Lynyrd Skynyrd's Greatest Travel Songs
The Freebirds of Southern Rock Return to the Road They Love in May
Apr 27, 2009
Through their rock n’ roll history of creating fantastic music despite suffering terrible tragedy, travelling has been a central theme in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s lyrics since their debut album, Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd featured the travelling anthem, Freebird, and the minor classic Tuesday’s Gone.
Travelling is in the Blood?
Travelling is in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s blood according to Travellin’ Man (Leon Wilkeson and Ronnie Van Zant (RVZ), 1975), as the lyrics tell how: ‘I was born a travellin man, that’s all I’ll ever be, moving around from town to town it’s what makes me so free, my father was a trucker for the years since 23, on the day that I was born his blood was left for me...’
With travelling apparently in their blood it’s no surprise that it should play a big part in their life and lyrics.
Freedom Calling: The Lure of the Open Road
Probably the band’s most famous anthem, Freebird (Allen Collins and RVZ, 1973), tells of being pulled in two directions by the love of a woman and the visceral draw of the open road.
Ronnie Van Zant sang his own lyrics from the heart when he opined: ‘...I must be travelling on, now, cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see...cause I’m as free as a bird now, And this bird you cannot change.’
It was a theme they also covered in Tuesday’s Gone (RVZ and Allen Collins, 1973), with the lyrics telling the story of lost human love being replaced by movement and a new beginning: 'Train roll on, on down the line, Please take me far, away...And I don't know oh where I'm going. I just want to be left alone.'
The Romantic Hobo
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s travel ethos predates even Jack Kerouac and the Beats, and looks back to the hobos that have been travelling the railroads since they were first laid across America.
On Railroad Song (RVZ and Edward King, 1975) their lyrics tell of the hardships faced by those who seek to follow their heart and soul on the road: ‘I jumped off a boxcar down around Tennessee, I was cold tired and dirty hungry as I could be, But I had my guitar and a hundred railroad songs...’
The New Lynyrd Skynyrd Tour
Lynyrd Skynyrd return to the road next month, and after thirty years of success they will be travelling in style this time.
The spirit of the road they sang about in the early days still holds strong though, and they now have over one hundred songs to choose from.
For classic video coverage of Lynyrd Skynyrd search the band on YouTube.
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