8 Hard Rock Songs Probably Written Out Of Spite
4. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s riposte to Neil Young’s Southern Man and Alabama. On those songs Young had taken the American South to task for slavery in a way that might be described as a bit sweeping. As Ronnie Van Zant put it:
”We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two."
Which is fair enough. Where it gets a bit spiteful is the decision to name check Young directly in the lyric.
"Well, I heard Mister Young sing about her, Well I heard ol' Neil put her down, Well I hope Neil Young will remember, A Southern man don't need him around anyhow."
Its never pleasant to be publicly called out but, to his credit, Young himself would later admit Lynyrd Skynyrd had a point with this one.
“My own song 'Alabama' richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record. I don't like my words when I listen to it. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue."