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"Saturday Night Special" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. It is the opening track on their album Nuthin' Fancy. The song addresses the issue of gun control.

"Saturday Night Special"
Single by Lynyrd Skynyrd
from the album Nuthin' Fancy
B-side"Made in the Shade"
ReleasedMay 19, 1975
RecordedAugust 1974
Genre
  • Southern rock
  • hard rock
  • proto-metal[1]
Length5:09
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)Ed King, Ronnie Van Zant
Producer(s)Al Kooper
Lynyrd Skynyrd singles chronology
"Free Bird"
(1974)
"Saturday Night Special"
(1975)
"Double Trouble"
(1976)

Content


Its lyrics refer to the cheap handguns popularly associated with the term Saturday night special, and associates them with impulsive violence. Each of the three verses presents a different example: a man being shot by a home intruder, or shooting a cheating man in bed with his wife; a poker player killing his friend after accusing him of cheating, and accidentally shooting oneself while intoxicated. Notably, it argues that they "[a]in't good for nothin' / But put a man six feet in a hole." Ronnie Van Zant said in a radio interview that "we should sink them all to the bottom of the sea" (in reference to guns). He said that he was a gun owner and that he had an antique gun over his fireplace. When asked if he had ever been shot he did state that he shot himself accidentally, but didn't elaborate on it further.


Reception


Billboard called the song "ominous sounding", and said that the lyrics contain "interesting social commentary".[2] Cash Box said it had a "stinging, vital" and "brash and bawdy sound manifested in the sneering vocals of Ronnie Van Zant and the razor sharp interplay between three guitars."[3]


Chart performance


Chart (1975) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles 63
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] 27

Cover versions





References


  1. Creem. Creem Magazine, Incorporated. 1975. p. 72.
  2. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. May 31, 1975. p. 78. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  3. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 31, 1975. p. 24. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955–2012. Record Research. p. 523.
  5. "Blue Collar (1978) : Soundtracks". IMDb.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.

На других языках


- [en] Saturday Night Special (Lynyrd Skynyrd song)

[es] Saturday Night Special

«Saturday Night Special» es una canción de la banda estadounidense Lynyrd Skynyrd.[1] Es la primera pista del álbum Nuthin' Fancy, y habla sobre el control de armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos. La canción hizo su aparición en el videojuego Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned en la estación ficticia Liberty Rock Radio. [2]



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