The Needle And The Spoon

Album: Second Helping (1974)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was warning about the dangers of hardcore drugs, which the band was just learning about. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Darden - Montgomery, AL
  • In 2015, Guitar World honored guitarist Allen Collins' solo, and his use of the wah-wah pedal to inject the Southern rock song with a hit of '70s psychedelia, by ranking it at #19 on the magazine's list of greatest wah solos of all time.

Comments: 8

  • Phillip from Huntsville, AlMuch is made about the line about Neil Young in "Sweet Home Alabama", but Van Zant later said it was just a line in a song and he had no malice toward Young. Van Zant often wore a Neil Young "Harvest" T-shirt on stage.
  • Jenn from MassCompletely different song than the Savoy Brown tune.
  • Dead Lee from Trumptopiaoriginally by Savoy Brown, ca.1970
  • Brandon W from Miami FlHas anyone heard the Junkie demo? I think Needle & the Spoon sounds like a sped up version of Junkie, with different lyrics.
  • Cory from Nashville, TnI always find it so ironic when I listen to this song when Ronnie says "I'm comin' home on an airplane flight"...
  • Jd from Fairfield, OhI love the riff in this song, I've had it stuck in my head for a while!
  • Windle from Montgomery, Al"The Needle And The Spoon" is a song about Allen Collins.
  • Stefanie from Rock Hill, ScThe title of this song reminds me of the song "The Needle and The Damage Done" by Neil Young. I've never heard this song though. I know Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote "Sweet Home Alabama" as a response to the Neil Young songs "Southern Man" and "Alabama", so this other similarity is very interesting.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.