If aliens were to rifle through popular music of the 1960s and 70s, they might assume that the only places worth living were either California or New York City. These two coastal locales have long been romanticized in country, rock, and pop music, leaving the rest of the United States with little mention.
There aren’t many songs that idealize living in, say, the American South. And to be clear, that’s not without reason. This region of the country has a dark, pain-filled history that still lingers today. The sociopolitical implications make it a hard place to romanticize, especially in the 1960s and 70s, in the middle and on the heels of the Civil Rights movement.
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But speaking from a purely natural, geographical standpoint, the South is a beautiful part of this country. From the bayous of the Deep South to the soft, green peaks of Appalachia, the South is an area totally unique to itself. There’s nothing quite like a hazy, lightning-bug-filled summer night in the South. If you know, you know.
And if you don’t know, these songs make you wish that you did.
“Southern Nights” by Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint released “Southern Nights” on an album of the same name in 1975, giving Southerners everywhere a new summer anthem. Two years later, Glen Campbell released his own version with a country-pop flair. Both versions are fantastic, and both offer serious FOMO for anyone who has never watched a sunset explode across the sky while steam rises off the hot Southern roads.
“Black Water” by The Doobie Brothers
Even if you’ve never been to Mississippi, The Doobie Brothers’ 1974 song, “Black Water”, will make you feel like you’re from there. The What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits track is nostalgic, wistful, and full of descriptive imagery that makes the listener feel like they’re sitting on a Mississippi River bank on a humid and cool(ish) June night.
“Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
A cheesy selection for a list of 1970s rock songs about living in the South, maybe, but maybe it’s only cheesy because it’s so obvious. “Sweet Home Alabama” is the de facto national anthem for the American South, and it’s easy to see why. Slight digs at Neil Young aside, the Lynyrd Skynyrd track paints a gorgeous, blue-skied picture of an Alabama interstate leading you straight to your loved ones.
“Born On The Bayou” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Despite being born in California, John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival had a way of capturing the sounds of the Deep South. Classic rock songs like “Born On The Bayou” romanticize this lush, swampy region, making listeners feel as if they knew what it was like “runnin’ through the backwood bare” and “rollin’ with some Cajun queen.”
“Southern Accents” by Tom Petty
Closing out this list of iconic rock songs about the American South is the 1985 title track from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ sixth studio album, Southern Accents. Is it technically later than the 1960s and 70s? Yeah, sure. But the song offers such a strong sense of Southerner spirit that we couldn’t not put it on the list.
“I got my own way of workin’ / but everything is run / with a Southern accent / where I come from.”
Photo by Gilles Petard/Redferns