# The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia/582316 "2011-05-18T14:05:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia/582316/1 "2011-05-18T14:05:09Z")
Vicki Lawrence (1972) Reba McEntire (1991) [Lyrics here.](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia-lyrics-reba-mcentire/b0f80f085dc0164a4825694b00317d2b) \*That’s the night that the lights went out in Georgia That’s the night that they hung an innocent man Well don’t trust your soul to no back woods southern lawyer Cause the judge in the town’s got bloodstains on his hands \* So, it’s a song about small-town corruption and a miscarriage of justice, right? Not the way I see it. It’s about a woman who stands by and watches her brother get executed for a murder _she_ committed! \*Well they hung my brother before I could say The tracks he saw while on his way To Andy’s house and back that night were mine \* Really?? Presumably, you were there at the trial. Even if they hung him immediately afterward, there was _no_ chance for you to stand up and shout “I did it!”?? Bullshit! Little Sister seems to have no remorse whatsoever that she has sent her brother to the end of a rope, instead preferring to blame it all on the lawyer and the judge. In fact, she goes on to brag about how well she hid her sister-in-law’s body! What a bitch. Other questions: After Andy told Brother that his wife was “seeing that Amos boy Seth” and then “he got mad and he saw red,” why the _hell_ would he go on to add, “to tell you the truth I’ve been with her myself”? What an idiot! But it might not have made any difference, because he then went home and quickly got snuffed. But wait. Did Little Sister already know that Andy was nailing the wife, or was she there at the bar and heard them talking? Did she follow Andy home, or was she waiting there to ambush him? And, perhaps most perplexing of all, whatever happened to that Amos boy Seth?? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia/582316/2 "2011-05-18T14:11:12Z")
[Previous thread on the same questions](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=374862) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia/582316/3 "2011-05-18T14:33:16Z")
I always have the urge to correct little sister … “They _hanged_, not hung, your brother” ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia/582316/4 "2011-05-18T14:35:28Z")
Delta Dawn, what’s that flower you have on… ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia/582316/5 "2011-05-18T14:37:03Z")
Well, that’s just a song about a madwoman, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia/582316/6 "2011-05-18T14:37:07Z")
The song implies that they hanged her brother within minutes of his capture. If you want to get mad at something, get mad at the title. She acts like that night was the first time in Georgia history an innocent man was lynched. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia/582316/7 "2011-05-19T04:16:35Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > And, perhaps most perplexing of all, whatever happened to that Amos boy Seth?? He got thrown off the Tallahatchee Bridge… ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia/582316/8 "2011-05-19T06:21:57Z")
Anyone stupid enough to try and and get the police attention to a murder scene by firing a gun needs to be removed from the gene pool. Really it’s a Darwin Award Winner song.