Okay, well, in truth I'm STILL a Skynyrd fan, but I was at their Rowdy Friends concert (wherein they performed for a bit then Hank Jr. took over). All was well ... except ... ah, except for their (in my opinion) very UNsouthern song, "Saturday Night Special." Okay, this is an uber-popular song and oh-so-many good Southern Lads-n-Ladies (some of 'em most likely ardent gun owners ... I know at least one of 'em is!) were just singing mindlessly along, even miming Mr. Johnny Van Zandt's anti-gun pantomines. Mostly, I suspect, this is largely a case of people getting caught up in the tune and not even hearing what the lyrics are (even, sadly, when they are singing along). Still, though The Darling Wife and I had GREAT floor seats (directly in front of the stage and just far enough back to be able to take the whole scene in), and even though I, like most of the rest of the floor audience stood and sang and danced along to their music, I stood silently in quiet protest to that particular song. Mrs. Angry Sheepdog had a great time with the music, but immediately understood what I was doing. Yeah, great Southern Rock band making a mint off of an anti-gun song.
Oh, and the huge display screen behind the band ran all sorts of stuff whilst the song was being played. The song is about as anti-handgun as you can get. "Handguns are made for killing. They ain't no good for nothin' else. And if you like to a-drink your whiskey, you might even a-shoot yourself! .... Why don't we dump 'em, people, to the bottom of the sea, before some ol' fool come around here, wanna shoot either you or me?" Okay, now can you get any more anti-handgun than that? Hell, can you get more anti-self defense than that? Now, then, while the band is playing, and Johhny V is singing his late brother's lyrics about the evil of handguns, the screen behind him is showing videos of UZI submachine guns, AR15/M16 rifles, all sorts of longarms, a ton of PREMIUM handguns (Glock, Browning Hi-Power, et al.), and, though it was just a flash and hard to be sure, I think there was even an M-203 grenade launcher shown! Um, newsflash, bro, Glocks and BHPs are not, per se, "Saturday Night Specials," SMGs, Assault rifles, semi-auto carbines, and the like are not handguns. Let's see, what else ... oh, and despite what your lyrics claim, you cannot, in fact, still buy them for $20 (though to be fair, that was a common price for absurdly cheap handguns back in the 1970s [i.e. Clerke, Rohm, and the like]). Also, just to be really picky but utterly clear, the little ad lib you made to that line about being able to get them for $20 in any pawn shop? That was so wrong I was beginning to wonder if, in spite of your previous anti-drug song that you might have indulged or caught a contact buzz from some of your closer audience members' burning herbal cylinders.
I was even a wee bit disturbed that when Hank Williams, Jr. sang his famous song, "A Country Boy Can Survive" he amended the line following the tale of his New York friend being "... killed by a man with switchblade knife..." by saying of the killer, he'd like to "give him a 3-inch magnum between the eyes." This implies the use of shotgun. The original lyrics involved ol' Hank wishing he could spit tobacco in the killer's eyes and "Shoot him with my old .45!" or as he once said on another stage, "I'd like to give him a few clips from my old .45!" Now, as to why the great man changed his lyrics to reflect the use of a shotgun rather than a handgun I cannot imagine. Admittedly, the shotgun would be a better choice, and I just don't see the Great, Southern Country Man not advocating the carry and ownership of handguns. In truth, were I not a bit ill at the crowd's reaction to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Saturday Night Special" I'd probably wouldn't have given Hank's extemporaneous variation much thought. In closing, I feel compelled to point out that it was a great concert, drunked idiots in the crowd notwithstanding, and the opening singer, Justin Moore did his 30 minute bit with strep throat, and Hank Jr. performed his long, fabulous time with a very bad cold kicking his arse. Mind you, though it was clear they weren't feeling good, their singing was absolutely TOP NOTCH and I'm glad I got to see 'em!
... In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't take music quite so seriously. Ah, but then again, nothing moves, motivates, and influences people like music, even without the target being aware of it (witness those progunners who sing along to "Saturday Night Special"). Still in all, it's just a song, right?
Oh, and the huge display screen behind the band ran all sorts of stuff whilst the song was being played. The song is about as anti-handgun as you can get. "Handguns are made for killing. They ain't no good for nothin' else. And if you like to a-drink your whiskey, you might even a-shoot yourself! .... Why don't we dump 'em, people, to the bottom of the sea, before some ol' fool come around here, wanna shoot either you or me?" Okay, now can you get any more anti-handgun than that? Hell, can you get more anti-self defense than that? Now, then, while the band is playing, and Johhny V is singing his late brother's lyrics about the evil of handguns, the screen behind him is showing videos of UZI submachine guns, AR15/M16 rifles, all sorts of longarms, a ton of PREMIUM handguns (Glock, Browning Hi-Power, et al.), and, though it was just a flash and hard to be sure, I think there was even an M-203 grenade launcher shown! Um, newsflash, bro, Glocks and BHPs are not, per se, "Saturday Night Specials," SMGs, Assault rifles, semi-auto carbines, and the like are not handguns. Let's see, what else ... oh, and despite what your lyrics claim, you cannot, in fact, still buy them for $20 (though to be fair, that was a common price for absurdly cheap handguns back in the 1970s [i.e. Clerke, Rohm, and the like]). Also, just to be really picky but utterly clear, the little ad lib you made to that line about being able to get them for $20 in any pawn shop? That was so wrong I was beginning to wonder if, in spite of your previous anti-drug song that you might have indulged or caught a contact buzz from some of your closer audience members' burning herbal cylinders.
I was even a wee bit disturbed that when Hank Williams, Jr. sang his famous song, "A Country Boy Can Survive" he amended the line following the tale of his New York friend being "... killed by a man with switchblade knife..." by saying of the killer, he'd like to "give him a 3-inch magnum between the eyes." This implies the use of shotgun. The original lyrics involved ol' Hank wishing he could spit tobacco in the killer's eyes and "Shoot him with my old .45!" or as he once said on another stage, "I'd like to give him a few clips from my old .45!" Now, as to why the great man changed his lyrics to reflect the use of a shotgun rather than a handgun I cannot imagine. Admittedly, the shotgun would be a better choice, and I just don't see the Great, Southern Country Man not advocating the carry and ownership of handguns. In truth, were I not a bit ill at the crowd's reaction to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Saturday Night Special" I'd probably wouldn't have given Hank's extemporaneous variation much thought. In closing, I feel compelled to point out that it was a great concert, drunked idiots in the crowd notwithstanding, and the opening singer, Justin Moore did his 30 minute bit with strep throat, and Hank Jr. performed his long, fabulous time with a very bad cold kicking his arse. Mind you, though it was clear they weren't feeling good, their singing was absolutely TOP NOTCH and I'm glad I got to see 'em!
... In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't take music quite so seriously. Ah, but then again, nothing moves, motivates, and influences people like music, even without the target being aware of it (witness those progunners who sing along to "Saturday Night Special"). Still in all, it's just a song, right?
1 comment:
Hello Sheepdog,
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www.trevorfinlay.com
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