Song of the South

Alabama's "Song of the South", while not necessarily my cup of tea musically, presents a good representation of the Post-Civil War South. This facet of the South's history is often overshadowed by the horrors of slavery and even the Civil War itself. Much of the South was ravaged and had to rebuild from scratch. While the song does not directly reference the Civil War, it displays some of the effects, mainly poverty, that still linger from this turbulent period in the history of the South.

While the song harkens back to a relatively old part of our country's history, the band Alabama itself was of the late 1960s. The band was formed in Fort Payne, Alabama, located below:



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The state of Alabama is right in the heart of the South and as a result, the band members would have first-hand experience with the culture and history. A particularly revealing part of the song can be found in the chorus when they reference "Gone with the Wind".

Sing it, song, song of the south
Sweet potato pie and I shut my mouth
Gone, gone with the wind
There ain't nobody looking back again

These lyrics speak to how the idealized South that "Gone with the Wind" presents is gone forever, and now the people of the South must work to survive rather than live of off the fruits of slavery.