gone
But it's kind of like the saying that you heard so many times
Well there just ain't no place like home
Did you ever see a she-gator protect her young
Or a fish in a river swimming free
Did you ever see the beauty of the hills of Carolina
Or the sweetness of the grass in Tennessee
And lord I can't make any changes
All I can do is write 'em in a song
I can see the concrete slowly creepin'
Lord take me and mine before that comes

Do you like to see a mountain stream a-flowin'
Do you like to see a young gun with his dog
Did you ever stop to think about, well, the air your breathin'
Well you better listen to my song
And lord I can't make any changes
All I can do is write 'em in a song
I can see the concrete slowly creepin'
Lord take me and mine before that comes

I'm not tryin' to put down no big cities
But the things they write about us is just a bore
Well you can take a boy out of ol' dixieland
But you'll never take ol' Dixie from a boy
And lord I can't make any changes
All I can do is write 'em in a song
I can see the concrete slowly creepin'
Lord take me and mine before that comes
'Cause I can see the concrete slowly creepin'
Lord take me and mine before that comes

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / COLLINS, ALLEN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

All I Can Do Is Write About It

This is an acoustic tune about Ronnie Van Zant's outlook on how things were changing around him and how he enjoyed the natural world and the laid-back honesty of the American South. It is probably about the growth of his hometown as he was cautioning about urban and suburban sprawl. This song helps refute the image of Lynyrd Skynyrd as just a bunch of racist rednecks.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Things Goin' On

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Things Goin' On Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd
Released: 1973

Things Goin' On Lyrics

Well, have you ever lived down in the ghetto?
Have you ever felt the cold wind blow?
Well, if you don't know what I mean
Won't you stand up and scream?
'Cause there's Things Goin' On that you don't know

Too many lives they've spent across the ocean
Too much money been spent upon the moon
Well, until they make it right
I hope they never sleep at night
They better make some changes
And do it soon

Well, they're goin ruin the air we breathe
Lord have mercy
They're gonna ruin us all, by and by
I'm telling all you beware
I don't think they really care
I think they just sit up there
And just get high

Well, have you ever lived down in the ghetto?
Have you ever felt the cold wind blow?
Well, if you don't know what I mean
Won't you stand up and scream?
'Cause there's things goin' on that you don't know

Well, if you don't know what I mean
Won't you stand up and scream?
'Cause there's things goin' on that you don't know

Thing goin' on

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / ROSSINGTON, GARY ROBERT
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Things Goin' On

This is Ronnie Van Zant's protest song. Instead of writing from the perspective of the war, it is written from the perspective of the government.

An acoustic version of this song is featured on the album Endangered Species sung by Johnny Van Zant.

This song, track one, side two, of their debut album (pronounced 'l?h-'nérd 'skin-'nérd), was part of Lynyrd Skynyrd's initial audition tapes. Then-producer Al Kooper brought them all into the studio to record every original song they knew to live-to-two-track, so he could then pick and choose from that to make the first album. However, it turned out that all 14 songs were top-notch, so Kooper used everything that didn't go on the first album for either B-sides for single's releases or on later albums.
Kooper's initial work with the band was sometimes a power struggle. In his memoir, Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards , Kooper mentions how they broke in Billy Powell, a keyboardist with training in classical music. While the classical music training gave him a rich, textured sound, he tended to play too much with his left hand, drowning out the guitars. Kooper got so frustrated trying to break him of this habit that he took to tying Powell's left hand to the piano bench during takes!

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Was I Right Or Wrong

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Was I Right Or Wrong Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Skynyrd's First And... Last
Released: 1978

Was I Right Or Wrong Lyrics

Like a restless leaf in the autumn breeze,
Once, I was a tumbleweed
Like a rolling stone, cold and all alone,
Livin' for the day my dream would come

Never cared for school or any golden rules
Papa used to always say I was a useless fool
So I left my home to show 'em they was wrong
And headed out on the road, singin' my songs

Then one sunny day, the man, he looked my way
And everything that I dreamed of, it was real
Money, girls, and cars and big long cigars
And I caught the first plane home so Papa would see

When I went home to show 'em they was wrong
All that I found was two tombstones
Somebody tell me, please, Was I Right Or Wrong?
Lord, it's such a sad song

At first I got lost, then I got found
But the ones that I loved were in the ground
Papa, I only wish you could see me now
Take a listen Papa, I learned how to play my guitar, superstar
Play one for momma now

If there's any way that you can hear what I say
Papa, I never meant to do you wrong
All the money, girls, and cars,
And all the world's long cigars,
Papa, I just want you to know,
They couldn't take your place

When I went home to show 'em they was wrong,
All that I found was two tombstones
Somebody tell me please, was I right or wrong?
Lord, it's such a sad song
At first I got lost, then I got found
But the ones that I loved were in the ground
Somebody tell me, please, was I right or wrong?

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / ROSSINGTON, GARY ROBERT
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Was I Right Or Wrong

When Lynyrd Skynyrd started out, they recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama, where they recorded an album in 1972 that contained this song. According to Roger Hawkins and David Hood, who were part of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, no record company would pick up the album because the demo reel with the album somehow got flipped when it left the studio, and when Skynyd's manager played it for record executives, it sounded muffled. The band ended up recording a new version of their album in Georgia with Al Kooper, which became their 1973 debut Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd. "Was I Right Or Wrong" didn't appear until 1978 when the album Skynyrd's First and... Last, which contained their original Muscle Shoals recordings.

When the album Second Helping was re-released, this was added to the album.

The song is about leaving home to follow your dreams only to return to a family that is deceased. It is not a reference to Ronnie's father, Lacy Van Zant, who is often referred to as the "Father of Southern Rock."

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd
Released: 1973

Simple Man Lyrics

Mama told me when I was young
"Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it'll help you some sunny day"

"Oh, take your time, don't live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You'll find a woman and you'll find love
And don't forget, son, there is someone up above"

"And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can"

"Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied"

"And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can"

Oh yes, I will

"Boy, don't you worry, you'll find yourself
Follow your heart and nothing else
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied"

"And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can"

Baby, be a simple, really Simple Man
Oh, be something you love and understand

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / ROSSINGTON, GARY ROBERT
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Simple Man

Shortly after Ronnie Van Zant's grandmother and Gary Rossington's mother died, they got together in Van Zant's apartment and started telling stories about them. Rossington came up with a chord progression, and Van Zant wrote the lyrics based on advice the women had given them over the years. They wrote it in about an hour.

Even though the lyrics state, "Sit beside me, my only son," Ronnie was not the only son. He had 2 younger brothers along with one older sister and one younger sister.

This appears on the soundtrack to the movie Almost Famous.

Skynyrd producer Al Kooper didn't like the way this was coming out, so the band recorded it without him and had him add his organ part later. He didn't think they should release it, but realized he was wrong when it went over so well with their fans.

When Skynyrd toured in 1987, they dedicated this to Van Zant.

The studio and live versions of this song are tuned to different keys. The studio is in Ab while the live is the key of A.

The Heavy Metal band Shinedown recorded an acoustic version. The Deftones also covered it on their B-Sides And Rarities CD.

Frontman Johnny Van Zant discussed this song in a track-by-track commentary to promote the band's 2010 CD/DVD Live From Freedom Hall. He said: "Well that's a great song and something that I think we all live by. I think anybody out there needs to respect their mother, and the words of their mother. It's mama talking to you in that song and I think it's probably one of my favorite's if not my favorite to do live. It's just a great song and that one stays in the set and the crowd always goes crazy on that one."

The song charted in the Hot 100 for the first time in May 2015. A version by Sawyer Fredericks, performed on the April 27, 2015 episode of The Voice, debuted at #71 the following week.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimme Three Steps

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimme Three Steps Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd
Released: 1973

Gimme Three Steps Lyrics

I was cutting a rug
Down at place called The Jug
With a girl named Linda Lou
When in walked a man
With a gun in his hand
And he was looking for you know who
He said, "Hey there, fellow
With the hair colored yellow
Whatcha tryin' to prove?
'Cause that's my woman there
And I'm a man who cares
And this might be all for you
I said, excuse me

I was scared and fearing for my life
I was shaking like a leaf on a tree
'Cause he was lean, mean
Big and bad, Lord
Pointin' that gun at me
"Oh, wait a minute, mister
I didn't even kiss her
Don't want no trouble with you
And I know you don't owe me
But I wish you'd let me
Ask one favor from you"

"Oh, won't you
Gimme Three Steps, gimme three steps, mister
Gimme three steps towards the door?
Gimme three steps, gimme three steps, mister
And you'll never see me no more"

For, sure

Well the crowd cleared away
And I began to pray
And the water fell on the floor
And I'm telling you, son
Well, it ain't no fun
Staring straight down a forty-four
Well, he turned and screamed at Linda Lou
And that's the break I was looking for
And you could hear me screaming a mile away
As I was headed out toward your door

"Oh, won't you
Gimme three steps, gimme three steps, mister
Gimme three steps towards the door?
Gimme three steps, gimme three steps, mister
And you'll never see me no more"

Show me the back door

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / COLLINS, ALLEN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Gimme Three Steps Song Chart

This song is based on a true story. As Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington tells it, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, who was about 18 at the time, used a fake ID to get in a bar while his younger band mates Rossington and Allen Collins waited for him in a truck. Van Zant danced with a girl named Linda, whose boyfriend, who was not too happy about it, came up to Ronnie and reached for something in his boot. Figuring he was going for a gun, Van Zant told him: "If you're going to shoot me it's going to be in the ass or the elbows... just gimme a few steps and I'll be gone." He ran to the truck, and he, Rossington, and Collins wrote this song that night.

According to the Freebird Foundation, which is run by Van Zant's widow Judy Van Zant Jenness, the events of the song took place at a bar called The Little Brown Jug, which was located on Edison Avenue in Jacksonville, Florida, where the band is from. Thus the lyrics, "I was cuttin' the rug, down a a place called The Jug," which is where Ronnie ran into an angry local man with a gun.

The pace of the chorus is fast, to signify Van Zant running away from the guy he thought was going to shoot him.

This made the cut for Skynyrd's first album. Their producer, Al Kooper , had them play all their original songs, and out of the 14 they had, picked 9 to record for the album.

This was one of the few songs Skynyrd released as a single. It was their first major-label release, and it didn't chart.

The band's name was a mocking tribute to Leonard Skinner, a physical-education teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, who was notorious for strictly enforcing the school's policy against boys having long hair. Despite their high school acrimony, the band developed a friendlier relationship with Skinner in later years, and invited him to introduce them at a concert in the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum.
Interviewed by the Florida Times Union in January 2009, Skinner said he was just following the rules about hair length. It bothered him that the legend had grown that he was particularly tough on the band members. In fact, he didn't even remember them when they were in high school. He said, "It was against the school rules. I don't particularly like long hair on men, but again, it wasn't my rule."

Though he hasn't been shy of the attention he received because of his name, Skinner never really warmed up to the group's music. "No," he said when asked if he liked their tunes. "I don't. I don't like rock 'n' roll music."

On September 20, 2010, Skinner died at a nursing home in Jacksonville, at age 77 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - That Smell

Lynyrd Skynyrd - That Smell Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Street Survivors
Released: 1977

That Smell Lyrics

Whiskey bottles, and brand new cars
Oak tree you're in my way
There's too much coke and too much smoke
Look what's going on inside you

Ooooh That Smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you

Angel of darkness is upon you
Stuck a needle in your arm
So take another toke, have a blow for your nose
And one more drink fool, will drown you

Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you

Now they call you Prince Charming
Can't speak a word when you're full of 'ludes
Say you'll be all right come tomorrow
But tomorrow might not be here for you

Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you

Hey, you're a fool, you (2:30)
Go on stick them needles in your arm (2:34)

I know I been there before (2:50)

One little problem that confronts you (3:28)
Got a monkey on your back
Just one more fix, Lord might do the trick
One hell of a price for you to get your kicks

Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you
Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you

Hey, you're a fool, you
Go on stick those needles in your arm
You're just a fool, just a fool, just a fool

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / COLLINS, ALLEN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

That Smell Song Chart

This song is about Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington, who bought a new car (a Ford Torino), got drunk, and crashed it into a tree, then a house ("whiskey bottles, brand new car, oak tree you're in my way"). The band was supposed to start a tour in a few days, but had to postpone it because of Rossington's injuries.

Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Allen Collins wrote this song. They were not pleased with Rossington, whose drug and alcohol problems were affecting the band.

The band fined Rossington $5000 for holding up the tour. Skynyrd made an effort to stay sober on this tour. Drugs and alcohol were banned from the dressing rooms.

Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines were killed in a plane crash a few days after Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1977 tour started. Some of the lyrics in this song refer to death, and the cover of the album, which had just been released, showed the band enveloped in flames.

This song features the famous whistle of Ronnie Van Zant. He learned to whistle very loud so he could call the dogs when he went hunting.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimme Back My Bullets

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimme Back My Bullets Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Gimme Back My Bullets
Released: 1976

Gimme Back My Bullets Lyrics

Life is so strange when its changin', yes indeed
Well I've seen the hard times and the pressure's been on me
But I keep on workin' like the workin' man do
And I've got my act together, gonna walk all over you

[Chorus]
Gimme Back My Bullets
Put 'em back where they belong
Ain't foolin' around 'cause I done had my fun
Ain't gonna see no more damage done
Gimme back my bullets

Sweet talkin' people done ran me out of town
And I drank enough whiskey to float a battleship around
But I'm leavin' this game one step ahead of you
And you will not hear me cry 'cause I do not sing the blues

[Chorus]
Gimme back, gimme back my bullets
Oh, put 'em back...where they belong

Been up and down since I turned seventeen
Well I've been on top, and then it seems I lost my dream
But I got it back, I'm feelin' better everyday
Tell all those pencil pushers, better get out of my way

[Chorus]
Gimme back, gimme back my bullets
Oh put 'em back where they belong
Gimme back my bullets

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / ROSSINGTON, GARY ROBERT
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Gimme Back My Bullets Song Chart

According to Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington in a 1992 Goldmine interview, this song is about the bullets Billboard charts use to signify a song is moving quickly up the chart. If a song is "#12 with a bullet," it is at #12 but will probably go higher next week. Skynyrd had not had a hit in a while and this was a message that they wanted to get back on the charts.

This song was about regaining dominance on the music charts, but Gimme Back My Bullets was the weakest selling album of Skynyrd's career to that point. It was their fourth release, and the first produced by the famous Atlantic Records engineer Tom Dowd, who was allowed to produce two bands outside of Atlantic every year (Skynyrd was on MCA).

This was never released as a single. The only single from the album was the non-charting "Double Trouble."

Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded this with only two lead guitarists: Allen Collins and Gary Rossington. Third lead guitarist Ed King had left just before making this album. When this album didn't sell as well as expected, another guitarist, Steve Gaines, was brought in.

Fans started throwing bullets and other objects on stage when they performed this. They had to take it out of their set list because they were afraid someone was going to get hurt.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Second Helping
Released: 1974

Sweet Home Alabama Lyrics

Big wheels keep on turning
Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the south-land
I miss 'ole' 'bamy once again and I think it's a sin

Well I heard Mister Young sing about her
Well I heard ole Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don't need him around anyhow

Sweet Home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you

In Birmingham they love the Gov'nor, boo-hoo-hoo
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you, tell the truth

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you, here I come

Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they've been known to pick a song or two (yes they do)
Lord they get me off so much
They pick me up when I'm feeling blue, now how bout you?

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you

Sweet home Alabama, oh sweet home
Where the skies are so blue and the governor's true
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / ROSSINGTON, GARY ROBERT / KING, EDWARD C.
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Sweet Home Alabama Song Chart

Lynyrd Skynyrd is from Jacksonville, Florida. They wrote this song about their impressions of Alabama and as a tribute to the studio musicians at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios , where they recorded from 1970-1972. The studios gained fame during the '60s and '70s when it became the vogue thing for bands to record there. Artists like Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin, and many big southern rock groups recorded there. "The Swampers" was a name Leon Russell's producer Denny Cordell came up with for the musicians, and when Russell earned a Gold Record for his 1971 album Leon Russell and the Shelter People (recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios), he gave one to the guys that said, "Presented to The Swampers." (These commemorative gold records were often given to folks who helped create or market the album, and they often went to record executives or radio stations). Lynyrd Skynyrd saw the record, and when they included the line, "Muscle Shoals has got The Swampers" in this song, they popularized the nickname and brought a lot of attention to these Alabama players who worked behind the scenes on many famous recordings. To find out how the nickname originated in the first place, we asked a Swamper - bass player David Hood, who told us: "We had been working with Leon, we had been working with Denny Cordell, who was his producer. I think Denny came up with the name. We did an album called The Shelter People. And on the album there were musicians on some tracks from Tulsa - Carl Radle and some of the guys from out there - and tracks by us. And to differentiate, he wrote down "The Muscle Shoals Swampers" on the ones we did, and the Tulsa one, I don't know what he called them, but the Tulsa people on the others. And that just kind of took.

As for Skynyrd's Muscle Shoals output, they recorded a full album there in 1972 which wasn't released until nine of the tracks were included on their 1978 album (after their tragic plane crash) Skynyrd's First and... Last. According to David Hood, the tape from the sessions, which included their song "Free Bird," got kinked at some point after it left the studio, and when the band's manager would play it for record companies, it was flipped and sounded terrible. The band wasn't happy with the Muscle Shoals crew at the time, but put aside any hard feelings when they found out the recordings were fine if played correctly. These early Skynyrd recordings were produced by Muscle Shoals house musician Jimmy Johnson; the band's first release was produced by Al Kooper.

One of the verses is an attack on Neil Young: "I hope Neil Young will remember a southern man don't need him around anyhow." Young had written songs like "Southern Man" and "Alabama," which implied that people in the Southern US were racist and stuck in the past. Skynyrd responded with this, a song about Southern pride and all the good things in Alabama. The feud between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young was always good-natured fun; they were actually big fans of each other. Ronnie Van Zant often wore Neil Young T-shirts on stage and is wearing one on the cover of Street Survivors, the last Skynyrd album before his death.

Neil Young performed this once: He played it at a memorial to the three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd who died in a plane crash in 1977.

The guitar solo in the song is actually played in the wrong key. Producer Al Kooper noticed that Ed King played the solo in the key of G instead of D, the first chord in the progression. He was so vexed that he took to tune to California, and played it for his guitarist friend Michael Bloomfield. In fact, the song is in G, and King himself rips the exuberant, melodic blues lines in the E minor pentatonic Blues scale, which in the song functions as the G pentatonic scale. (from Guitar Edge magazine - July/August 2006)

This was the lead track on the album, and it became Skynyrd's first hit. The song was written during the sessions for the group's first album, Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd, but they decided to save it so they would have a big song to open Second Helping. (thanks, Saint - New Orleans, LA, for above 2)

At the beginning, when Ronnie Van Zant says, "Turn it up," it was not planned. He was telling an engineer to turn up the volume in his headset before recording his track. The comment sounded good, so they left it in the final mix.

If you listen carefully to the line, "Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her," immediately following it, someone in the background sings, "Southern Man." Some people thought it was a recording of Neil Young, but it was their producer, Al Kooper, impersonating Young.

This was Skynyrd's first single to chart. They have never been a "singles" band, as their fans tend to buy the albums.

This was the first Skynyrd song to use female backup singers. The band never met the three women who sang on this, since they were recorded separately.

Guitarist Gary Rossington came up with the idea for this song. Ed King, another Skynyrd guitarist, wrote the intro, and Ronnie Van Zant wrote the lyrics. It came together quickly and easily.

The voice at the beginning that does the count-in is Ed King.

Country group Alabama did a rendition of this for a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute album.

George Wallace was the governor of Alabama when this was released. He loved the song, especially the line, "In Birmingham they love the governor," and he made the band honorary Lieutenant Colonels in the state militia. Wallace may not have listened very carefully however, as Ronnie Van Zant explained: "The lyrics about the governor of Alabama were misunderstood. The general public didn't notice the words 'Boo! Boo! Boo!' after that particular line, and the media picked up only on the reference to the people loving the governor." Van Zant added, "We're not into politics, we don't have no education, and Wallace don't know anything about rock and roll." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

In 2002, this was featured in two movies, one that used the song as the title. In Sweet Home Alabama, Reese Witherspoon stars as a girl who must decide between her ex-husband in Alabama or her fiancé in New York. In 8 Mile, Eminem does a rap version of the song, making fun of his mother's bumpkin boyfriend and changing the chorus to "I live at home in a trailer." The version of Sweet Home Alabama on the soundtrack was recorded by Jewel. (thanks, Shawn - Loganville, GA)

This was featured in the video game NASCAR Thunder 2001. EA Sports, the developer of this game, sponsored their first NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway, a racetrack in Alabama. The song is normally played once during NASCAR races ran at Talladega Superspeedway, an Alabama racetrack. (thanks, Joseph - Old Bridge, NJ)

An acoustic version sung by Johnny Van Zant is featured on Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1994 album Endangered Species. (thanks, Aaron - Twin Cities, MN)

This is featured in the 1997 movie Con Air. The escaped convicts listen to it during a party on the plane after getting away from an US Marshals raid. One of the characters, a serial killer played by Steve Buscemi, remarks: "Ironic, isn't it? Flying an airplane while listening to a song played by a band whose members got killed in a plane crash." (thanks, Maciej - Lublin, Poland)

This plays in the movie Forrest Gump near the end of the film when Forest and Jenny are reunited.

This returned to the UK chart in 2008 thanks to Kid Rock's hit "All Summer Long," which namechecks this song and borrows its guitar melody.

Al Kooper confirmed with us that near the end of the song, Ronnie Van Zant says, "Montgomery's got the answer," a reference to the Alabama state capitol. It's hard to make out what he's saying, and Q magazine, perhaps to mess with people, printed in their August 2008 issue a story that Ronnie Van Zant treated himself to a box of doughnuts before the session, which were eaten by his bandmates, prompting him to say, very angrily, "My doughnuts! Goddamn!"

In 2009 the state of Alabama began printing the words "Sweet Home Alabama" as an official slogan on its motor vehicle license plates. The state's previous plate featured another song, the jazz standard, "Stars Fell On Alabama."

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Call Me The Breeze

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Call Me The Breeze Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Second Helping
Released: 1974

Call Me The Breeze Lyrics

Call Me The Breeze
I keep blowin' down the road
Well now, they call me the breeze
I keep blowin' down the road
I ain't got me nobody
I don't carry me no load
Ain't no change in the weather
Ain't no changes in me
Well, there ain't no change in the weather
Ain't no changes in me
And I ain't hidin' from nobody
Nobody's hidin' from me
Oh, that's the way its supposed to be
Well, I got that green light, baby
I got to keep movin' on
Well, I got that green light, baby
I got to keep movin' on
Well, I might go out to California
Might go down to Georgia, I don't know
Well, I dig you Georgia peaches
Makes me feel right at home
Well now, I dig you Georgia peaches
Makes me feel right at home
But I don't love me no one woman
So I can't stay in Georgia long
Well now, they call me the breeze
I keep blowin' down the road
Well now, they call me the breeze
I keep blowin' down the road
I ain't got me nobody
I don't carry me no load
Ooh, Mr. Breeze

Writer/s: J. J. CALE
Publisher: CARLIN AMERICA INC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Call Me The Breeze Song Chart

This was written and originally recorded by the Oklahoma guitarist J.J. Cale. The song is about a guy who can go where the weather takes him, unburdened by the weight of the world. It was a fitting statement for Cale, who went out of his way to keep things simple and stay out of the spotlight (his photo didn't appear on his first seven albums). The concept of savoring simplicity and going where the wind takes you is also a theme of many Skynyrd songs.

"Call Me The Breeze" appeared on Cale's first solo album, a 1971 release called Naturally. He got his record deal after Eric Clapton recorded "After Midnight," a song Cale wrote and recorded with his band the Leathercoated Minds in 1966. Naturally did well, placing three songs in the Hot 100 and garnering Cale offers from bigger labels (he was signed to Shelter Records). Cale kept it low-key, however, and worked at his own pace.

When Lynyrd Skynyrd covered this song, it once again financed Cale's lifestyle, allowing him to release albums in a leisurely fashion and without concern for hit potential. Clapton remained a key supporter of Cale, later recording his songs "Cocaine" and "Travellin' Light." Cale died in 2013 at age 74.

The original J.J. Cale version of this song is stripped-down, with the vocals far lower in the mix. Skynyrd decided to cover the song when guitarist Gary Rossington came up with a riff that distinguished it from the original.

This was one of the few cover songs Skynyrd recorded, and the only one on the album a band member didn't write. They recorded another J.J. Cale song, "Same Old Blues," on their 1976 album Gimme Back My Bullets, and had plans to work with Cale that were derailed by the 1977 plane crash that killed three members of the band.

Despite being one of the most popular Lynyrd Skynyrd songs, this was not released as a single. Albums were a much bigger deal in 1974, so just two singles were issued from Second Helping: "Don't Ask Me No Questions" and "Sweet Home Alabama."

Since it never got overplayed when the album was out, "Call Me The Breeze" found a spot on most classic rock playlists for many years.