Pop Song 608 'Southern Man' Neil Young 1970

Pop Song 608 'Southern Man' Neil Young 1970

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The lyrics of "Southern Man" describe the racism towards blacks in the American South. In the song, Young tells the story of a white man (symbolically the entire white South) and how he mistreated his slaves. Young pleadingly asks when the South will make amends for the fortunes built through slavery when he sings:

I saw cotton and I saw black,
tall white mansions and little shacks.
Southern Man, when will you pay them back?
The song also mentions the practice of cross burning referencing the Ku Klux Klan.

Young was very sensitive about the song's message of anti-racism and anti-violence. During his 1973 tour, he canceled a show in Oakland, California because a fan was beaten and removed from the stage by a guard while the song was played.[1]

Response
Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote their song "Sweet Home Alabama" in response to "Southern Man" and "Alabama" from Young's 1972 album Harvest. Young has said that he is a fan of both "Sweet Home Alabama" and Ronnie Van Zant, the lead vocalist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. "They play like they mean it," Young said in 1976. "I'm proud to have my name in a song like theirs."[2] Young has also been known to play "Sweet Home Alabama" in concert occasionally. To demonstrate this camaraderie, Van Zant frequently wore a Neil Young Tonight's the Night T-shirt while performing "Sweet Home Alabama".[3] Crazy Horse bassist Billy Talbot can often be seen reciprocating by wearing a Jack Daniel's-styled Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt (including at the Live Rust concert).

In his book Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream, Young stated that Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote "Sweet Home Alabama" not in response to "Southern Man", but rather to Young's song "Alabama". Young noted that Lynyrd Skynyrd's implied criticism was deserved because Young's lyrics on "Alabama" were condescending and accusatory.