Ron writes:
It’s not a tribute. It’s an insult. The whole line is: In Birmingham They Love the Governor, but we all did what we could do” meaning they tried to fight segregation. Not support it.
MS writes:
TIL. The more I hear about the meaning behind some Southern Rock songs the more I like them.
I always misinterpreted them probably because I couldn’t hear the lyrics at the time.
DB writes:
Hi, a lot of people who listen to the song interpret it that way but I read an interview with Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington years ago in which he said the band did not like George Wallace and his (at the time ) racist policies. The song is actually a criticism of Wallace. Rossington pointed out that the line in the song is “in Birmingham THEY love the Governor” , to distinguish that the band did not like Wallace, but the citizens of Birmingham (at least some) did. He pointed out that the line after this one is “now we all did what we could do", meant that the band members did what they could do to prevent Wallace from getting elected (or reelected) Governor of Alabama. After reading this interview it changed how I viewed the song.
