Text: Drive By Truckers. Southern Rock Opera. Ronnie and Neil.

Church blew up in Birmingham four little black girls killed
For no goddamn good reason
All this hate and violence can't come to no good end
A stain on the good name
A whole lot of good people dragged threw the blood and glass
Blood stains on their good names and all of us take the blame

Meanwhile in north Alabama, Wilson Pickett comes to town
To record that sweet soul music, that's Muscle Shoals sound

Meanwhile in north Alabama, Aretha Franklin comes to town
To record that sweet soul music, that's Muscle Shoals sound

And out in California, rock star from Canada writes
A couple of great songs about the bad shit that went down
"Southern man" and "Alabama" certainly told some truth
But there were a lot of good folks down here
And Neil Young wasn't around

Meanwhile in north Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd came to town
To record with Jimmy Johnson, That's Muscle Shoals sound
And they met some real fine people, not racist pieces of shit
And they wrote a song about it and that song became a hit

Ronnie and Neil, Ronnie and Neil
Rock stars today ain't half as real
Speaking there minds on how they feel
Let them guitars blast for Ronnie and Neil

Now Ronnie and Neil became good friends their feud was just in song
Skynyrd was a bunch of Neil Young fans and Neil he loved that song
So he wrote 'Powder Finger' for Skynyrd to record
But Ronnie ended up singing "Sweet home Alabama" to the Lord

Neil helped carry Ronnie in his casket to the ground
And to my way of thinking, us southern men need both of them around

Ronnie and Neil, Ronnie and Neil
Rock stars today ain't half as real
Speaking their minds on how they feel
Let them guitars blast for Ronnie and Neil

Ronnie and Neil, Ronnie and Neil
Rock stars today ain't half as real
Speaking their minds on how they feel
Let them guitars blast for Ronnie and Neil
Let them guitars blast for Ronnie and Neil
Let them guitars blast for Ronnie and Neil