Ronnie Van Zant was among the dead, and he remains the ghost in the room when the intent of the song is discussed.ĭeceptive Cadence How The 'New World' Symphony Introduced American Music To Itselfįor Merry Clayton, the song's meaning was crystal clear. In 1977 - just three years after the song hit the airwaves - three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and their road manager, as well as a pilot and copilot, died when their chartered plane went down. That's another thing: The definitive take on the meaning of "Sweet Home Alabama" may have left the world decades ago.
I'm sure if you asked the other guys who are not with us anymore and are up in rock and roll heaven, they have their story of how it came about." But he also added that there were "a lot of different interpretations. We put the 'boo, boo, boo' there saying, 'We don't like Wallace,' " Rossington said.
"A lot of people believed in segregation and all that. Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington co-wrote "Sweet Home Alabama," and in the Showtime film he addressed that line. In 1963, when he was elected to his first term, Wallace famously said, "I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever." "In Birmingham, they love the governor (boo! boo! boo!) It's an integral part of our nation's history." "At the root of it is a very human dilemma of bigotry and stereotyping," Kemp says. Mark Kemp, originally from Ashboro, N.C., offers one perspective he's the author of a book called Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race and New Beginnings in a New South, a memoir about his relationship with rock and roll from the region. And in the documentary, Van Zant offered this: "Everybody thinks we're a bunch of drunken rednecks. Back then, Lynyrd Skynyrd performed in front of a large Confederate flag - at the suggestion of its record label. " From what I'm told you were born in Canada."Įven as the song was positioned to dispel some stereotypes of the South, the band was embracing others. "What are you talking about, you know?" Van Zant said. Of course, Sweet Home Alabama will please anyone who liked the music in the movie, but the soundtrack really isn't successful on any other terms.A Southern man don't need him around, anyhow In fact, aside from Dolly Parton's "Marry Me," the most country-sounding tracks on the album are Sheryl Crow's "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" and Uncle Kracker's "To Think I Used to Love You (DJ Homicide Remix)." A flat version of "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" by the Calling and the Freestylers' out-of-place big-beat number "Weekend Song" are a couple of the misguided attempts at making the track listing diverse, but the album just ends up unfocused. Most of the album features winsome, perky, or feisty music by female artists, such SHeDAISY's "Mine All Mine" and Avril Lavigne's "Falling Down," who sound so similar to each other that it's hard to believe one song is considered contemporary country and the other alternative-leaning teen pop. Despite the cognitive dissonance that Jewel's glossy cover of Skynryd's title track causes, it's actually not a bad reworking of the Southern rock classic into an adult alternative single. The mildly entertaining romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama features an equally take-it-or-leave-it soundtrack that mixes country, rock, and pop and excerpts of George Fenton's score.
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