Song of the South (song)
"Song of the South" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Alabama | ||||
from the album Southern Star | ||||
B-side | (I Wish It Could Always Be) '55" | |||
Released | November 7, 1988 | |||
Recorded | January 1, 1988 | |||
Genre | Country, country rock, Southern rock | |||
Length | 3:12 | |||
Label | RCA Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) | Bob McDill[1] | |||
Producer(s) | Alabama Larry Michael Lee Josh Leo | |||
Alabama singles chronology | ||||
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"Song of the South" is a song written by Bob McDill. First recorded by American country music artist Bobby Bare on his 1980 album Drunk & Crazy, a version by Johnny Russell reached number 57 on the U.S. Billboard country chart in 1981. Another cover by Tom T. Hall and Earl Scruggs peaked at number 72 in 1982 from the album Storyteller and the Banjo Man. A cover released in November 1988 by American country music group Alabama, from their album Southern Star, reached number 1 on both the U.S. and Canadian country charts.
Content
The song tells the story of a poor Southern cotton farm-family during the Great Depression. "Cotton on the roadside, cotton in the ditch. We all picked the cotton but we never got rich." "Well, somebody told us Wall Street fell, but we was so poor that we couldn't tell." The song references President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in the line, "The cotton was short and the weeds was tall, but Mr. Roosevelt's gonna save us all."' The father of the family is a Southern Democrat; "Daddy was a veteran, a Southern Democrat. They oughta get a rich man to vote like that." The family loses the farm after the mother becomes ill. "The county got the farm and they moved to town." In the end, the family ends up living comfortably well, having sought a life in a more urban location; "Well, papa got a job with the TVA, we bought a washing machine, and then a Chevrolet."
Music video
The music video, directed by Steve Boyle, consists mainly of black-and-white photos and footage of the
Chart history
Johnny Russell
Chart (1981) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3] | 57 |
Tom T. Hall/Earl Scruggs
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] | 72 |
Alabama
Chart (1988–1989) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] | 1 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks[6] | 1 |
Year-end charts
Chart (1989) | Position |
---|---|
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[7] | 83 |
US Country Songs (Billboard)[8] | 41 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[9] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ "Song of the South". AllMusic. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ "STOCKING THE JUDDS". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ "Johnny Russell Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Tom T. Hall Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Alabama Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "RPM 100 Country Singles" (PDF). RPM. February 6, 1989.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1989". RPM. December 23, 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
- ^ "Best of 1989: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
- ^ "American single certifications – Alabama – Song of the South". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
External links
- "Song of the South" at AllMusic