Pairing “Southern Man” and “Sweet Home Alabama”
Pair the song “Southern Man” with the song “Sweet Home Alabama” by completing the
assignment that follows. See the Appendix for Poetic Devices.
"Southern Man"
Neil Young
Southern man
better keep your head
Don't forget what your good book said
Southern change gonna come at last
Now your crosses are burning fast
Southern man
I saw cotton and I saw black
Tall white mansions and little shacks.
Southern man when will you
pay them back?
I heard screamin' and bullwhips cracking
How long? How long?
Southern man better keep your head
Don't forget what your good book said
Southern change gonna come at last
Now your crosses are burning fast
Southern man
Lily Belle,
your hair is golden brown
I've seen your black man comin' round
Swear by God
I'm gonna cut him down!
I heard screamin' and bullwhips cracking
How long? How long?
Southern Man Assignment:
1. Describe the major theme or point of this song.
2. Describe anaphora. Describe where and why the lyricist uses it.
3. Choose one other poetic device. Clearly explain what it is, give an example of its use in the song and
explain whether it is effective or not.
4. Define colloquial word choice. Give examples of any colloquial expression in this song.
5. Describe the audience of this song. Describe the message the lyricist is trying to give the audience.
6. Give two examples of contrast in the lyrics and explain why contrast is effective.
7. Does the lyricist have ambivalent or mixed feelings about Alabama? Explain.
Sweet Home Alabama
Lynryd Skynyrd
Big wheels keep on turning
Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the Southland
I miss Alabamy once again
And I think it’s a sin, yes
Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you
Here I come Alabama
Well I heard mister Young sing about her
Well, I heard ole Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around anyhow
Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they've been known to pick a song or two
Lord they get me off so much
They pick me up when I'm feeling blue
Now how about you?
Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you
In Birmingham they love the governor
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell the truth
Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you
Sweet home Alabama
Oh sweet home baby
Where the skies are so blue
And the governor's true
Sweet Home Alabama
Lordy
Lord, I'm coming home to you
Sweet Home Alabama Assignment
1. Look up Governor George Wallace on the internet. Describe his history. Explain his views on
desegregation. Neil Young wrote his song in 1972. Explain what George Wallace was doing that
year. Also explain what was happening in Alabama during the early 70s. Is it important to know this
history before you analyze this song? Explain.
2. Describe the major theme or point of this song.
3. Explain how it is a response to “Alabama” or “Southern Man” or “Play it All Night Long”.
4. Describe anaphora. Describe where and why he uses it.
5. Describe the word choice in this song. Define colloquial word choice. Give examples of any
particularly Southern words or phrases that are used.
6. Describe the audience of this song. Describe the desire of the lyricist to defend Alabama and the
South in general from Neil Young’s portrait of it?
7. Explain the verse that begins with “In Birmingham, they love the governor.” You will have to look up
the history of Alabama at this time.
8. Does the lyricist have ambivalent or mixed feelings about Alabama? Explain.
Both Songs
1.
2.
3.
4.
Which song did you like better? Explain.
What are the similarities in both songs? Give several examples.
What are the differences? Give several examples.
Which song makes the stronger statement? Explain.
Poetic Devices
Device
Alliteration
Explanation
The deliberate repetition of consonant sounds
Example
Bare Naked Ladies – “One Week” Chickity China the Chinese
chicken
Allusion
Reference to another song, person, event
Don McLean – “American Pie” –
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
Apostrophe
An address to a person absent or dead or not real
Counting Crows – “The Ghost in
You”
Assonance
Deliberate repetition of identical or similar vowel
sounds
Author’s specific word choice
Diction/word
choice
Echo/anaphora
Repetition of a key word or idea for effect
Hair – “I Got Life” – I got … Justin
Bieber – “Baby” – Baby, baby, oh…
Hyperbole
Exaggeration
Metaphor
Onomatopoeia
Comparison that doesn’t use like or as –
compares a living thing to an object – often uses
form of the verb “to be”
Use of words resembling the sound they make
XTC – “Ten Feet Tall” – I feel like I'm
walking…Round ten feet tall
Steve Miller – “The Joker” - I really
love your peaches, wanna shake your
tree
Oxymoron
Contradiction in two words put together
Paradox
Personification
Rhyme
Contradiction in two statements
Attribution of human motives or behaviours to
animals or things
Uses words that have the same ending sound
Simile
Comparison using like or as
Tone, mood
Feelings or meanings conveyed in the poem
“Old MacDonald’s Farm – quack,
quack, here…quack, quack there
John Mellencamp – “Hurts so
Good”
Jimi Hendrix - “The Wind Cries”
Eminem – “Lose Yourself” Snap
back to reality, Oh there goes
gravity
Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar
on Me” –livin’ like a lover with a
radar phone
Jason Mraz – “I’m Yours” to
Eminem – “Low Down Dirty”