Album: Harvest (1972)

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• Oh-oh, Alabama
  The devil fools with the best laid plan
  Swing low, Alabama
  You got the spare change
  You got to feel strange
  And now the moment is all that it meant
  
  Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulders
  That's breaking your back
  Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch
  And a wheel on the track
  
  Oh, Alabama
  Banjos playing through the broken glass
  Windows down in Alabama
  See the old folks tied in white ropes
  Hear the banjo
  Don't it take you down home?
  
  Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulders
  That's breaking your back
  Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch
  And a wheel on the track
  
  Oh-oh, Alabama
  Can I see you and shake your hand?
  Make friends down in Alabama
  I'm from a new land
  I come to you and see all this ruin
  What are you doing Alabama?
  You got the rest of the union to help you along
  What's going wrong? Writer/s: Neil Young
  Publisher: Hipgnosis Songs Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 8

• Joe from The SouthKeemoo said it best…the only reason racism is still alive is because “certain” people wish to keep it alive. Losers.
• The Diamond from AlabamaNeil from Alabama is spot on. Neil Young deserves criticism- he targeted Alabama whether he meant to target the specific state or not, and he helped make Alabama the butt of everything that was done twice as wrong and hard in the north and other states. I was a truck driver and I drove all over the US and nothing was more of a shock to me than the attitudes of Northerners who ignore their own history.
• Keemo830 from DetroitI just want to say that somebody is either got his head so far up there that he's blind to the truth. I'm from the north, born and raised, I'm a 12 year Navy vet and I've met people from all walks of life here in the great USofA and although racism is everywhere I'd be hard pressed to meet 10 non racist southern folk out of every 100. And the northern folk I've met in the military it's the opposite 10 racists out of every 100. It's sad that somebody has relatives who are racist and it seems to me that most racist people have very racist friends and family. So the one person in this group it stands to reason. Now there's another person in this group who was unable to see any improvement in our country and it's bigotry. Well I grew up in the '70s I learned like everybody I knew that racism is wrong. We all grew up feeling that way. Racism was well on its way out until certain people decided to give it another foothold. Certain people who had the power to do it and took full advantage of that power. And to this very day they are still using it and making it worse. Shame on those people, their day will come.
• Brian Via Alabama from AlabamaI've sit back for decades listening to the so many people argue about this song and so many others, and how they berate the south and all "we stand for." Just a tid bit of my living throughout the country and visiting all over the world (Retired Navy). I grew up in Mississippi and Alabama. There was no difference to me in black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American or whoever you came from. My parents were some of the most racist people ever. A person could not be this guy or that girl. Everyone was identified by their nationality (the Mexican, the Jew, the *explicative* of their race). My mother was from up North in Wisconsin and moved to Chicago when she was 14; my father lived in Chicago a large part of his life but was raised in Mississippi. I've lived in the South most all of my life and have visited my northern family quite a few times. The North is one of the most racist places I've ever seen! I've never heard so many derogatory remarks about race in all my life! I spent a lot of my Navy enlistment on the East Coast of the US. There is so much hate for other races! I've also been to numerous other countries and again, the some of most racist people ever! I raised my children and I am teaching my grandchildren that the only difference in people is not the color of their skin, but the condition of their heart. NEVER look at someone as lower class because their race is different than your own. I love living in the south. Alabama is my home and will be my final resting place. From the mountains in the north to the Guld of Mexico to the south, it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived. The only "ugly" you'll see is what you are specifically looking for. So, from me to all of you who think we're just a bunch of racist, hate filled people, look around yourself and tell me what you see.
• Miles Davis from PennsylvaniaNikki from Texas, the tea party was funded by the Koch Brothers who manipulated members to break washington. They were almost successful. Lowered the S & P rating of the federal government by trying to default on the national debt loan.
• Nic from LondonI love Neil and his words. Who cares if you agree or not its a song with words linked to what he thought and felt at the time. The only reason people get angry is because something is mentioned which is a 'touchy subject'. If it was completely ludicrous then there wouldn't be such anger and disgust for what was said. That makes me think what he's said is at least partly true! 'How long, how long, hahahahow...'
• Sandy from Michigan Neil Young expressed his feelings about racism in his song 'Southern man'. I read that he regrets the accusatory words directed at the southern. It's been almost 50 years since the recording was released- and still.... Laws have changed, but systemically there has not been progress. Im thinking, "How long, how long, hahahow..." When will all stand?
• Nikki from Pnicolez@hotmail.com, TxFor the idiot that refers to Tea Party members as racist. Do you even have a clue as to why tea party members started? The GOP as we know it are weak in their position and feel that spending in the trillions is OK. Most republicans who are tired of the fence riders (RHINOS) want someone that will take a FINANCIAL stand and stop the ridiculous spending this president has done. The Tea Party generally focuses on government reform. Among its goals are limiting the size of the federal government, reducing government spending, lowering the national debt and opposing tax increases. LESS GOVERNMENT NOT RACISM SO pull your head out of you A@#! So tired of any one that disagrees with Obama the best talking point from them is that you are racist. How convenient! You want to be told when to tie your shoes and how to live your life keep voting for liberals that promise the moon taking a conservative stance and forcing crap down your throat as this current administration has done. there is no accountability, for the 4 dead in Benghazi, Obama Care, NSA, IRS and Fast and Furious.

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