Who is the Lynyrd Skynyrd song ‘Free Bird’ about?
They say that music begins on the second note. When you have note number one, you don’t have music; you have sound. Then, you can either layer with a second note or play a second note, and you have either harmony or melody. Until the second note is played, you don’t have music. However, there are some songs that are so prolific, so well known, that they can be recognised as a song within one note. ‘Free Bird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd is one of those songs.
The moment that the first second of ‘Free Bird’ plays, one note on an organ, there is no mistaking the song that you’re listening to. The track then develops into a complex piece of music, a blend of rock and blues, completely anthemic in the way that it’s put together and undeniably beautiful.
The song is the epitome of everything that Lynyrd Skynyrd is great for. The first stand out is that the guitar solo is one of the best in rock history. While the lyrics end five minutes in, the song continues for another four as listeners are treated to one of the greatest pieces of instrumentation to ever hit airways, both in terms of the speed of the playing and the style of the guitar.
The lyrics are also beautiful, hitting on some of the grounded narratives that Lynyrd Skynyrd thrives in exploring. They explore both the liberation and loneliness of freedom in a poetic and catchy way. Given how moving the words in the song are, the moment the track was released, fans everywhere started speculating about who they thought it was about. So, what’s the answer?
Many people believed the song was about Duane Allman, the Allman Brothers Band guitarist who passed away in 1971. While the band was close to him and has dedicated the track to him on a number of occasions, ‘Free Bird’ was written before he passed away, so he couldn’t have inspired it.
It turns out that the track is about two people in a relationship and one wanting to split up because they don’t feel they are in a position to settle down. This is evident when you pick out lines such as “But if I stay here with you, girl / Things just couldn’t be the same / Cause I’m as free as a bird now / And this bird you cannot change.”
The words were written by the band’s guitarist, Allen Collins, who was having a conversation with his girlfriend, Kathy Johns. She asked him, “If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?” Those words inspired the very first line of the track, and the rest of the song was built from there. It’s also worth noting that despite the person in the song leaving their partner, Collins ended up marrying Johns.
