Tag: Gimme Back My Bullets

Lynyrd Skynyrd – Gimme Back My Bullets

Sweet talkin’ people done ran me out of town 
And I drank enough whiskey to float a battleship around 

This is one of my favorites from this band. The guitar riff is mean, jagged, ragged, and dangerous…it’s a really good rock song.

The bullets Ronnie Van Zant is referring to are bullets in the music charts…as in #1 with a bullet…not bullets from a gun. It had been a while since they charted and he wanted more.

Fans started throwing bullets and other objects on stage when they performed this song. They had to take it out of their setlist because they were afraid someone would get hurt. I’ve read about them in the past few years along with talking to my UK readers. They were very popular in the UK in the seventies with their live shows. They were one of the best live bands out there at the time. They were never glam or followed trends…they just played their genuine rock songs.

Ronnie’s voice is on point in this one. He was a great songwriter and used his voice well. He didn’t have range some singers had around BUT…he knew his limitations and got everything out of it with more feeling than many singers with a richer voice. He had attitude and plenty of it.

The song was off of the album Gimme Back My Bullets. It peaked at #20 on the Billboard 100, #73 in Canada, and #34 in the UK in 1976.

Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded this with two lead guitarists…Allen Collins and Gary Rossington. Ed King had left just before making this album when he was fed up with touring relentlessly without a break.

When this album didn’t sell as well as expected, another guitarist, Steve Gaines, was brought in. He gave a new life to the band and their popularity soared with a live album One More From The Road. Steve Gaines and Ed King could have played with any rock band at the time…they were that good.

Van Zant would get his bullets back with their next studio album Street Survivors but would not live long enough to enjoy it. His image on stage was not a carefree image…it was more of a “Don’t Fu*k with Me” vibe.

Gimme Back My Bullets

Life is so strange when its changin’, yes indeed 
Well I’ve seen the hard times and the pressure’s been on me 
But I keep on workin’ like the workin’ man do 
And I’ve got my act together, gonna walk all over you 

[Chorus] 
Gimme back my bullets 
Put ’em back where they belong 
Ain’t foolin’ around ’cause I done had my fun 
Ain’t gonna see no more damage done 
Gimme back my bullets 

Sweet talkin’ people done ran me out of town 
And I drank enough whiskey to float a battleship around 
But I’m leavin’ this game one step ahead of you 
And you will not hear me cry ’cause I do not sing the blues 

[Chorus] 
Gimme back, gimme back my bullets 
Oh, put ’em back…where they belong 

Been up and down since I turned seventeen 
Well I’ve been on top, and then it seems I lost my dream 
But I got it back, I’m feelin’ better everyday 
Tell all those pencil pushers, better get out of my way 

[Chorus] 
Gimme back, gimme back my bullets 
Oh put ’em back where they belong 
Gimme back my bullets

Lynryd Skynyrd – All I Can Do Is Write About It

When you think of Lynryd Skynyrd you don’t think of an Environmental Friendly band but Van Zant was that. They all grew up in Gainesville Florida and were around wildlife and natural tropical areas.  This song is a warning about the growth of his hometown and he was cautioning about urban and suburban areas claiming wild lands as their own.

‘Cause when I can see the concrete a slowly creepin’Lord take me and mine before that come

Van Zant saw this happening all through Dixie which include South Carolina, North Carolina,  Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

This song was on their Gimme Back My Bullets album released in 1976 after Ed King had left the band. It was the B-side to Gimme Back My Bullets.

Gimme Back My Bullets is mistaken for meaning real gun bullets but it’s not…it meant the chart positions of songs…” with a bullet.” The definition I found was “That has entered the charts in a high position, or has climbed rapidly in the charts, or is thought to have the potential for further rapid advancement.”

The song was written by Ronnie Van Zant and guitar player Allen Collins. The band was an album band that also included some hit singles and now classic radio staples such as Simple Man, Free Bird, Sweet Home Alabama, Gimme Back My Bullets, Saturday Night Special, The Ballad Of Curtis Lowe, and more.

What if the plane crash wouldn’t have happened? Bill Bentley, the author of “Smithsonian Rock and Roll: Live and Unseen,” said: “I think if Lynyrd Skynyrd had lasted, they would have become one of the foundations of American rock bands, much like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, I think Ronnie Van Zant had enough artistic strength to grow and they really would have been individuals, there wouldn’t have been another band like them.”

I’m not sure what would have happened but I don’t see them ever conforming to the trends of the day. Ronnie Van Zant in parachute pants? I just don’t see it happening. I can’t see them changing their sound like ZZ Top, Heart, and Cheap Trick. Personally, I think they would have had a huge follow-up to Street Survivors…as the 80s came they might have carried on as before like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.

If they didn’t make it in the 80s I could see them reforming in the 90s like The Allman Brothers and others. Most people think of these guys as backwoods good old boys…which some of that is true but they varied on their writing. An environmental song and a gun control song in Saturday Night Special. No one talks about that much.

All I Can Do Is Write About It

Well this life that I live took me everywhereThere ain’t no place I ain’t never goneWell it’s kind of like the sayinThat you heard so many timesWell there just ain’t no place like home

Did you ever see a she-gator protect her youngin’Or fish in a river swimmin’ freeDid you ever see the beauty of the hills of CarolinaOr the sweetness of the grass in Tennessee

And Lord I can’t make any changesAll I can do is write ’em in a song‘Cause if I can seen the concrete a slowly creepin’Lord take me and mine before that comes

Like to see a mountain stream a flowin’Do ya like to see a youngin’ with his dogDid ya ever stop and think aboutWell the air your breathin’Well ya better listen to my song

And Lord I can’t make any changesAll I can do is write ’em in a song‘Cause when I can see the concrete a slowly creepin’Lord take me and mine before that comes

I’m not tryin’ to put down no big cityBut the things they write about us is just a boreWell you can take a boy out of ole’ Dixieland, LordBut you’ll never take ole’ Dixie from a boy

And Lord I can’t make any changesAll I can do is write ’em in a song‘Cause when I can see the concrete a slowly creepin’Lord take me and mine before that comes

If I can see the concrete a slowly creepin’Lord take me and mine before that comes

Lynyrd Skynyrd – Cry For The Bad Man

This is one of the many songs in rock and roll about a manager. It is a deep album cut that I’ve always liked. 

Cry For The Bad Man is about Alan Walden, Skynyrd’s manager before they signed with Peter Rudge. Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was very close to Walden and even served as best man at his wedding, but he was outvoted in the decision to fire him. Walden later explained that he tried to keep the band financially sound and get them to be responsible with their money, but they rejected these efforts. 

Walden was trying to get them to watch their money at a time when they just got the opening slot for The Who. Keith Moon liked the band and taught them costly habits like trashing hotel rooms and drinking the best liquor. Van Zant would later state that he regretted writing this song. Alan Walden’s brother was Phil Walden who managed The Allman Brothers. 

The song was on the 1976 album Gimme Back My Bullets. The band was short one guitar player when they made the album. Ed King had left in the middle of a tour in 1975. It’s still a good album but not as strong as the previous three. After this album, they were looking for a 3rd guitarist. Leslie West of Mountain auditioned but he wanted to change their name to Lynyrd Skynryd featuring Leslie West…Ronnie Van Zant put an end to that. 

Gimme Back My Bullets peaked at #20 on the Billboard Album Charts, #73 in Canada, and #34 in the UK. 

Their backup singer Cassie Gaines started to tell them about her brother Steve who played guitar and would be a good fit. They thought…sure Cassie I’m sure your little brother is great. She kept pestering them until they finally gave him a chance when they played in Kansas. Steve Gaines got up on stage and blew them all away. Not only was he great…he was probably better than most guitarists in big bands at the time. He changed their sound to a more blues/jazz feel along with the rock.

They would bounce back that year with Gaines and cut the live album One More From The Road which peaked at #9 in the Billboard Album Charts, #49 in Canada, and #17 in the UK in 1976. The live versions of Gimme Three Steps and Free Bird are the versions most people remember.

Cry For The Bad Man

Well he walks so tall to be so small
Never met a man who´s stranger
He lives his life for a dollar sign
And to deal with him is dangerous
He knocked me down but I´m on my feet
Now I´m so much wiser
I´d rather quit and go back home
Than to deal with the money miser
Let´s cry for this bad man
I sing a song for the bad man

Well, you treat me right baby, I´ll treat you right
That´s the way its supposed to be
I put my faith down in my friend
And he almost put an end to me
Well I work seven days a week
Eight when I am able
When you take money from me you take food from my mama´s table
Let´s cry for this bad man
I wrote a song for the bad man

Oh baby you know who you are
Let´s cry for this bad man
I wrote a song for the bad man way down in Georgia

Well, you treat me right baby, I´ll treat you right
That´s the way its supposed to be
I put my faith down in my friend
And he almost put an end to me
Well, when you take my money baby when you hurt my family
I go walkin´ through the swamps without no shoes
Step on a snake it scares you
Let´s cry for this bad man
I wrote a song for the bad man
Oh let´s cry for this bad man
I wrote a song for the bad man

Oh baby straight to you
He´s so bad, so bad