Taking Sides: "Southern Man" by Neil Young vs. "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynrd Skynrd

Drive-By Truckers, "Ronnie and Neil" from Southern Rock Opera

Turn it up, it's Skynyrd by far.

What was the Warren Zevon song that mentioned this controversy?

i like the clean guitar tone in sweet home alabama! but i wouldn't call it flat.

I think I'm a huge fan of this song because of it's sound, actually. There's something about how Neil's voice is projected that I find really unique. Couple that with the afore-mentioned tempo changes, the manic guitar playing and the RIGHTEOUSLY ACCUSATORY EXHORTING and it's a fuckin' classic.

"Sweet Home Alabama" just makes me sneer derisively.

I don't have a hell of a lot of time for late '60s/early '70s Neil Young tracks that aren't "Heart of Gold" or from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, so I call it an uncompelling draw. "Like A Hurricane" vs. "Freebird" is a hell of a lot more interesting a matchup, I figure.

Huh?

1) last spring i was driving to pensacola and i had been in country for awhile and the sky was just gorgeous, so blue, bluest sky i'd ever seen, and i remember thinking 'damn, skynyrd were right'. anyhow it turned out i was outside la grange, still in georgia.

2) anecdotal evidence, witness firsthand SEVERAL times: if you are from alabama and in iceland and they ask where you're from and you say 'alabama' they WILL sing 'sweet home alabama' to you. EVERY TIME.

I own a radio, and it causes me much ire (witness my hate rants directed at Classic Rock Radio of the past few weeks).

Seriously, is there a Madonna tune that swipes the hook from "Sweet Home Alabama"?

Southern Man, easy.

"Sweet Home Alabama" just makes me sneer derisively.

But that's cause you're a dick, though.

But a couple of songs later they played Neil Young's "Harvest Moon," so I don't know what that means...

yeah, that's a real achievment.

Anyway, The version of Southern Man on 4 Way Street kicks the ass of anything Skynyrd ever did.. and if you're going to compare lyrics, I'll take "Hey redneck, get in this century." over "Yeehaw! Confederacy, love it or leave it. Pass me a brew!"

cf. To Die For

"I heard Mr. Young sing about her/I heard ole Neil put her down/Well I hope Neil Young remembers/a Souther Man don't need him around, anyhow"? If so, it seems awfully direct to me.

I probably would've said "Southern Man" before last week (received 'wisdom'; classic rock radio backlash; my dislike of "That Smell" creeping in), but: went to a bar after work w/ folks for a birthday-type thing a couple weeks back. Endearingly crappy cover band (B00g!3 M0n$t3rz) get on stage, proceed to barely boogie - RHCP's "Aeroplane"??? "ROCKET MAN"???? Anyway, word gets out re: the birthday boy, so the band asks if he wants to hear a song. He requests "Sweet Home". They give it a go. Yeah, they mulched it - I blame the bass player's sticky fingers - but it sounded fantastic. Insert stuff re: revelation / finding Gawd / drinking shot of Jaeger & pissy beer here. After that event, I think I'll side w/ the casual snappy comeback (and that piano lick!) over Neil's proselytizing (not that I can ever recall hearing "Southern Man" in its entirety, AFAIK).

Where does Neil Young mention Alabama in "Southern Man"? 'cuz he mentions it a whole lot in "Alabama".

a Southern Man don't need him around, anyhow is just RVZ throwing the words "Southern Man" back in Neil's face .. but that song isn't necessarily what he was singing about.

What part of WELL I HEARD MR. YOUNG SING ABOUT HER do you NOT understand?

Alabama lyrics:
http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?id=98539

xpost

Her = "the South" .. Tenuous, considering the alternative being that skynyrd was actually singing about the song "Alabama"

xpost

I think I figured out "Sweet Home Alabama" was about both songs when I was in diapers back in the '70s...my lord.
So you're holding on to what you thought when you were ten? Look again.

I dunno, "Helpless" kinda makes me want to visit north Ontario. Then I wake up and realize that it's north Ontario.

I mean, if it's about the song, this isn't Neil's strongest...

Yeah I love both Neil & Skynard. Also check out this page:

http://www.thrasherswheat.org/jammin/lynyrd.htm

It's got the whole story of Ronnie & Neil. Also some Drive By Truckers stuff.

Man, I didn't realize Ronnie was wearing a Neil Young shirt on that album cover? The site has a blowup and and I'll be darned.

I'm a Northern Guy

But either way, both not the most quotable lyrics for both bands.

"Southern Man" is still the better song. Less hokey and more rocky.

Whatever, we're parsing terms here. The point was the "Sweet Home Alabama" (tho', as noted earlier, Alabama was not their actual home -- tho' perhaps their spiritual home, them being loud'n'proud Southern boys and all) was a RETORT to Neil's disrespectful ode to the South and its myriad failings.

It should also be noted that this wasn't a Biggie/Tupac sorta deal. Supposedly Neil was a big Skynyrd fan and Ronnie Van Z. took to wearing a Neil Young t-shirt (which some suggest he was buried in).

Whatever. Neil wins. Skynyrd fuckin' stank.

But anyway, LS was a great band...I really love "What's Your Name" for example, what a really perfect record, so well-played. When I'm in a contentious mood I tell people, "well, shit, Lynyrd Skynyrd were just as good as Big Star, probably better, it all came from the same place somewhat." Which I actually believe. And really, I think Ronnie V.Z. was probably smarter than Neil Young--whom I like OK, sure. But "Southern Man" is one stupid-ass song (and "Sweet Home Alabama" is stupid too, just far more compelling a performance). Even someone as canny as Randy Newman got tripped up when he tried to do his southern concept album.

Also, come on: don't forget what your good book says? That's pretty cool.

This is true... Also note that the lyric everyone interprets to be some kinda huge fite with Neil Young is one verse and not the entire song.

I like both songs and wouldn't really want to put a mathematical symbol between them.

'Sweet Home Alabama' is a joyous celebration of the feeling of travelling home (even though LS were from Florida). The music's simple, but the production is such that you can hear it again and again and still want to turn it up.

Verdict: 'Sweet Home Alabama.'

Hey, I wasn't at Auschwitz. I guess saying the Holocaust was a bad thing is unnecessary too.

Doesn't really fit. Newman is from the south (Louisiana)

Also, from Dave way upthread...

and if you're going to compare lyrics, I'll take "Hey redneck, get in this century." over "Yeehaw! Confederacy, love it or leave it. Pass me a brew!"

You've really listened to the lyrics of "Sweet Home Alabama," I can tell. I mean there was never any doubt in my mind that this thread would have a regional slant, but you really sound like an asshole painting a Southern band that way just because they're Southern.

Doesn't really fit. Newman is from the south (Louisiana)

He's not from the south. He spent some summers in New Orleans when he was a child. He's from L.A. And New Orleans is not the south, in fact it it consciously puts itself in opposition to the rest of the southern US. To paraphrase A.J. Liebling, in New Orleans a po-boy is a portable banquet; elsewhere it's a crippling blow to the gut.

I had grandparents in Florida, but they've since moved uptown, if you smell what I'm cookin', Regardless, how much time I -- or Neil Young, for the matter -- have spent in the South doesn't change the fact that the South was a hotbed of. intollerance and inequity. My visiting Dixie to admire the kudzu won't change its history. Maybe the skies are blue and whatnot, but it's still the home of the Klan. The fact that it's a nice place to live (for some) doesn't render the points Neil raised inadmissable.

which, i think, is kinda the POINT to "sweet home alabama." "southern man don't need him around, anyhow" is actually pretty good -- in the sense of, "hey, neil, um, we're from the south and we kinda know all about segregation and racism and that both are pretty bad so yer really not saying anything new or unknown to us 'dumb rednecks.'" the shout-out to mussel shoals (where, you know, an awful lot of soul and blues rekkids -- recorded by genuine BLACK people -- were recorded) kinda underlined the point that LS weren't a bunch of cross-burners -- not to mention the chorus's soul-influenced singing and the song's general bluesy, soul-sy feel (worlds apart musically from anything any white-power knucklehead from ANYWHERE in the world would cook up, you know).

Give me a fucking break.

Lily Belle,
your hair is golden brown
I've seen your black man
comin' round
Swear by God
I'm gonna cut him down!
I heard screamin'
and bullwhips cracking
How long? How long?

PU!!!! Skynyrd ROOLZ

not to mention the song's actual lyrics. "in birmingham THEY love the governor/now we all did what we could do." to me that's anything but an endorsement of the state's racist governor and his politics. that comes across to me as "we're southern men, and he's a southern man, and we ain't him and he ain't us and maybe you should sit down and think about what the fuck a southern man actually is before you sweep us all under one line of your silly song."

and beyond that, all evidence suggests that skynyrd loved neil and neil loved skynyrd and both of 'em thought "sweet home alabama" was a funny song.

and funny > silly in this instance.

http://www.adl.org/learn/Ext_US/CT/default.asp

btw Alex the only time the klan was a large social movement was in the 20s. And back then it was big in the north too:

Kenneth Jackson, with his The Ku Klux Klan in the City, has been one of a very few commentators to go beyond the amorphous `nativism' thesis and also challenge several of the prevailing ste- reotypes of the Klan. He argues forcefully that ``the Invisible Empire of the 1920s was neither predominantly southern, nor rural, nor white supremacist, nor violent.''(4) Carl Degler's succinct comments corroborate the non-southern characterization quite ably: ``Significantly, the single piece of indisputable Klan legislation enacted anywhere was the school law in Oregon; the state most thoroughly controlled by the Klan was Indiana; and the largest Klan membership in any state was that in Ohio. On the other hand, several southern states like Mississippi, Virginia, and South Carolina hardly saw the Klan or felt its influence.''(5) Jackson's statistics show clearly the Klan's northern base, with only one southern state, Texas, among the eight states with the largest mem-bership.(6) It would be difficult to even begin to cite Jackson's evidence in favor of terming the Klan an urban phenomenon, inasmuch as his whole book testifies to this characterization. It may be interesting to note, however, the ten urban areas with the most Klansmen. Principally industrial and all but one of them outside the South, they are, in descending order: Chicago, Indianapolis, Philadelphia-Camden, Detroit, Denver, Portland, Atlanta, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Youngstown-Warren, and Pittsburgh-Carnegie.(7)

well the Civil War Draft Riots didn't make me worry about living in NYC. Is this city still the home of the draft rioters?

http://www.multied.com/CivilWar/NYDraft.gif

On Monday, July 13, 1863, between 6 and 7 A.M., the five days of mayhem and bloodshed that would be known as the Civil War Draft Riots began.

The rioters' targets initially included only military and governmental buildings, symbols of the unfairness of the draft. Mobs attacked only those individuals who interfered with their actions. But by afternoon of the first day, some of the rioters had turned to attacks on black people, and on things symbolic of black political, economic, and social power. Rioters attacked a black fruit vendor and a nine-year-old boy at the corner of Broadway and Chambers Street before moving to the Colored Orphan Asylum on Fifth Avenue between Forty-Third and Forty-Fourth Streets. By the spring of 1863, the managers had built a home large enough to house over two hundred children. Financially stable and well-stocked with food, clothing, and other provisions, the four-story orphanage at its location on Fifth Avenue and Forty-Second Street was an imposing symbol of white charity toward blacks and black upward mobility. At 4 P.M. on July 13, "the children numbering 233, were quietly seated in their school rooms, playing in the nursery, or reclining on a sick bed in the Hospital when an infuriated mob, consisting of several thousand men, women and children, armed with clubs, brick bats etc. advanced upon the Institution." The crowd took as much of the bedding, clothing, food, and other transportable articles as they could and set fire to the building. John Decker, chief engineer of the fire department, was on hand, but firefighters were unable to save the building. The destruction took twenty minutes.

Throughout the week of riots, mobs harassed and sometimes killed blacks and their supporters and destroyed their property. Rioters burned the home of Abby Hopper Gibbons, prison reformer and daughter of abolitionist Isaac Hopper. They also attacked white "amalgamationists," such as Ann Derrickson and Ann Martin, two women who were married to black men; and Mary Burke, a white prostitute who catered to black men. Near the docks, tensions that had been brewing since the mid-1850s between white longshoremen and black workers boiled over. As recently as March of 1863, white employers had hired blacks as longshoremen, with whom Irish men refused to work. An Irish mob then attacked two hundred blacks who were working on the docks, while other rioters went into the streets in search of "all the negro porters, cartmen and laborers . . . they could find."

Black men and black women were attacked, but the rioters singled out the men for special violence. On the waterfront, they hanged William Jones and then burned his body. White dock workers also beat and nearly drowned Charles Jackson, and they beat Jeremiah Robinson to death and threw his body in the river. Rioters also made a sport of mutilating the black men's bodies, sometimes sexually. A group of white men and boys mortally attacked black sailor William Williams—jumping on his chest, plunging a knife into him, smashing his body with stones—while a crowd of men, women, and children watched. None intervened, and when the mob was done with Williams, they cheered, pledging "vengeance on every nigger in New York." A white laborer, George Glass, rousted black coachman Abraham Franklin from his apartment and dragged him through the streets. A crowd gathered and hanged Franklin from a lamppost as they cheered for Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president. After the mob pulled Franklin's body from the lamppost, a sixteen-year-old Irish man, Patrick Butler, dragged the body through the streets by its genitals. Black men who tried to defend themselves fared no better. The crowds were pitiless. After James Costello shot at and fled from a white attacker, six white men beat, stomped, kicked, and stoned him before hanging him from a lamppost.

In all, rioters lynched eleven black men over the five days of mayhem. The riots forced hundreds of blacks out of the city. As Iver Bernstein states, "For months after the riots the public life of the city became a more noticeably white domain." During the riots, landlords drove blacks from their residences, fearing the destruction of their property. After the riots, when the Colored Orphan Asylum attempted to rebuild on the site of its old building, neighboring property owners asked them to leave. The orphanage relocated to 51st Street for four years before moving into a new residence at 143rd Street between Amsterdam and Broadway, in the midst of what would become New York's predominantly black neighborhood in the twentieth century, Harlem. But in 1867, the area was barely settled and far removed from the center of New York City. Black families also fled the city altogether. Albro Lyons, keeper of the Colored Sailors' Home, was able to protect the boardinghouse on the first day of the riots, but soon fled to the neighborhood police station to seek an escort from the city for his wife and family. An officer accompanied the Lyons family to the Sailors' Home, where they gathered up what belongings they could carry before boarding the Roosevelt Street ferry, which took them to Williamsburg in Brooklyn. "From the moment they put foot on the boat, that was the last time they ever resided in New York City, leaving it forever." Other blacks fled to New Jersey and beyond. By 1865, the black population had plummeted to just under ten thousand, its lowest since 1820.

At one point (possibly the 20s) one out of eight Long Islanders was a member of the Klan.

Fair enough, though, this particular discussion ventured into non-musical territory given the subject matter of Neil's song. I've never claimed to be an expert on American History (or anything else, for that matter), but I was only arguing that Neil's point -- however obvious they may have been, were still valid. In no way was I implying that the rest of the Nation was immune from the same variety of strife documented in "Southern Man".

I don't hate the South. I don't wish death on them. I have travelled there. One of my dearest friends in the world is from North Carolina. Stop taking everything so dreadfully seriously.

Again with the nastiness.

Once again, Stencil, I'm not challenging your grasp on history, nor am I claiming to be an expert on the subject. Are you suggesting that there wasn't unrest of the variety Neil sings about in "Southern Man," even if it wasn't his place to cite it?

Well, evidently not, but I'm assuming the Hstencil is being completely serious here and not just rattling my cage.

xpost - the worst thing I called you, Alex, was incurious. Which I'm not gonna take back, because 1. it ain't that bad and 2. you totally are!

Incurious is a fuckin' patronizing comment, and you damn well know it. I can handle it, but just admit it.

IS THERE A CONNECTION HERE?????????

Wake Up, White People.

in·cu·ri·ous    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (n-kyr-s)
adj.
Lacking intellectual inquisitiveness or natural curiosity; uninterested.

Maybe it's because he's thrown by the bluster, but I don't think hstencil knows me well enough to level this charge at me. Of course, that's only my opinion, but I find the tag rather offside. All I know about Stence is what I read here, and don't have the slightest clue what he's like outside of ILX, apart from meeting very fleetingly (and he too seemed like a completely cool gent).

5. "turn it up" (even if it is no "play it pretty for Atlanta")

4. rim taps on the verse, big ol' ride underneath the solo

3. the fact that they stuck a cute little 4 bar solo in between the first two verses

2. all the harmonics the guitarists utilize - pick harmonics at the end of the solo (after the reintroduction of the riff), and natural ones directly after each of the two iterations of the riff that bisect the two sets of verse couplets before the first chorus (they are there! listen for them -- way cool)

1. "in Birmingham they love the guvner HOO HOO HOOOO"

fucking amazing song structurally. shows what you can do with three chords, imagination, a big budget, talented players and sweet backup singers. so Synyrd wins this one easy. I still ultimately prefer Neil's, uh, oeuvre I guess.

I'm okay with Alex in NYC as long as he:

1) Doesn't tell people they suck for liking a certain band

2) Doesn't tell people they suck for not having heard of a certain band (not likely to be an effective method for getting people to check out bands anyway)

3) Doesn't tell people they suck for not having heard a certain band which they HAVE in fact heard of!

4) Doesn't try to claim there is actually a worthwhile amount of humour to be wrung from telling people they suck in any of these circumstances.

Sweet Home Alabama by several light years.

That riff....holy shit, c'mon people.....y'all people that say Southern Man are flakin' and perpetratin' and scared to kick reality.....

Molly Hatchet vs Lynyrd Skynyrd

Way too late.

2) Doesn't tell people they suck for not having heard of a certain band (not likely to be an effective method for getting people to check out bands anyway)

Too late

3) Doesn't tell people they suck for not having heard a certain band which they HAVE in fact heard of!

Not sure if I understand this one, but invariably -- too late.

4) Doesn't try to claim there is actually a worthwhile amount of humour to be wrung from telling people they suck in any of these circumstances.

Well, it's all relative, but I'll say this -- my opinions about music are no more valid than anyone else's. Just because I think, say, Destiny's Child is the worst music in the world -- THAT'S JUST MY OPINION (i.e. it's ultimately meaningless!). If everyone agreed about music, think of what a boring place ILM -- nay, the world -- would be! In any case, as I've stated before, I can't imagine that anyone's day should be truthfully ruined just because some big mouthed idiot critiscized their favorite band. But, maybe I'm just making presumptions once again. It's not that I'm thicker skinned, it's that I don't take critiscism of my favorite music especially seriously -- I like it, and that's ultimately all that matters. Just because Person X might think Killing Joke (or whomever) sucks, well fuck'im...that's their loss. Similarly, if I tell a DMB fan that Dave Matthews' head would look good on a pointy metal spike, I wouldn't necessarily think it would hurt him in his heart. But maybe that's where I'm just being an insensitive shithead.

Maybe I look like a hypocrite by getting uppity when Hstencil called me incurious, but my point was that it wasn't about music fandom, but rather a personal assessment. I personally don't think Stence is in a position to make that assessment, but fuck -- who knows? Maybe he's right. Whatever. It did hurt my feelings, and if I've had the same effect via comments I've made, then I do apologize. I generally perceive ILX to be a place of frivolous fun, and not a deadly serious place. I'll try to watch my P's and Q's again (as I've attempted before).

I still think "Southern Man" is a better song than "Sweet Home Alabama," though, regardless of Neil's arguably blinkered rendering of the facts.

Could very well happen.

where were you hanging out?? i've never seen people try to dance to southern man??

KIDDING!

And now I must depart, gentleman. A label to run. "Entertainers" to belittle. Cabana boys to buy.

Remember me as just one more gorilla in the mist.

4 Dead in Ohio, etc.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/09/250px-CookieMonstersMom.jpg

My point was that it was but one horrible by-product of the war, not that it had anything to do directly with slavery.

The main thread I am referring to is this one, where I think your statement about Belfegore showed just how little respect you have for everyone on this board, particularly Myonga, me & Chuck.

It didn't "hurt my feelings" or "ruin my day" and to paint it that way is an egotistical cop-out on your part. I hate Lynrd Skynrd with a passion, but I'm not about to directly insult anyone here who likes them. Here is where you and I differ. I can't control what you do or say here, I'm fully aware of that. But I think you're out of line in this particular instance and I'm saying so.

I can't believe you took that seriously.

although I'm sure your massive ego would love it if I thought your opinions really were that important

No, actually, I think you should pay a little less attention to my opinions, really. I think you need to take a step or two back from ILM and not personalize everything.

"What's troubling Gus you sound demented
is it because someone talked and she told me
he no longer thinks anything that moves and
everything he sees is something to kill and eat?
What's troubling Gus is it nothing goes quiet?
the whip-poor-will at dusk...

What's troubling Gus overhearing conversations
that it's because you're too either them or me
when it's either them or it's us anything that moves and
everything you see is something to kill and eat
What's troubling Gus? Is itnothing goes quiet?
Is that what's troubling ya Gus the mere mention of the name
used to be enough to make every bird stop singing?
Is that what's troubling ya Gus? No is afraid enough?

What's troubling Gus is it nothing goes quiet?
Is that what's troubling ya Gus? The mere mention of the name
used to be enough to make every bird stop singing
the whip-poor-will at dusk tells you no one is afraid

no one is afraid enough
is it afraid
or is it afraid enough?
it's troubling Gus"

But dude, yeah, the harmonies on Dirt are incredible. And that's the other thing -- it was such and ADVANCE on Facelift. I mean faclift kinda sucked. But Dirt was so hot. Lots of ideas --- even if the musicians themselves weren't exactly the best in the world. Yeah, that's the funny thing about that band - GREAT ideas, just not the best musicians. Staley was great tho. There is something really harrowing about that album. In a non-gimmicky way. I remember one time I was really just totally HUNGOVER and I put it on ... and I had to take it off because it just hit way too close to the bone. I was like, fuck this, this is fucking depressing. but it wasn't a cheap parlor trick for Staley ... he was in that shit for real.

I'll take Cockburn over a plain old cock any day.

And the President said to Kit Carson:
"Take my best four horsemen please
And ride out to the four directions,
Make my great lands barren for me"

Kit Carson said to the President
"You've made your offer sweet
I'll accept this task you've set for me
My fall's not yet complete"

Kit Carson knew he had a job to do
Like other jobs he had before
He'd made the grade
He learned to trade in famine, pestilence, and war

Kit Carson was a hero to some
With his poison and his flame
But somewhere there's a restless ghost
That used to bear his name

Anyway, I think that anyone who says that Lynyrd Skynyrd were racists simply doesn't understand the band. They hear that they may have had a confederate flag draped behind them at a concert, and can instantly peg the band. It's just not that simple. Case in point, if someone is proud of their German roots and has a German flag, you are not going to instantly brand them a Nazi. Think for a minute, do you think every single person who fought for the Confederacy came from a plantation owning family? Hardly, a lot of them were poor. So why did they fight? Becuase, for a lot of these "rebels", the Civil War was about defending their homes, and rebeling against the "yankees". So it is WRONG to be proud and fondly remember your family members who died in that war? Certainly there were racists on both sides, and terrible people on both sides.

Now, before I am branded a racist, let me be clear, I'm an ultra liberal. I just happen to be able to understand, as the Drive-by Truckers put it "the duality of the southern thing". Or, more directly "proud of the glory, stare down the shame". I think you'd be surprised if you talked to people in the South who wave the rebel flag, and see how many are fine upstanding citizens who would march for blacks rights before they saw them took away. Again, it's the contradiction, they are proud of their roots, of being "rebels", of the land they grew up on, but everyday must face the shame of what their families may have done generations ago.

Anyway, just some rambling thoughts, everyone should go out and seek Drive-by Truckers "Southern Rock Opera", i think you'll get a deeper understanding of a group of people we all have trouble understanding.

But on topic, jeeze, the two lines most cited as "racist" in Sweet Home Alabama are a joke. They go, and I quote "In Burmingham they love the governer (Boo! Boo! Boo!) Now we all did what we could do". Simply put, they didn't support the man, they did what they could to unseat him, they couldn't. Finally "Watergate does not bother me, it picks me up when I'm feeling blue". Simply put, they see something like that and it cheers them up, knowing everyone has their problems and everyone has their skeletons.....

fascinating theory, but that's not how the song goes.

unless it's the flag of the third reich, duh.

Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell the truth

...which has the exact same meaning in my eyes. Everyone has things to be ashamed of. North & South. Seek forgiveness and remembrance forever, but at some point, you have to accept forgiveness and let your ancestors rest with the pain.

"Southern Man" and "Alabama" are both stereotypes, thats what Ronnie was trying to say. anyone who thinks the "guitar" in southern man is better obviously doesnt play guitar.

;)

SWA is a GREAT song, but SM sucks. And that's all there is to it.

ps I'm a NY fan but SWA wins hands down IMO.......

No, it's this:

As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1 (i.e. certainty).

("Godwin's Law" devised by Mike Godwin in 1990.)

SHA is the better song, but southern man isn't as dull as it seems.

-go to dentist
-revive neil young thread
-make alex in nyc cry

Nothing on ILX will ever make me cry. Plenty of things in real life have that power, but nothing on ILX.

No it's not. It's a bloated, pus-packed boil in deperate need of lancing.

I call bullshit!!!

Draw Tipsy OTM. Sure, the majority rules BUT THE MAJORITY ARE SHEEP!

Riiiiiiight, ken....

what a piece of shit.

but hey, you can get SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION T-SHIRTS from the Ryman gig if you order the new album NOW @ neilyoung.com!

"I heard screamin' an' bullwhips crackin'..."

i'm confused as to why this thread is still active, but since it is ... "brutal" lyrics? what the hell are you talking about?

As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Dave Matthews or John Tesh approaches 1 (i.e. certainty).

Two points I hope were covered because I don't want to keep CONTROL EFFING and read this large thread

1 Wasn't Southern Man written after Neil's band got into a fight with some Southern boys because of their long hair?

2 I also hope someone mentioned that you can hear Southern Man in Sweet Home Alabama.

I prefer "Powderfinger" myself.

haha the in nyc part pretty much explains your hating skynyrd. ok first off, neil young's attack was bullshit in southern man. racism is a terrible thing, and it was more prevelent in the south. however from the line "tall white mansions and little shacks" clearly proves that he didn't see anything. maybe he saw a tall white mansion, but it was probably the only one for miles around. white southerners were not rich, and the south still remains the poorest region of the country. white southerners were not living in tall white mansions. a white man anywhere else in the country was more likely to be rich than in the south. blacks were poorer, but come on no one was living in a tall white mansion except neil young. now that attack on the south was pretty inaccurate, but "i hear screamin and bull whips crackin'"? come on. that was over 100 years ago when the song was written. contrary to popular belief among canadian song writers, there actually were no slaves in the south in 1970. believe me i am totally against racism, but southerners were completely justified by getting pissed at the song. the only line out of that song that carries any truth in it is "southern man better keep your head, remember what your good book says"

haha the in nyc part pretty much explains your hating skynyrd. ok first off, neil young's attack was bullshit in southern man. racism is a terrible thing, and it was more prevelent in the south. however from the line "tall white mansions and little shacks" clearly proves that he didn't see anything. maybe he saw a tall white mansion, but it was probably the only one for miles around. white southerners were not rich, and the south still remains the poorest region of the country. white southerners were not living in tall white mansions. a white man anywhere else in the country was more likely to be rich than in the south. blacks were poorer, but come on no one was living in a tall white mansion except neil young. now that attack on the south was pretty inaccurate, but "i hear screamin and bull whips crackin'"? come on. that was over 100 years ago when the song was written. contrary to popular belief among canadian song writers, there actually were no slaves in the south in 1970. believe me i am totally against racism, but southerners were completely justified by getting pissed at the song. the only line out of that song that carries any truth in it is "southern man better keep your head, remember what your good book says"

while southern man is pretty outrageous, alabama (the neil young song)is much more accurate

Get a rope.

I don't think there's any question that southern racism is more virulent that northern, because down here the assumptions aren't usually addressed, people just go with it, yee-hah! from the rather extensive time I've spent in NYC, Chicago, Philly, etc., I think there's more of a veneer of liberal do-goodism there; at least there's an *alternate* history of race and "the others" in those places to fall back on. here, lemme tell you, there is no alternate history at all, far more monolithic. which comes from no exposure to any alternate notions, or to to people of color in general--although this is changing in places like Nashville and Atlanta and Charlotte, I think, the larger southern cities. Memphis remains its own thing, and New Orleans pre-Katrina was a big exception (now I expect it to become waaay more Latino and far less black). I grew up with all those notions of "blacks as absolute other" and like I always say, southern whites of a particular stripe who have these problems see blacks as some horrible mirror image of *themselves*--black people masquerading as "whites," which probably pisses off racists more than black people being "black," however one defines that. my grandmother, 96 years old and from Middle Tenn., and far from a stupid or ill-informed woman, always used to decry interracial marriage--"those children won't know who they are!" so, yeah, "transgressive" notions and all that, and I just don't think that the obsession with skin color gradations is so heavy in the north--maybe I am wrong here? at any rate, I find it sickening, and I think in general making assumptions about people based on their state ('Bama) is really stupid, so maybe "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Southern Man" are both kind of dumb yet effective songs. there's nothing more boring and defensive than a good southern liberal, I know that...

Stevie Wonder - If you really love me

Pink Floyd - wish you were here

Neil Young - Southern Man

OK 4

The Dears - We can have it

No worries, the answer is now Patterson Hood.

Leonard Skynard on the other hand can rock the heavens with their mighty sound, but let's face it, they wouldn't know a political issue if it bit them in the ass.

They do have that one about the 'vironment...

and leeds united rule!!!![real football]

Lynard Skynard were, and remained, fans of Neil Young. The line in Sweet Home Alabama was meant as a good-natured response to Young.

Skynard and Young toured together, and members of Skynard often wore t-shirts with Young on them.

They wrote this as a tribute to the studios at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where they recorded in 1971.

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.

do a little research.

(I say all this as the founding member of the 'Association of Canadians Ashamed of Neil Young')

As far as the Association of Canadians Ashamed of Neil Young, There is a small island in the south pacific you should feel right at home on. You should truly be ashamed to say such a thing.

Another remark you've made should inspire shame as well: "...many of the arguments for ar against southern man, and sweet home, are purely subjective". Do you not see how your argument is also entirely subjective? You have presupposed the response of Skynyrd based on transference of your impressions of the song onto them. Utter hypocrisy! Objectivity does not play into assessing music, only a strong set of subjective reasons which may apply across limited groups. That being said, I will proceed to deliver a few mor:

The Association of Canadians Ashamed of Neil Young would like to point out that Young's musical ineptitude is readily demonstrable: you'll note this from the fact that any hack guitarist can lift his entire oeuvre in one pass of each song. Moreover, the Association feels it incumbent upon us to note that Youngs political brayings are no more noble than when Michael Moore came to Canada and wrote in our national newspapers telling us how we ought to vote. Indeed, his political meddling is deplorable. Normally, music would not be related to a person's politics, but Young has decided to break down this boundary. That being so, we proudly wave our Canadian flags and turn to a different radio station whenever Young's whining is heard.

I appreciate the view that Neil Young brought to the table as a wouldbe outsider. His perspective, while far from definitive, certainly presents a clarity rarely put forth by folks like Skynrd (if ever). Racial and social issues are most certainly better handled by folks like Guthrie or Seegar or Havens. Young certainly deserves credit for at least trying to keep these issues on the table, and further more, the "fuzz" of his electric more suitibly akins itself to the seedier hatred of his time. Young, by a country mile.

Try this on for size: Neil Young; more American than any gd Confederate i ever saw! ...i'm gonna be sorry i said that, shucks, i already am.

Being that you like Young's politics, that you think his songs are varied, and that nobody likes a pratfall on an internet forum, pursuing a 'fun debate' with you is pointless. You also seem to resent the employ of multisyllabic words, so you'll appreciate why I might begin to suspect you'd similarly dislike musicians with a great deal more technical ability than Young on account of their being 'showy'.

My reasons for writing this reply are two-fold: first, because of your poorly-reasoned calling into question of a tax-paying, John A McDonald-loving Canuck because he doesn't like some uppity, drugged out EXPATRIATE shmuck. Second, because of your failure to demonstrate an understanding that 'educated' people don't simply spout their opinions without providing facts or an internally consistent line of reasoning to support themselves. I assume you believe that Young will educate me with his pellucid political positions, yet I fear you find his lyrics educational only because they cater to your pre-existing personal prejudices.

If you really must debate something, explain to me why it should be required of Canadians to lend even a tincture of their national identity to a man who has occupied himself with the USA for by far the better part of his life. Sure, Young comes back to Canada occasionally to receive awards and be worshiped as a Canadian, but aren't there more important, Canadian-through-and-through icons?

Fwiw, I like Skynyrd and Neil pretty much equally, but prefer "Sweet Home Alabama."

And as far as his politics in his music. I don't recall ever saying I agreed with his poitics. Some yes, some no, but the man has enough balls to put it out there, and you have to respect him for that. And no I don't expect you or anyone to be "educated" by his lyrics, but is it not narrow minded to dislike something because it doesn't agree with your own politics. Look at all the great lyricits, and tell me how many don't throw politics into the fray once in a while. Dylan, Weill, Prine, a gazzilion more. Some are veiled heavily, but still invovle their politics. As it is always said, people write what they know best.

I also never said that you or anyone must like Neil and his music, I only question someone who is ashamed of his music. Being from Nova Scotia, I don't care much for Anne Murray's music, but I would never say I am ashamed of her. That would be truly mindless, because I have no justifiable reason. Just as you have given me no reason to be ashamed of Neil, except you don't like his music, and oh my gosh, he moved to the states fourty years ago. Are you ashamed of Hendrix, because he went to England from Seatle to make it big. Guess what else. Neil is not a American citizen. Even says he would like to return to live in Canada someday if things allow.

You consider that quoting Aristotle as providing facts for your opinion. Lets be truly honest, it is a little pretentious isn't it. I mean who would try and quote Aristotle, (unless maybe your debate is about greek philosophers) unless you want to try and impress or confuse someone with your knowledge. I must admit, I am a little amused by it. Wish I had more time to sit here and write, but then the whole thing could go on a tangent, and next thing I might be writing Pi to six million decimal places. (3.14159...)

Lets be truly honest. Your reason for writing your reply is the same as mine. You like a good debate, and like to stand up for what you believe in... Funny just the same as Neil putting politics into his songs. Well Well now.

The only reason I cite Aristotle is because he devised a syllogism most applicable to our discourse. The only reason you resent it is because you don't understand it. Rather than applying the logic to an understanding of my argument, you are 'amused' because you can't believe that someone would actually, like, understand the implications of Greek philosophy in daily life. You are amused, becase you are not just a little pretentious in your view that I have not listened to Young's work and that I would belittle the occidental canon by applying its ideas as a red-herring.

"It just sounds like you don't like his style. Yes it can be edgy, and less than picture perfect, but lets be honest, thats what he is going for, and nobody does it better."

The only reason you say that Young's sound is intentially 'edgy' is because you are in denial of the fact that he is mediocre are best. Indeed, you can pass it all off as a pro-tools ruse, but look at Van Halen's 1978 album, recorded live-in-studio. Could Young ever dream of playing like that? Never, and it's not just because he doesn't want to... he lacks the talent.

"Atleast (sic) I can enjoy listening to his views as opposed to the inane rantings of the Harpers and Bushes of the world."

This remark of yours evidences that clearly you do agree with his politics.

"And no I don't expect you or anyone to be "educated" by his lyrics, but is it not narrow minded to dislike something because it doesn't agree with your own politics."

You have misunderstood entirely my criticism of Young. I dislike his music in its own right and see him as entirely overrated. I am ashamed of him because, as a Canadian, he has moved to the States and has basically been telling Americans what they should be doing when he himself has not pursued citizenship and its concomitant right to vote. He is a sophist preacher, an interloper. I am ashamed of him for his political views, which are coindicental to his being a poor musician. I don't much care for Anne Murray's music either, but she has not behaved so crassly as to merit shame. As for Hendrix' moving to England - did he tell them how to vote? Did he meddle in domestic English politics?

As for other musicians who talk about political issues, they can be good musicians with terrible politics. Hard as it may be for you to believe, one can separate the man from his art and still come out disliking him on both counts. In stark contrast would be an artist like Roger Waters, a brilliant musician on both theoretical and technical counts, but whose politics I disagree with. You seem to love Young's 'guts' to manipulate his position as a rock star to peddle his political prejudices. What you call 'guts', I call manipulation. Just another point on which we will never agree.

To be truly honest, I replied because I found your remarks offensive and ignorant. The fact that you do not employ standard syntactic or semantic rules may explain why you don't appreciate the implications of your own writings. More likely, though, you're proud and of questionable intelligence, qualities sufficiently common to the Maritimes as to explain why your provinces need so many handouts from Alberta and Ontario (and why they needed to manipulate the feds to withhold taxes on offshore oil). Why don't I really get you going? In addition to being ashamed of Young, I am ashamed of the maritimes.

http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/7426/conafeda9xv.jpg

as far as "Sweet Home Alabama" goes it's one of my favorite songs of all time, barely edging the mashup of it with "Country Grammar" by Nelly ("Sweet Home Country Grammar") - just think about it, it's exactly as good as you think it is, and probably better

Apparently you are not privy to Anne's extremely promiscuous sex life back "in the day" in Springhill! If that isn't being crass, what is? I'd be quicker to say I was ashamed of Anne than I would Neil.

And now, a quick remark pertaining your boorish comment on the Maritimes. Why spend our money when we can get yours handed to us? Who has the "questionable intelligence?" Suckers.

GC, are you situated somewhere in Ontario? (Stewart, if he is... it supports my earlier statement about central Canadians) or perhaps, our discussionary friend, you are from Alberta? Makes no difference, Stewart used to live in Ontario, and I resided in Alberta for many years. Both of us came back "home" and are better for it, but the main thing is we are all Canadians here. Technically, so is Neil Young. Don't be ashamed of a fellow Canadian! Well, except maybe Harper.... but I digress. That's leading into a completely different rant.

I'm for "Southern Man" It's a lot easier to listen to than SHA.

See even a "unintelligent Maritimer" can play that jackass game of "what wonderful words can I come up with to make me sound a little more intelligent than I truly is". Fact still is that it doesn't sound like you are familiar with Mr. Youngs music. No shame in that, but still doesn't allow for a very strong argument.

Also It seems typical that someone west of the Maritimes (which of course I am assuming you are), doesn't even know there own countries geography. The offshore oil money you refered to deals with Newfoundland, and agree or disagree with the whole issue, Newfoundland is not part of the maritimes. Sorry, I guess your "intelligence" stops at Quebec, and jumps right to Europe.

Truth be known, I have travelled extensively, and I find no section of the country/world has a monopoly on intelligence, but many parts do on attitude. Maybe someday you will get to the maritimes and try and match wits with some "unintelligent" maritimer, and may be sorely shocked. But there is a good chance that they won't because, what do we have to prove that already hasn't. The fact that the upper canadian government was told for decades, that the fisheries were in danger from foreign fishing, but I guess that attitude didn't allow them to believe those "unintelligent" Newfoundlanders, and Nova Scotianers. Its hard to believe that this arrrogance still exists in the west, but from my time there, and most conversations since has sadly proven it does. Maybe this is why Neil puts his politics into his music. Because of neccesity, and the hope to improve the world. We all live in this world, so we all have a right to our voice, Just some don't have the backbone to express it, and that leaves the responsibility to those who do. Neil was waiting to see if any younger artist would "write the songs", but most young people today can talk well, when it isn't going to affect the bottom line, but when it comes right down to brass tacks, can't pull the trigger. And you ask why Neil puts his politics into his music.

Pleasent Plains said it well though, and nice artwork. Very clever. I don't know if it was intentional, but it says more with a simple picture, than both our long winded posts. Well done, thats true intelligence.

I doubt very much the Harper government will last long, and even so he will pander for your votes but upholding the current transfer payment madness. Yet, it is we non-maritimers who make this economy the envy of the world. It's no accident that Ontario and Alberta recruit the best minds in the country for work in international law, medical research and virtually any other field of human inquiry and synthesis. Neither is it mere coincidence that maritimers tend to vote for policies that give them handouts. Supposing the handouts stopped, do you think that on strength of the local population's wit and resilience, eastern Canada could really dig itself out of the have-not hole? Apparently eastern Canadians don't even think so, being that they don't want to take the chance - and continue to preponderantly vote for center-left policies.

As for your claim that Newfoundland is not part of the maritimes:

Granted, Newfoundland/Labrador did not join the confederation until 1949, and is thus not part of the pre-Charlottetown Conference defined 'maritime provinces', it is nevertheless a maritime province in modern conventional usage.

mar·i·time Audio pronunciation of "maritime" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (mr-tm)
adj.

1. Of, relating to, or adjacent to the sea.
2. Of or relating to marine shipping or navigation. See Synonyms at nautical.
3. Of or resembling a mariner.

As for blaming over-fishing on foreign fisheries, that is sheer hogwash. The federal government chose economic imperatives instead of erstwhile ill-defined scientific imperatives and you over-fished. Sure, foreign fisheries contributed somewhat, but straight out of the mouths of my old ecology professors Charlie Trick and Bob Bailey, there is absolutely no question at this point that the quotas set in Canada were too high.

As for Anne Murray's sex-life. I had not heard about this and could not find independent verification. But I think that to impugn one's character for one's choices in the bedroom is unjustifiable. One's private life ought to be one's own purview. The difference with respect to Young is that he uses his public persona as a medium by which to promulgate his personal views. Contrariwise, unless Murray advocated qua music demigod for adultery or some other sexual impropriety, I can't agree that this as a valid parallel.

MF, as far as I can tell, 'discussionary' is not an English word. Even if it is, it seems likely that it would be a noun, rather than an adjective. If you can direct me to a dictionary that will negate this, I'd be much obliged indeed. Also, your remark about Harper only redoubles my view that Young is likely catering to your prior prejudices, so you like his music more because it 'speaks to you'. Yet, if Young was singing the Conservative party platform, I doubt that you would be inclined to say 'wow, this is great music, too bad about his political views'. A fortiori, I doubt you would say - Young is one of the greatest musicians of all time, even though I don't like his views.

By the way Mr. Dowd, I don't ask why Young puts his political views into his music, I already know why: he's a self-righteous ass.

It's sad really, that this populist rocker could seriously be loved as 'elite' when Young really is loved because he is John Q Citizen.

As far as your ecology professors opinion about the fishery decline, their opinion is the true hogwash. I would put the opinion of a Fisherman ahead of any ecology professor any day. The Atlantic fisherman knew more in their little fingers about what was happening to the fish, than any ecologist. Maybe a little more education in the school of hard knocks would be in order. Nothing worse than a book wise "expert". And we know what an expert is.

As far as the Anne Murray statement by MF, I do believe he was trying to show how trivial your reasoning is for being ashamed of Mr. Young.

Again, I recall saying that I agree with some of Mr. Youngs politics, and disagree with others, but again I will say that I like all his music, politics aside. Have you not figured out yet that his art is the thing, not his politics. If I liked Paul Martins politics (which I wasn't a total fan of), I still don't think I would enjoy his music. They are not a cohesive unit.

As far as listening to Neils greatest hits, that shows there how little you actually know about the man and his music. Neil is not about hits. Never was. Actually he would probably be a little ashamed of his greatest hits album himself, and it was only released by the record company. Neil is not about the hits, he is about the art, and message. When asked if he was concened about a album not selling, he readily admits to not caring in the slightest if he sells a record. Greatest hits. that was a record for kids who just don't understand.

It's this kind of reflexive anti-intellectual pretense about more 'life experience' that doomed you people in the first place. Ecologists told you the populations were dwindling, but your fishermen just kept on fishing. Ecologists proferred valid, reliable data suggesting that numbers were down, even if a causal link could not be readily demonstrated (because experimental conditions did not permit), "and they were scoffed at for being haughty ivory-tower intellectuals with out sufficient experience in the 'school of hard knocks' as you say. It's science versus intuition and self-interest. You seem to have made your choice. Will you not at least accept an anticholinesterase inhibitor to help with your apparent dementia? After all, AchE antagonists were designed by cloistered molecular biologists, without experience in the 'real world' of dementia. Does that make their contribution less efficacious?

"Play with the definitions all you want, it doesn't change that fact."

Maintain your pomp all you want, that doesn't change the fact that you are inappropriately extrapolating a parochial usage to the hoi polloi.

"As far as the Anne Murray statement by MF, I do believe he was trying to show how trivial your reasoning is for being ashamed of Mr. Young."

Pertaining to MF's remark about Murray, I do believe my riposte regarding the critical difference between the cases has not been parried as yet. As such, I think the coherence of your thoughts and arguments are dubious.

At no point, by the way, had you indicated any disagreement with Young's views. You have cited no case in which you are at odds with him on any issue. "Some yes, some no, but the man has enough balls to put it out there, and you have to respect him for that." You offered up this lame ex poste facto remark, but never qualified it. So when you say "again" as if your remarks have been sensible, ordered, well expressed and complete, you need to reconsider and take a bit of the self-righteousness out of your disdain.

"Have you not figured out yet that his art is the thing, not his politics."

Have you not followed the flow of my argument at all? To repeat: I find his music to be picayune and the content of his character deplorable. I am ashamed of him on the latter count. I dislike his music in its own right.

"Neil is not about the hits, he is about the art, and message."

You're right in some sense, Neil always seemed to care more about convincing people to espouse his peurile views than to produce good music. As far as it being about the art, you must realize how gushy and sycophantic you sound in saying this?

"Greatest hits. that was a record for kids who just don't understand."

What are kids supposed to understand? That the baby-boomer generation was the single-most hypocritical generation in modern memory? That they preached social justice and liberalism and became the most obdurate capitalists of all time? Are we supposed to understand that guys like Young continue to make a living off of those Boomers who never outgrew their inchoate, adolescent, socialist proclivities? Are we supposed to believe that Young and his ilk were about the message, but artists of this generation are all about the profit? Or haven't you heard of the indie rock movement? What am I to learn from these emotional foamings-at-the-mouth?

Irrespective, this kid's schedule is getting rather hectic in the next few weeks, so hopefully you've enjoyed the 'debate' and can feel good about yourself knowing that you bested a stranger on the internet on strength of your sheer lack of anything better to do. Have a nice life.

The use of the big word, is a little stand-offish though. Remember in the real world to use applicable language. Overuse of language doesn't impress it actually pushes away.

Believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see. Only believe all of what you know.

Again it may not seem to you to be sincere, but I did enjoy the debate.

Don't forget "opinions are like arse-holes... everyone has one, but everyone elses stinks but yours"

Cheers

Weird. I found a link to this thread here. ILM is grooowing..

"Southern Man" in a landslide, although if "Southern Man" were overplayed on classic rock radio the way "Sweet Home Alabama" is, maybe my opinion would change. Hmmm...on second thought, no, "Southern Man" is by far the better song, even in a vacuum.

given that one of these songs is a masterpiece and the other is awful, i tend to see this is a no brainer.

southern man.

Swear I had never heard of this when I chopped that Maple Leaf up there:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/shanerh/Roanoke_Valley_Rebels_Jersey_263x35.jpg

"Al [Kooper] certainly helped in coming up with some ad libs that Ronnie did throughout the song," says Mills. "And then there was Al himself, going out into the studio and doing his best impression of Neil Young."

This refers to Kooper softly singing 'Southern Man' during the second verse, following Van Zant's line, "Well, I heard Mister Young sing about her."

"Al did that intentionally," Mills recalls. "It was a moment of inspiration after Ronnie did his vocal, and I don't think Al had any preconception of that at all until the moment he said, 'Let me go out there and do something real quick.' Afterwards, I think there was some discussion whether to use it or not, and although it did end up on the finished record I know some people still aren't aware it's there."

And I'll be, there he is in the left speaker. Never in 30 years, 11 of those working at a classic rock station, had I ever noticed that.

(From this link.)

Sweet Home Alabama wins this, easy.

i'd prob say 'southern man', but really i'm not a huge fan of either. think i might like 'southern man' a bit more if its point wasn't so easy, b/c it's a good rocker and it's got a really great intensity to it

but yea neil's 'alabama' is better than either of these songs

Southern Man crushes...

scolding vs. dick-waving -- I pretty much hate both of these songs.

And I'll be, there he is in the left speaker. Never in 30 years, 11 of those working at a classic rock station, had I ever noticed that.

oh wow, i was never aware of this either. I am going to pull this out and listen again as soon as i get home.

Does anyone ever really need to hear Sweet Home Alabama again? Southern Man wins by virtue of not being so nauseatingly ubiquitous.

that too

ok I didn't read this whole thread but would love to hear young covering "sweet home alabama"

Young: Lynyrd Skynyrd almost ended up recording Powderfinger before my version came out. We sent them an early demo of it because they wanted to do one of my songs.

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.