Sweet Home Alabama
"Sweet Home Alabama" was written as an answer to two songs, "Southern Man" and "Alabama" by Neil Young, which dealt with themes of racism and slavery in the American South. "We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," said Ronnie Van Zant at the time. The following excerpt shows the Neil Young mention in the song:
In his 2012 autobiography "Waging Heavy Peace", Young commented on his role in the song's creation, writing "My own song 'Alabama' richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record. I don't like my words when I listen to it. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue".
My Home's in Alabama (song)
The song, a biographical look at Alabama's early career, hopes and dreams, also pays homage to the roots of band members Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook. The lyrics state that, while bigger and better things lay ahead, their home would always be in Alabama, "no matter where I lay my head" and that they were "southern-born and southern-bred."