Why does someone yell “My donuts, god damn” in the Lynyrd Skynyrd song ‘Sweet Home Alabama’?
Country music is one of the most popular genres in America, and the reason behind it is relatively clear. The genre provides a narrative and gives clear insight into different emotions or frustrations that people may be feeling. The songs are easy to connect with and resonate on a deep level with those who listen. These patterns in country music trickle into subsequent genres, such as country rock, as can be heard in some of the lyrics of bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Many rock bands sing songs laced with metaphor to the point that they can’t be followed too well. Alternatively, songs are about partying or rock n roll in general; however, when it comes to country rock, the lyrics often hit a lot deeper than that. Lynyrd Skynyrd sang about love and loss on ‘Free Bird’, as well as nostalgia on ‘Simple Man’.
One of their most popular tracks is ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, which also has lyrics that go much deeper than they appear on the surface. The song is an ode to their hometown, which is clear upon first listen, but subtle hints throughout the song show there is a lot more to it than that. These include jabs at Neil Young as well as political digs.
There are many peculiar points throughout the track as well. Firstly, there is the guitar solo that feels ever so slightly out of key. It comes together in a way that works but feels strange simultaneously. It was so off-kilter that the producer, Al Kooper, had a hard time dissecting it at first but ended up happy with how everything came together.
There are also many interesting little vocal add-ins throughout the song. Some are pretty easy to explain. “Turn it up” is simply Robert Van Zant asking for the song to be louder in his headphones. The counting in is Ed King getting ready to perform the track. However, one more vocal adlib at the end of the song makes no sense at all.
It’s not unusual for bands to hide vocal sections in their songs. When it comes to naturally occurring ones, such as the “turn it up” that can be heard in the intro, they give a more personal feel to the song. Other vocal snippets are included for fun; for instance, on tracks like ‘Hey Jude’, you can clearly hear John Lennon say “fuck” halfway through the track if you listen hard enough. Meanwhile, some vocals don’t make sense; we hear this in ‘Sweet Home Alabama’.
During the outro, as we are listening to the honky tonk keyboard solo, it sounds like we hear someone scream, “My donuts, god damn!” The story initially went on to say that Van Zant was telling off his bandmates for eating all the doughnuts in the studio. However, upon inspection, Al Kooper said he believes Van Zant says, “Montgomery’s got the answer.”
If this is the case, it may be that the line was included as a subtle jab at George Wallace, the 45th governor of Alabama. The line “In Birmingham, we love the governor” further supports this.
