The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia: Difference between revisions
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"'''The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia'''" is a [[Southern Gothic]] song written by songwriter [[Bobby Russell]] and performed in 1973 by [[Vicki Lawrence]]; [[Reba McEntire]] later covered it in 1991. |
"'''The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia'''" is a [[Southern Gothic]] song written by songwriter [[Bobby Russell]] and performed in 1973 by [[Vicki Lawrence]]; [[Reba McEntire]] later covered it in 1991. |
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Recorded in late October of [[1972]] and released less than two weeks later in November of [[1972]], the song centers around the older brother of the singer; their names are not revealed in the song, but in the 1981 film the siblings are named Travis and Amanda Child. The brother meets his "best friend" Andy in a bar called Webbs for a drink after a two-week trip. Andy bluntly reveals that the brother's wife has been cheating on him with another man (named Seth Ames). Andy also reveals that he has "been with her himself." Later that evening, the brother gets his gun and goes to Andy's house (presumably, to kill him), but finds small tracks outside Andy's house and discovers that someone has already killed Andy. He fires his gun in the air to summon a passing sheriff; unfortunately for him, he is arrested at the scene, wrongly convicted in a speedy ("make-believe") trial, and hanged. The singer then reveals that it was, in fact, she that killed Andy, as well as her older brother's cheating wife. No further mention is made of Seth Ames, nor his fate in this twisted tale. |
Recorded in late October of [[1972]] and released less than two weeks later in November of [[1972]], the song centers around the older brother of the singer; their names are not revealed in the song, but in the 1981 film the siblings are named Travis and Amanda Child. The brother meets his "best friend" Andy in a bar called Webbs for a drink after a two-week trip. Andy bluntly reveals that the brother's wife has been cheating on him with another man (named Seth Ames). Andy also reveals that he has "been with her himself." Later that evening, the brother gets his gun and goes to Andy's house (presumably, to kill him), but finds small tracks outside Andy's house and discovers that someone has already killed Andy. He fires his gun in the air to summon a passing sheriff; unfortunately for him, he is arrested at the scene, wrongly convicted in a speedy ("make-believe") trial, and hanged. The singer then reveals that it was, in fact, she that killed Andy, as well as her older brother's cheating wife. No further mention is made of Seth Ames, nor his fate in this twisted tale. {Presumedly she used her father's gun to kill Andy which ironically her brother took along to kill Andy}. |
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The song was a number-one hit for Lawrence, then a regular on ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]'', on the U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100]] chart, and also reached the top forty of Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" was first offered to [[Cher]], but her then-husband and manager [[Sonny Bono]] reportedly turned it down (he was said to be concerned that the song might offend Cher's southern fans).<ref>http://www.superseventies.com/sw_nightthelightswoig.html</ref> |
The song was a number-one hit for Lawrence, then a regular on ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]'', on the U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100]] chart, and also reached the top forty of Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" was first offered to [[Cher]], but her then-husband and manager [[Sonny Bono]] reportedly turned it down (he was said to be concerned that the song might offend Cher's southern fans).<ref>http://www.superseventies.com/sw_nightthelightswoig.html</ref> |
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Revision as of 23:22, 13 January 2008
- This article refers to the 1973 song. For the 1981 movie with the same title, see The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (film).
"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" is a Southern Gothic song written by songwriter Bobby Russell and performed in 1973 by Vicki Lawrence; Reba McEntire later covered it in 1991.
Recorded in late October of 1972 and released less than two weeks later in November of 1972, the song centers around the older brother of the singer; their names are not revealed in the song, but in the 1981 film the siblings are named Travis and Amanda Child. The brother meets his "best friend" Andy in a bar called Webbs for a drink after a two-week trip. Andy bluntly reveals that the brother's wife has been cheating on him with another man (named Seth Ames). Andy also reveals that he has "been with her himself." Later that evening, the brother gets his gun and goes to Andy's house (presumably, to kill him), but finds small tracks outside Andy's house and discovers that someone has already killed Andy. He fires his gun in the air to summon a passing sheriff; unfortunately for him, he is arrested at the scene, wrongly convicted in a speedy ("make-believe") trial, and hanged. The singer then reveals that it was, in fact, she that killed Andy, as well as her older brother's cheating wife. No further mention is made of Seth Ames, nor his fate in this twisted tale. {Presumedly she used her father's gun to kill Andy which ironically her brother took along to kill Andy}.
The song was a number-one hit for Lawrence, then a regular on The Carol Burnett Show, on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and also reached the top forty of Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" was first offered to Cher, but her then-husband and manager Sonny Bono reportedly turned it down (he was said to be concerned that the song might offend Cher's southern fans).[1]
In May of 1974, Electric Light Orchestra lampooned this song with the title of their live album The Night the Light Went On (In Long Beach).
1991 cover by Reba McEntire
"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" enjoyed a renewed push in popularity in 1991, when country music singer Reba McEntire released her own version of the song. The song, included on McEntire's For My Broken Heart album, hit #12 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Songs chart; the song also had a hit music video, which has seen extensive airplay on The Nashville Network, GAC, and CMT. Pop singer Taylor Horn covered McEntire's version of the song in 2002 for her album, taylor-made.