# Are the Lyrics to Sweet Home alabama racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2002, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-lyrics-to-sweet-home-alabama-racist/132692 "2002-10-17T17:03:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-lyrics-to-sweet-home-alabama-racist/132692/21 "2002-10-18T22:16:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > [BI was surprised (nay, astonished) to learn from that article that Lynyrd Skynyrd has been eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 1998, but still hasn’t been inducted. > > What gives? These guys (along with the Eagles) dominated US rock in the mid-70’s. Plus the band met a rock-n-roll, Buddy-Holly-esque end, which should be enough to guarantee legendary status. > > Surely they aren’t being harmed by a misperception of their message? > > Thoughts? \*\* It’s pretty simple actually. Most music critics, (and critics are the ones who vote on who does and doesn’t get into the RnRHoF) are asshats, pure and simple. Many of them are failed musicians who hold insanely pointless andstupid grudges, such as writing entire reviews of _Poison_ albums without **ONCE** referring to the music, but instead spending 1200words ripping the band to shreds because of their hairstyles. WTF?!!? Plus, most music critics are musical snobs. And think about it, if rock and roll is about anything, it \*\*isn’t \*\*about having a Hall of Fame. ---
**Author:** ![Truth\_Seeker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Truth\_Seeker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truth_Seeker)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-lyrics-to-sweet-home-alabama-racist/132692/22 "2002-10-19T01:16:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*Skynyrd was actually politically progressive. After all, they had a song decrying handguns (“Saturday Night Special”) and a song promoting environmental concerns (“All I Can Do Is Write About It”). \*\* Progressive, indeed. They were even against _drug abuse_! [That Smell](http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?sid=%B9%1D%A9h%A7%F1%F0%AC) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-lyrics-to-sweet-home-alabama-racist/132692/23 "2002-10-19T02:24:13Z")
Well, it’s not fair to say that Skynyrd ‘dominated’ rock in the 70’s. In fact, I don’t believe they had any massive album sales in that era. Their two big hits were “Sweet Home Alabama”, which was an honest-to-god hit, and “Free Bird”, a staple of FM radio. But in terms of album sales, Skynyrd probably isn’t in the top 100 of artists in the 70’s, whereas the Eagles were the best-selling American band of the 70’s. But Skynyrd deserves to be in the hall of fame, because they and the Allman Brothers pretty much invented southern rock. And I think Skynyrd is better known and more popular today than they were in the 70’s, which is a sign of a band that is truly legendary in stature. If it hadn’t been for that plane crash, I believe Skynyrd would have been a monster band. “Street Survivors” would have been their breakout album. Another artist who is eligible for the hall of fame and who should be inducted this year is Warren Zevon. Given that he has terminal cancer, this would be a good time to recognize him. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-lyrics-to-sweet-home-alabama-racist/132692/24 "2002-10-19T02:59:30Z")
> [@](#): > > But Skynyrd deserves to be in the hall of fame, because they and the Allman Brothers pretty much invented southern rock. I’ll go along with this and kindly give you a nudge whilst whispering “ZZ Top” under my breath. No order, just included. > [@](#): > > If it hadn’t been for that plane crash, I believe Skynyrd would have been a monster band. Quite likely, although there would without a doubt have been infrequent fatal drug interruptions. To the OP. Skynard racist? Certainly not outwardly so. Their most egregious offence was to hail from a climate and locale that periodically demonstrated such behavior, although they certainly appear to have wielded a different brush. It’s a nice question that has caused me to re-examine my previous impression. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-lyrics-to-sweet-home-alabama-racist/132692.md?page=1)