Umm, you know, I heard this again recently, and then looked up the exact lyrics. Ok, let me get this straight- the protagonist’s sister kills his “cheatin” wife and her lover, and then lets her brother hang- and it’s the judge who has “blood on his hands”? :dubious: :dubious: 
:eek:
And while we’re at it… Why did the narrator kill Andy Warloe and the “cheatin’ wife” but not Seth Amos (“since you been gone, she’s been seein’ that Amos boy, Seth”)?
Well, her brother could have protested and provided evidence (“he fired a shot” to flag the sherriff down, but at least two shots were fired at the murder scene).
Realizing this, the sister knows that her brother is covering for her and accepts his decision. The issue is with the justice system in the town where the judge has some supper waiting and he wants to get out early.
Perhaps the bloodstains on the judge’s hands had nothing to do with the double-homicide and were only mentioned as a reason for not trusting your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer.
He was given a make-believe trial and hung before the sister could say the tracks were hers.
http://ntl.matrix.com.br/pfilho/html/lyrics/n/night_the_lights_went_out_in_georgia.txt
[Mr White]Who gives a damn[/MW]
What with appeals and such, that’s means the sister talks real sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow. :rolleyes:
Even in Georgia, they don’t they don’t say “Guilty- Balliff, hang the man”. :dubious:
But this took place a while ago (50 years?). The video shows an older woman recalling back to the event. Historically, the south at this time moved to “Guilty - Baliff, hand the man” from “BANG - guilty as charged”.
Not even in Georgia, not even 50 years ago. Perhaps if the “killer” was black and the State Police hadn’t been involved- maybe.
I think the hanged brother’s name is Seth, not the Amos boy. Andy is saying, “Hey Seth, you’re wife’s been cheatin’ with the Amos boy.”
So the cast of characters includes:
- Seth
- Seth’s wife, who cheats on him at least once, and maybe twice
- Andy Wolloe, Seth’s friend, who sleeps with (2) while (1) is out of town
- Seth’s sister, who kills (2) and (3), allows (1) to be hanged for the crime, and narrates the song.
- The mysterious Amos boy, mentioned once and forgotten.
Andy’s style of confession is very peculiar. The husband of his lover returns from out of town, and he makes it a point to tell him that his wife has been cheating . . . but he tries to pin it on the Amos boy. Why? To deflect attention from himself? As a trial balloon to see how Seth reacts? Is it even true about the Amos boy? One suspects not.
At any rate, when Seth gets really pissed, then Andy tells him that his wife has “also” been cheating with himself. This is odd. Is he suddenly concerned for the hapless Amos boy? Does he think Seth will back off just because Andy is his friend? “Oh well, no point in offing the Amos boy, since she’s also been humping my friend, and I can’t off him.”
Given that the rather ruthless narrator, who “don’t miss when she aims her gun”, never mentions the Amos boy again, I’d say that part of Andy’s story is a fabrication.
Besides which, Georgia used the chair not the rope.
Oh yeah, and who was it who arrested him, the Georgia Patrol, or a local sheriff? The song tries to have it both ways:
Well, the Georgia Patrol was a’makin’ their rounds
So he fired a shot just to flag 'em down
And a big-bellied sheriff grabbed his gun and said “why’dya do it?”
Wait a minute, there’s an Amos and an andy in the story?
Who’s the judge, the Kingfish?
So how come the lights went out?
In movies when they use the electric chair, the lights dim. Does this explain the title?
Not if they hung him…
Thanks. Makes me feel like I am not the only one who is crazy and wants a silly-assed song to have some rationality.
Freddy the Pig good write up. But I think “Amos” *is * “Seth”: ""Since you been gone she’s been seein’ that Amos boy, Seth ",= maybe “Seth Amos”??
So, what I can see- crazy bitch baby sister kills her sister-in-law and S-i-L lover, and frames her brother. Nice. Three people die from a little fooling around? And, it’s the Judges fault? I guess Judge forced little-sis to kill those two people. :rolleyes:
What we have to remember here is that this song was written by Bobby Russell, the same guy behind such classics as “Saturday Morning Confusion,” “Little Green Apples,” and “Watchin’ Scotty Grow.” We ain’t talking Dylan here.
Because when Suzanne Sugarbaker threw that baton into the air, it flew higher, further, faster than any baton had ever flown before, hitting a transformer and showering the darkened arena with sparks! And when it finally did come down, Suzanne caught that baton, and 12,000 people jumped to their feet for sixteen and one-half minutes of uninterrupted thunderous ovation, as flames illuminated her tear-stained face!
And that, JRDelirious, just so you will know, and your children will someday know, is the night the lights went out in Georgia!
(That was almost completely from memory. I am such a fag)
No, because a couple of lines earlier, he says, “Seth, I got some bad news.”
The moral of this song is, don’t waive your right to a jury trial.