DBT Tracks #39 - The Southern Thing

[Erdlivz]

The Southern Thing didn't grab a hold of me until I purchased the 'Live at the 40 Watt' DVD and heard Patterson's story leading into the song. That's probably the case for most. I was floored. Patterson illustrates and captures the souths people, way of life, history and just about every angle perceived, then he delivers with an answer that can't be denied. I believe it was the Tulane Professor in 'The Secret to a Happy Ending' that comments on how Patterson summarizes the south in one song compared to a semester of his history class. No doubt. On top of the great lyrics, the guitar assault on the senses makes me want to slam beer, raise my fist and march down any street with DBT leading the way.

The Southern Thing is a rant, an anthem, a big fuck you to ignorance, a thesis and arguably the backbone to SRO and DBTs mission. The song set a Yankee like me straight. I understand now and continue to tell the tale to non-believers that have a false impression of the south and DBT.

I remember one night in Cincinnati sometime around late 2005. I was at home after work and drinking some beer in preparation for a night out. I started peering at the 40 Watt DVD on my TV and hearing The Southern Thing play in my head. Then I turned and peered to my girlfriend on the couch. She knew it right away. It was a Devil and Angel scenario. I chose correctly.

The rest as they say is history because I'm single now and have a window seat to hell.

*I was going to include the story too but I left it at home.


The Southern Thing

Ain't about my pistol
Ain't about my boots
Ain't about no northern drives
Ain't about my southern roots
Ain't about my guitars, ain't about my big old amps
"It ain't rained in weeks, but the weather sure feels damp"
Ain't about excuses or alibis
Ain't about no cotton fields or cotton picking lies
Ain't about the races, the crying shame
To the fucking rich man all poor people look the same

Don't get me wrong It just ain't right
May not look strong, but I ain't afraid to fight
If you want to live another day
Stay out the way of the southern thing

Ain't about no hatred better raise a glass
It's a little about some rebels but it ain't about the past
Ain't about no foolish pride, Ain't about no flag
Hate's the only thing that my truck would want to drag

You think I'm dumb, maybe not too bright
You wonder how I sleep at night
Proud of the glory, stare down the shame
Duality of the southern thing

My Great Great Granddad had a hole in his side
He used to tell the story to the family Christmas night
Got shot at Shiloh, thought he'd die alone
From a Yankee bullet, less than thirty miles from home
Ain't no plantations in my family tree
Did NOT believe in slavery, thought that all men should be free
"But, who are these soldiers marching through my land?"
His bride could hear the cannons and she worried about her man

I heard the story as it was passed down
About guts and glory and Rebel stands
Four generations, a whole lot has changed
Robert E. Lee
Martin Luther King
We've come a long way rising from the flame
Stay out the way of the southern thing

[Clams]

Every time I listen, the lyrics to this song pull me in. I feel like it's the lyrical centerpiece of SRO, which is pretty high praise considering all the other great songs on the two records. Excellent choice, Mr. Erd.

[Penny Lane]

when Patterson's Dad said that the duality of the southern thing was over his head was one of my favorite parts of the movie.. ..great write up!..and yeah, if a girl makes you choose between her and the song..then...well..that's not much of a choice is it..?

best part of the song is when he draws out..
You think I'm duuuuummmmmb, maybe not too bright

[dime in the gutter]

best part of the song is when he draws out..
You think I'm duuuuummmmmb, maybe not too bright

word up. one of the load bearing walls of the entire dbt thing.

declaration to the indie cred king makers.

[Erdlivz]

Ain't about no foolish pride, Ain't about no fuckin flag
Hate's the only thing that my truck would want to drag

This verse kicks me in the face. ALSUM. I chose this song because it opened my eyes a lot more to the south and its culture and what DBT is all about. Fucking priceless. I almost can shed tears talking about it. I like every DBT song in some way or fashion. This one just so happens to be the one that made my jaw drop and appreciate what DBT opened my eyes and ears to.

Special thanks to The Drifter for introducing me to DBT on January 7, 2005 at my apartment after a night at Rick's Tavern in Fairfield, Ohio for a surpirse 27th birthday shitshow. Some dates we never forget.

[Smitty]

proud of the glory, stare down the shame

thats my personal motto for the south now (specifically my home state)

[Erdlivz]

proud of the glory, stare down the shame

thats my personal motto for the south now (specifically my home state)

I like it. Nuff said.

I missed you in Athens brother. Next time round.

[Swamp]

Great choice Erd !
My son and I was just discussing this yesterday at work. During our discussing I said, I wish someone
would do this track. Now if that would just work with the lottery Also during our conversation
I told him I was thinking about changing my signature to
Hate's the only thing that my truck would want to drag

Then I asked him, Which would bring more hate down on me?
driving thru Georgia with a confederate (battle) flag?
or
driving thru Georgia with a Gator flag?
Hate is Hate in my book.

"Ain't no plantations in my family tree
Did NOT believe in slavery, thought that all men should be free"
Just the poor fighting for the rich

"But, who are these soldiers marching through my land?"
or
"That man I shot, I was in his homeland
I was there to help him but he didn't want me there"
sometimes the best of intentions are fucked up.

"You think I'm duuuuummmmmb, maybe not too bright"
Being a simple landscaper, I get this a lot
"To the fucking rich man all poor people look the same"
Sooooooooo true. My middle class customers treat me as
an equal whereas the wealthy don't even want to talk
to me. I USED to have a customer who told me not to speak
to them if I ran into them in public. (I was even clean cut back then )
Of course that was back in the day when I got to choose my customers.
Now I just take what I can get
However I don't hate these people, I just pity the fools.
I could probably comment on every line in this song but it
would just turn into a rant that the song does a better job of
in itself.
Again, thanks so much for this Erd.

[suntzu]

"Ain't no plantations in my family tree
Did NOT believe in slavery, thought that all men should be free"
Just the poor fighting for the rich

.

In the days of Northern aggression, well, the civil war, there was no time to decide politically who was right or wrong, just that some mother fucker "better get off of my farm"! The northerners that were invading were led by the same West Point leadership club that the Southern generals belonged to. The infantry were poor Irish immigrants (in many cases) as were many of the Southerners. The British helped the South by buying our cotton, while trading with the North on many other items and trading industrial age knowledge as well. Engel and Marx were in the midst of their discussions on workers' rights due to the newly developed mass production concepts.Some thinkers thus indirectly helped pave the way to helping the north maintain power and dominance by producing repeater style weaponry with poor Northern labor. Intellectuals transcripted their various thought processes and the world was well aware that the war had many faces not just slavery, but economy through manufacturing of goods, trading lethal and non-lethal items uniforms, guns, cannon, blacksmithing, canning,etc. War does stimulate the economy depending on which side you are on in the economic scheme: The poor get fed the rich get bred!!! In the aftermath, the robber barrons came and thus reconstruction, realignment (removal of Northern troops, etc.). The rich on both sides profitted and the Antebellum homes of the South still stand(few were burned possibly because of societal connectivity, Masonic, et al). But the poor on both sides suffered losses and that is the DUALITY OF THE AMERICAN THANG!!! I would hope that the lessons of that war stay close to home when I am watching with my jaw dropped at the State of The Black Union every year, hearing all this anger and hate against white America( that songs been sung too much!)! That is the elephant in the room at this current era and few challenge that group with any real discussion on their (black attendees') true feelings about white people and constantly categorizing white people as if we are all rich! I am alarmed at how easy we dismiss this anger as just angst and not some racist revolution. Tavis Smiley has hosted this event and noone questions it! I still live in an urban environment as long as my redneck self is tolerated!!Aparrently I am not judged too much by the way I talk because my neighbors are all mixed!!I love people, period!BTW, my wife is from OHIO!

[Mrs Swamp]

Its a Southern Thing here in the swamp..

Dayum I just love this song!!!~

[Swamp]

Sorry suntzu, but I don't think this song has anything to do with race.

I would hope that the lessons of that war stay close to home when I am watching with my jaw dropped at the State of The Black Union every year, hearing all this anger and hate against white America

I have to say my jaw dropped when I tried to figure out what this had to do with the Southern Thing.
This song is more about the way (not so well-to-do) Southerners are perceived based on the many misconceptions people are taught. I've always looked at ST as a song about class more than north vs south.

[jimmyjack]

Hate's the only thing that my truck would want to drag

Can't get past this line, totally ruins my enjoyment of this song. A rare 'howler' in the DBT songbook. A meaningless, hollow sentiment on par with "I don't care if you're white, black, yellow, purple with pink polka dots..." ugh. Sorry.

[rockreid]

Hate's the only thing that my truck would want to drag

I always thought this line was a reference to the murder in Texas a couple years before SRO was released where some white guys from Texas killed a man by dragging him behind their truck.

[Smitty]

Hate's the only thing that my truck would want to drag

I always thought this line was a reference to the murder in Texas a couple years before SRO was released where some white guys from Texas killed a man by dragging him behind their truck.

Exactly.

[PeterJ]

Hate's the only thing that my truck would want to drag

I always thought this line was a reference to the murder in Texas a couple years before SRO was released where some white guys from Texas killed a man by dragging him behind their truck.

That is how I always took it as well. Well, maybe not that specific incident, but one similar to it that you had heard happened "back in the day".

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I always thought it was directly referencing that incident. It happened in '98 so that would make sense in accordance to the when the album came out.

[rockreid]

[/quote]

That is how I always took it as well. Well, maybe not that specific incident, but one similar to it that you had heard happened "back in the day".[/quote]

Agree completely. This song displays why they're such great songwriters and (whoever mentioned it earlier is right) this song IS the backbone to this album. It's amazing how they (Hood & Cooley) have the gift to be such metaphoric without being assholes while all the while being respectful to their (and the vast majority of our) past.

"The Southern Thing' is the song I rely on whenever I introduce someone to DBT.

Like my wife said to a colleague of hers who we've recently introduced DBT. "If you don't dig 'The Southern Thing , then you won't dig this band."

[jimmyjack]

I agree it's a direct reference to the incident, which I'm aware of, but that doesn't make it a good lyric. How do you drag 'hate' from your truck? The whole thing smacks of "gifted 5th grader writes well intentioned, if thoroughly confused, poem about racial prejudice." I'm only hard on Patterson here because I do believe (ha) he is one of the greatest storytellers of my generation, a lyricist on par with the greats, so his clunkers stand out. And this, to me anyway, is a clunker.

[Erdlivz]

I always felt the lyrics to Southern Thing were extremely simple and straight forward. I can't go as far as clunker but I see what you're saying.

[Zip City]

Still not as bad as "bitch-slapped and abandoned"

[Sub]

Still not as bad as "bitch-slapped and abandoned"

I think that it's a fitting line for a song like the home front.

[rockreid]

I agree it's a direct reference to the incident, which I'm aware of, but that doesn't make it a good lyric. How do you drag 'hate' from your truck? The whole thing smacks of "gifted 5th grader writes well intentioned, if thoroughly confused, poem about racial prejudice." I'm only hard on Patterson here because I do believe (ha) he is one of the greatest storytellers of my generation, a lyricist on par with the greats, so his clunkers stand out. And this, to me anyway, is a clunker.

Fair enough and very well said.

I've never considered how redundant that line can be (mis)construed.

[Clams]

Still not as bad as "bitch-slapped and abandoned"

I think that it's a fitting line for a song like the home front.

we've had this debate before and I fully agree with sub.

[Lurleen McQueen]

Hate's the only thing that my truck would want to drag

I always thought this line was a reference to the murder in Texas a couple years before SRO was released where some white guys from Texas killed a man by dragging him behind their truck.

I always thought this, too.

[Swamp]

I agree it's a direct reference to the incident, which I'm aware of, but that doesn't make it a good lyric. How do you drag 'hate' from your truck?

I think it's a metaphor; "hates the only thing that my truck would want to drag" = I hate hate
...........and how do you drag a lake?

The whole thing smacks of "gifted 5th grader writes well intentioned, if thoroughly confused, poem about racial prejudice."

from the song; "Ain't about the races, the crying shame"
I just don't see it as a race issue as much as it as a perception issue.
I really like Erds description...........

The Southern Thing is a rant, an anthem, a big fuck you to ignorance, a thesis and arguably the backbone to SRO and DBTs mission. The song set a Yankee like me straight. I understand now and continue to tell the tale to non-believers that have a false impression of the south and DBT.

.............only I don't consider DBT fans Yankees

This song displays why they're such great songwriters and (whoever mentioned it earlier is right) this song IS the backbone to this album. It's amazing how they (Hood & Cooley) have the gift to be such metaphoric without being assholes while all the while being respectful to their (and the vast majority of our) past.

"The Southern Thing' is the song I rely on whenever I introduce someone to DBT.

Like my wife said to a colleague of hers who we've recently introduced DBT. "If you don't dig 'The Southern Thing , then you won't dig this band."

I've tried for years to turn my youngest brother on to DBT. I gave him Decoration Day but it didn't work. For
some reason I didn't think he would get into SRO. Last weekend he was over and we were watching live at the
40 Watt. (well I was watching) He wasn't paying that much attention till the Southern Thing started. Now the dvd
had been on a while before he got there so he didn't see it all, but after all these years he says "who's these guys,
they're pretty good"

[Smitty]

...........and how do you drag a lake?

With a net?

[Kudzu Guillotine]

He wasn't paying that much attention till the Southern Thing started. Now the dvd had been on a while before he got there so he didn't see it all,
but after all these years he says "who's these guys, they're pretty good"

I hate when that happens (not just with the DBTs) and it happens to me all of the time with friends and family. It's very frustrating but I guess it's because I pay much more attention to music than they do.

[jimmyjack]

...........and how do you drag a lake?

With a net?

LOL, I was gonna say. I guess people don't really do that much anymore though, huh?

FYI you 'drag a lake' when you're scouring the bottom for something, ie a body.

[Smitty]

...........and how do you drag a lake?

With a net?

LOL, I was gonna say. I guess people don't really do that much anymore though, huh?

FYI you 'drag a lake' when you're scouring the bottom for something, ie a body.

Yeah, I had to help "drag" a pond in Pascagoula after Hurricane Katrina (thankfully we didn't find any bodies)

[Clams]

Hate's the only thing that my truck would want to drag

I always thought this line was a reference to the murder in Texas a couple years before SRO was released where some white guys from Texas killed a man by dragging him behind their truck.

That is how I always took it as well. Well, maybe not that specific incident, but one similar to it that you had heard happened "back in the day".

Man executed for dragging death of James Byrd
updated 7:45 PM EST, Wed September 21, 2011
(CNN) -- Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed in Texas Wednesday evening for his involvement in the infamous dragging death of a black man 13 years ago.
Brewer, 44, was one of three men convicted for involvement in the murder of James Byrd.
He was executed by lethal injection at 6:21 p.m. local time (7:21 p.m. ET) Wednesday, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/21/justice/t ... ?hpt=hp_t2