When I was younger, I was not really a “Southern Rock” kind of guy. Southern Rock bands seemed like good old country boys who somehow came into possession of powerful PA equipment. The result was loud and in your face, but my face was turned. I guess I should have known that I was off base when songs like “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Give me Three Steps,” and “Fire on the Mountain” crept into my consciousness. Still, I felt I was a little too refined for the whole scene.

It wasn’t until many years later that I seriously listened to some of the Southern Rock tunes and became really impressed. One of the most memorable groups was the Allman Brothers Band, and one of their great songs that you can still hear on classic rock radio stations is “Ramblin’ Man.” Even though their voices sound a little like lazy and laid-back Macon, Georgia on a hot summer afternoon, their guitars are pure symphonic precision. The lead for the song is simple but crisp. Within the space of thirteen clean guitar notes, the song picks up speed and begins a journey down Highway 41. You feel your hair stand up and begin to blow in the wind, and you feel like letting out a Rebel yell.

The lyric does sound like a bad-boy Country and Western song, with references to Georgia, Nashville, New Orleans, guns, and questionable relationships. But at the same time you feel the smiles of invincible youth coming of age. No matter what it sounds like, it feels like fun, and we are all on the move.

When the first lead guitar is joined by the second lead guitar and both are played in note-perfect harmony, WOW! You don’t hear a lot of effects on the guitars – not a lot of distortion or reverb – just finely tuned instruments skillfully played. I don’t play “rock-guitar lead,” but I am a guitarist. I know what the goal is – to slice through the mind and jump start the heart. These guys do it.

You may not have heard the song in a while. Get a real copy, or even listen on youtube. Feel the fun again.

RAMBLIN’ MAN

(Refrain)
Lord, I was born a ramblin’ man
Trying to make a living and doing the best I can
When it’s time for leaving, I hope you’ll understand
That I was born a rambling man

My father was a gambler down in Georgia
He wound up on the wrong end of a gun
And I was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus
Rolling down highway forty-one

(Refrain)

I’m on my way to New Orleans this morning
Leaving out of Nashville, Tennessee
They’re always having a good time down on the Bayou, Lord
Them delta women think the world of me

(Refrain) (Dickie Betts of the Allman Brothers)

Sound Traveler will be ramblin’ up to Georgia on Wednesday and from there to western North Carolina. We will be there for about two months doing our summer tour. It will be good to connect again with our old friends in the mountains, but we will be back in Florida during the first week in August.

Respond to this or any other post on the website. Click on the title, scroll down, and ramble on.

One Comment to “SongTravelin’: 05.24.11 — “Ramblin’ Man””

• May 24, 2011 at 7:05 pm
  Libby says:

  It’s a great song. Hope you do good in Carolina.