Song of the South (song)

1988 single by Alabama

"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[1]
Length| 3:12
Label| RCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)| Bob McDill[2]
Producer(s)| Alabama
Larry Michael Lee
Josh Leo
Alabama singles chronology
| "Fallin' Again"
(1988)  | "Song of the South"
(1988)  | "If I Had You"
(1989)

|
|

"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

[edit]

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."[3]

## Cover versions

[edit]

Country music singer Sam Hunt covered the song from the television special CMT Giants: Alabama.

## Music video

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

The music video, directed by Steve Boyle, consists mainly of black-and-white photos and footage of the South during the 1930s, as well as footage of members of the band and other actors in the South, which is also in black and white, to give the illusion that it was the 1930s when it was filmed. The content of the video mainly follows the song lyrics, such as the footage of President Roosevelt during the lines in the song where he is referenced, as well as footage of actor Clark Gable when the line 'gone with the wind' is uttered, a reference to the 1939 epic film of the same name, which starred Gable. The video turns to color during the chorus, showing a large crowd fronted by the band members marching down the street of a small town. At the end, the video is also in color and shows Alabama playing at a concert, at the end of which random people come onto the stage - including fellow RCA recording artists Baillie & the Boys and Jo-El Sonnier, as well as the comedians Williams and Ree. The onsite filming was done in Temperance Hall, Tennessee.[4]

## Chart history

[edit]

### Johnny Russell

[edit]

Chart (1981)  | Peak
position

|

US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] | 57

### Tom T. Hall/Earl Scruggs

[edit]

Chart (1982)  | Peak
position

|

US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[6] | 72

### Alabama

[edit]

Chart (1988–1989)  | Peak
position

|

US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[7] | 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks[8] | 1

#### Year-end charts

[edit]

Chart (1989)  | Position

|

Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[9] | 83
US Country Songs (Billboard)[10] | 41

## Certifications

[edit]

Certifications for Song of the South Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United States (RIAA)[11] | 2× Platinum  | 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Alabama – Song of the South
2. ^ "Song of the South". AllMusic. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
3. ^ "Alabama - Song of the South Lyrics". songmeanings.com. SongMeanings. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
4. ^ "STOCKING THE JUDDS". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
5. ^ "Johnny Russell Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
6. ^ "Tom T. Hall Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
7. ^ "Alabama Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
8. ^ "RPM 100 Country Singles" (PDF). RPM. February 6, 1989.
9. ^ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1989". RPM. December 23, 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
10. ^ "Best of 1989: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
11. ^ "American single certifications – Alabama – Song of the South". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 11, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* "Song of the South" at AllMusic

* v
* t
* e

Bobby Bare

* Albums
* Singles

Studio albums|

* 500 Miles Away from Home (1963)
* The Game of Triangles (with Liz Anderson and Norma Jean) (1967)

Compilation albums|

* "Detroit City" and Other Hits by Bobby Bare (1963)

Songs|

* "500 Miles"
* "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan"
* "A Dear John Letter"
* "Detroit City"
* "Four Strong Winds"
* "God Bless America Again"
* "Green, Green Grass of Home"
* "How I Got to Memphis"
* "Just to Satisfy You"
* "(Margie's At) The Lincoln Park Inn"
* "Marie Laveau"
* "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town"
* "Song of the South"
* "Streets of Baltimore"

Guest singles|

* "No Memories Hangin' Round" (with Rosanne Cash)

Related articles|

* Bobby Bare, Jr.

* v
* t
* e

Tom T. Hall

Studio albums|

* In Search of a Song (1971)
* Places I've Done Time (1978)
* Song in a Seashell (1985)

Compilation albums|

* Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1975)

Singles|

* "Ballad of Forty Dollars"
* "A Week in a Country Jail"
* "Shoeshine Man"
* "Salute to a Switchblade"
* "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died"
* "The Monkey That Became President"
* "(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine"
* "Ravishing Ruby"
* "I Love"
* "That Song Is Driving Me Crazy"
* "Country Is"
* "I Care"
* "Deal"
* "I Like Beer"
* "Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet)"
* "Fox on the Run"
* "Your Man Loves You Honey"
* "It's All in the Game"
* "May the Force Be with You Always"
* "What Have You Got to Lose"
* "The Old Side of Town"
* "Song of the South"
* "A Bar with No Beer"

Songwriting|

* "Hello Vietnam"
* "Harper Valley PTA"
* "Little Bitty"

Related|

* Discography

* v
* t
* e

Alabama 1977–1989 singles

My Home's in Alabama|

* "I Wanna Come Over"
* "My Home's in Alabama"
* "Tennessee River"
* "Why Lady Why"

Feels So Right|

* "Old Flame"
* "Feels So Right"
* "Love in the First Degree"

Mountain Music|

* "Mountain Music"
* "Take Me Down"
* "Close Enough to Perfect"

The Closer You Get...|

* "Dixieland Delight"
* "The Closer You Get"
* "Lady Down on Love"

Roll On|

* "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)"
* "When We Make Love"
* "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)"
* "(There's A) Fire in the Night"

40-Hour Week|

* "There's No Way"
* "40 Hour Week (For a Livin')"
* "Can't Keep a Good Man Down"

Greatest Hits|

* "She and I"

The Touch|

* "Touch Me When We're Dancing"
* ""You've Got" the Touch"

Just Us|

* "Tar Top"
* "Face to Face"
* "Fallin' Again"

Southern Star|

* "Song of the South"
* "If I Had You"
* "High Cotton"
* "Southern Star"

Other singles|

* "Christmas in Dixie"
* "Deep River Woman"

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template