Sweet Home Alabama

Sweet Home Alabama

U.S. South

time: 20th century

Neo-Confederacy

While the topics of race and the civil rights movement were both key aspects of the region's history and what many perceived as part of the South's identity, the 1970s saw the rise of idea of the South as a home for "traditional values" and one that was defiant in character. Such views could be found in the song, which is an homage to the state of Alabama and its most alluring qualities. "Sweet Home Alabama" was written in response to the singer Neil Young's depictions of the south in his 1970 song "Southern Man," where the region is depicted as one marred by racism and a reluctance towards making amends regarding slavery. The band's relationship to the concept of the Confederacy is reflective of the complex attitudes surrounding the subject. The band used the Confederate flag but the lyrics have been interpreted in several ways, with some assuming it was in support of segregationist George Wallace, while some of the band members viewed it as a critique of him.

songwriter: Ed King

songwriter: Gary Rossington

songwriter: Ronnie Van Zant

1974

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English

genre: southern rock

United States

Zwiers, Maarten. "Rebel Rock: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Normaal, and Regional Identity." Southern Cultures 21, no. 3 (2015): 85+. Gale Academic OneFile (accessed June 14, 2020)

Washnock, Kaylynn. "The South of the Mind: American Imaginings of White Southernness 1960-1980." Journal of Southern History 85, no. 4 (2019): 962+. Gale General OneFile (accessed June 14, 2020)

Lynyrd Skynrd

Sandy Trand

Sweet Home Alabama [Youtube]