"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia," made famous by both Vicki Lawrence and Reba McEntire, is just one of those songs that sticks with you no matter how many times you've heard it. The murder ballad's story is so engrossing, you feel like the characters are almost real.
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Written by songwriter Bobby Russell in 1972, follows along with a character we only know as "Brother," who stops at a bar one night to hear from "Andy" that his wife has been cheating on him. He goes home to find small footprints trailing from his house to Andy's, and he follows them with his gun. Once he gets there, he finds Andy dead and gets convicted for his murder. You find out later that the real culprit was the song's narrator -- Andy's "Little Sister" -- who killed Andy and Brother's wife.
When Russell first wrote the song, he couldn't find anyone to record it. It was presented to Cher, but her husband Sonny Bono (at the time) thought it might offend her fans in the south. Russell was married to Vicki Lawrence, so she decided to record the song with the musical backings of the Wrecking Crew.
Vicki Lawrence
At the time Vicki Lawrence released her single in 1972, she was a regular performer on the Carol Burnett Show. It was a huge shock to her when the single reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Carol Burnett even presented Lawrence with an RIAA gold record to celebrate over one million copies sold on the show.
Tanya Tucker
Country music singer Tanya Tucker followed with her own version of the song in 1981. Her lyrics were slightly altered in order to fit the plot of the film by the same name which starred Kristy McNichol, Dennis Quaid, Mark Hamill and Don Stroud. The new lyrics really don't share any of the same plot points as the original.
Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire covered the song for her 1991 album, For My Broken Heart. Though the song only reached number 12 on the charts, it had a successful and memorable music video directed by Jack Cole. The music video expanded on the plot of the song, showing McEntire playing the role of "Little Sister." In the video, Playboy model Barbara Moore played the role of "the wife." The recording is one of McEntire's signature country songs.
"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" Lyrics:
He was on his way home from Candletop
Been two weeks gone and he thought he'd stop
At Webb's and have him a drink 'fore he went home to her
Andy Wo-Lo said hello
He said, "Hi, what's doin', Wo?"
And Wo said, "Sit down I got some bad news that's going to hurt"
Said, "I'm your best friend and you know that's right
But your young bride ain't home tonight
Since you've been gone she's been seeing that Amos boy, Seth"
Now he got mad and he saw red
Andy said, "Boy, don't you lose your head
Because to tell you the truth, I've been with her myself"
That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
That's the night that they hung an innocent man
Well, don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer
'Cause the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands
Andy got scared and left the bar
Walking on home because he didn't live far - you see
Andy didn't have many friends and he just lost him one
Brother thought his wife must have left town
So he went home and finally found the only thing
Daddy had left him and that was a gun
He went off to Andy's house
Slipping through the backwoods quiet as a mouse
Came upon some tracks too small for Andy to make
He looked through the screen at the back porch door
And he saw Andy lying on the floor
In a puddle of blood and he started to shake
The Georgia patrol was making their rounds
So he fired a shot just to flag them down
A big bellied sheriff grabbed his gun and said
"Why'd you do it?"
The judge said guilty on a make-believe trial
Slapped the sheriff on the back with a smile
Said supper's waiting at home and I got to get to it
That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
That's the night that they hung an innocent man
Well, don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer
Because the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands
Well, they hung my brother before I could say
The tracks he saw while on his way
To Andy's house and back that night were mine
And his cheating wife had never left town
That's one body that'll never be found
You see little sister doesn't miss when she aims her gun
That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
That's the night that they hung an innocent man
Well, don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer
Because the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands
That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
That's the night that they hung an innocent man
Well, don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer
Because the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands
Editors Note: This article was originally published on November 7, 2020.
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