The South's Gonna Do It
1974 single by Charlie Daniels Band
| "The South's Gonna Do It (Again)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Charlie Daniels Band | ||||
| from the album Fire on the Mountain | ||||
| B-side | "New York City, King Size Rosewood Bed" | |||
| Released | November 1974 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:00 | |||
| Label | Sony | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Charlie Daniels | |||
| Producer(s) | Paul Hornsby | |||
| Charlie Daniels Band singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The South's Gonna Do It (Again)", is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1974 album Fire on the Mountain.
Content
The lyrics refer to several Southern rock bands and musicians:
- Grinderswitch
- The Marshall Tucker Band
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Dickey Betts (guitarist with The Allman Brothers)
- Elvin Bishop
- ZZ Top
- Wet Willie
- Barefoot Jerry
- Charlie Daniels Band
The first line in the song is also a play on Grinder's Switch, Tennessee, the fictional hometown of Grand Ole Opry star Minnie Pearl.
The song uses a clever play on words to promote Southern rock music. The notion that "the South shall rise again" was a familiar sentiment and rallying cry for disaffected Southern whites after the American Civil War. The song co-opts that sentiment, but uses the statement to celebrate Southern rock acts contemporary to the song itself. The "it" that the South is going to do again, it is implied, is to produce additional popular rock groups.
Daniels factually bristled at more nefarious interpretations of what the "it" was. When the Ku Klux Klan used the song as background music for radio commercials for a 1975 rally in Louisiana, Daniels told Billboard, "I'm damn proud of the South, but I sure as hell am not proud of the Ku Klux Klan. I wrote the song about the land I love and my brothers. It was not written to promote hate groups."[3][4]
Chart performance
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 29 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 68 |
References
- ^ Stuessy, Joe; Lipscomb, Scott David (1999). Rock and roll : its history and stylistic development. Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Prentice Hall. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-13-676495-3.
- ^ Beck, Ken (July 22, 2020). "Charlie Daniels proved true blue in every aspect of his life". The Wilson Post. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ Billboard (December 20, 1975). "KKK Lashed by Daniels on Song Use" (PDF). WorldRadioHistory.com. p. 4. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (October 25, 2017). "The South's Gonna Do It (Again): Charlie Daniels, the Confederacy and the Rise of the New South in the '70s". Medium. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
External links
- Listen to "The South's Gonna Do It Again" on YouTube
- v
- t
- e
- Chris Wormer
- Charlie Hayward
- Bruce Brown
- Ron Gannaway
- Shannon Wickline
- former and original members
- Billy Cox
- Buddy Davis
- Earl Grigsby
- Jeffrey Meyer
- Mark Fitzgerald
- Barry Barnes
- Gary Allen
- Joel DiGregorio
- Jim Marshall
- Fred Edwards
- Tom Crain
- Jack Gavin
- Mark Matejka
- Pat McDonald
- Charlie Daniels (1970)
- Te John, Grease, & Wolfman (1972)
- Honey in the Rock (1973)
- Way Down Yonder (1974)
- Fire on the Mountain (1974)
- Nightrider (1975)
- Saddle Tramp (1976)
- High Lonesome (1976)
- Midnight Wind (1977)
- Million Mile Reflections (1979)
- Full Moon (1980)
- Windows (1982)
- Me and the Boys (1985)
- Homesick Heroes (1988)
- Simple Man (1989)
- Renegade (1991)
- America, I Believe in You (1993)
- Road Dogs (2000)
- How Sweet the Sound: 25 Favorite Hymns and Gospel Greats (2002)
- Redneck Fiddlin' Man (2002)
- Songs from the Longleaf Pines (2005)
- Deuces (2007)
- A Decade of Hits (1983)
- Super Hits (1994)
- Fiddle Fire: 25 Years of the CDB (1998)
- Volunteer Jam/Classic Live Performances: Volume One (1999)
- Volunteer Jam/Classic Live Performances: Volume Two (1999)
- Freedom and Justice for All (2003)
- Essential Super Hits (2004)
- 16 Biggest Hits (2006)
- Land That I Love (2010)
- Live! (2001)
- Live from Iraq (2007)
- Joy to the World: A Bluegrass Christmas (2009)
- "Uneasy Rider" (1973)
- "The South's Gonna Do It" (1975)
- "Long Haired Country Boy" (1975)
- "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (1979)
- "Mississippi" (1979)
- "Long Haired Country Boy" (re-release) (1980)
- "In America" (1980)
- "The Legend of Wooley Swamp" (1980)
- "Sweet Home Alabama" (1981)
- "Still in Saigon" (1982)
- "Drinkin' My Baby Goodbye" (1986)
- "Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues" (1988)
- "Uneasy Rider '88" (1988)
- "Simple Man" (1989)
- "Long Haired Country Boy" (re-release) (1997)
- "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (re-release) (1998)
- "This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag" (2001)
- "The Devil Comes Back to Georgia" (Mark O'Connor with Johnny Cash, Marty Stuart, and Travis Tritt) (1993)
- Volunteer Jam: The Movie (2007)
- Live from Iraq (2007)
- Discography
- "It Hurts Me"
- Volunteer Jam
- Urban Cowboy
- Middle Tennessee State University (Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center)
Fire On The Mountain track listing
