Sweet Home Alabama

Big wheels keep on turning
Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the Southland
I miss Alabamy once again
And I think its a sin, yes

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 governor
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 Alabama

Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they've been known to pick a song or two
Lord they get me off so much
They pick me up when I'm feeling blue
Now how about 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 baby
Where the skies are so blue
And the governor's true
Sweet Home Alabama
Lordy
Lord, I'm coming home to you
Yea, yea Montgomery's got the answer

- Lynyrd Skynyrd, Second Helping (1974)


I had written about this song sometime back and couldn't place the pictures in. By the time I got round to do so, the whole posting disappeared. So here I am reposting and wonder if I could recall what I wrote about.

This song is regularly played at D'Attap and I've got the picture Rfizan the front man with axemen Tapok by his left and drummer Arul at his right.

Someone commented to call Lynyrd Skynyrd a racist band. Sure they are mean rough neck lookin' fit the bill. And, when you hear the song is about Alabama, pow ... you are reminded of Klu Klux Klan, Governor George Wallace, etc.

Yes, I had the bad experiance of stopping over at a gas station in Birmingham, Alabama at night to be subtly told by a cop to get out of town.

As much we hate racism, it is equally wrong to stereotype all people as racist.

This song is exactly about that. Neil Young wrote two songs, Southern Man and Alabama, about racism. Lynyrd Skynyrd replied with this song to warn him of his sweeping generalisation. Read this interesting hyperlinked article entitled Jammin' with Neil on this exchanges.

While we remembered the racist policies perpetuated under Governor George Wallace, I remembered Birmingham used to have a black Mayor. The Reverand Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. organised a peaceful march to demonstrate for rights of black to vote in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

Yea yea Mongomery's got the answer.

A Voice
Kuala Lumpur
February 15th, 2006, 7:50 p.m. (reposted)