DBT Tracks #61---Life in the factory

[Mrs Swamp]

Good afternoon folks...
Well today I am doing the song of the week and
yes its "Life in the factory" .

Let me tell ya'll a story
So far fetched it must be true
Bout a bunch of fatherless boys from Florida and a boy who was man enough for two.
Practiced twelve hours a day in the Hell House
In the swamps out side of town.
100 degrees without no open windows
Heat radiating off the tin.

They named their band Lynyrd Skynyrd, after the coach who kicked them out of school.
Practiced seven days a week cuz Rock's the only thing to save them from life in the factory.

They spent years inside the Hell House
Then they opened for The Who
90 degrees, outdoor, summer festivals
Them, boy's wouldn't even break a sweat.
Played each show like their lives depended on it
300 a year will take its due
They kicked The Stones ass out at Knebworth
Ask anyone who was there and they'll tell you

They hit the road doing ninety
Leave them steel mills far behind.
Ain't no good life at the Ford plant
Three guitars or a life of crime

Sold out shows and platinum records, New York critics and redneckers
Bunch of boy's from Florida had them eating from their hands
They got the fame and all the glory
But folks, it's still a sad story when legend over shadows the songs and the band.

Let me tell y'all a story that more or less is the truth
From the swamps of Northern Florida to the swamps just north of Baton Rouge...

This song has always been interesting to me in the fact that it talk`s
about thing`s so close to home....for instance Lynyrd Skynyrd , the Hell house , and the
coach from Robert E. Lee (the school I graduated from) 100 degree temp`s, factories and as
a matter of fact Leon Wilkerson the original bassist for Skynyrd actually worked in a local
factory in which my dad,Swamp and myself worked at but different time`s.

I really love this song alot
and have always loved when they sing from the swamps
of northern Florida. When we saw them in Asheville
2010 Patterson gestured his hand our way as he sang that
part and it made me love it even more.....it surely was a
highlight for us that evening.
Here is the video so you can see for yourself .

[Zip City]

The olsong that belies the assertion that SRO isn't about Lynyrd

[rockreid]

Very nice Mrs.Swamp. Damn-that song does hit kind of close to home for you, huh?

[Kudzu Guillotine]

The olsong that belies the assertion that SRO isn't about Lynyrd

I've never heard it said or even read it anywhere that Southern Rock Opera isn't about Lynyrd Skynyrd. Sure, there's lots of other things at work there but the crux of the story arc is definitely about Skynyrd. How anyone could get anything else out of it is beyond me.

[Zip City]

The olsong that belies the assertion that SRO isn't about Lynyrd

I've never heard it said or even read it anywhere that Southern Rock Opera isn't about Lynyrd Skynyrd. Sure, there's lots of other things at work there but the crux of the story arc is definitely about Skynyrd. How anyone could get anything else out of it is beyond me.

it's supposed to be about Betamax Guillotine, dude!

[Penny Lane]

i love this song, too, Mrs S! ...touching that you got a shout out, too .. thanks for posting.

[one belt loop]

I love the Swamps of Northern Florida.

[Eyes Above It]

Never cared for this song, although it is a pretty good jam live.

[cortez the killer]

Never was crazy about this one, but the more I absorb the stories about the band and let the whole context of SRO sink in, the more I love it. Essential track in the history of this band.

[Penny Lane]

i love the version from this year's Athens show, except i can hear myself screaming too much over it...what an annoying drunk!

[Clams]

Great riff. Live, it's a killer. Love the shout out to the Swamps.

[njMark]

One of my fav songs from SRO

[dime in the gutter]

the more I absorb the stories about the band and let the whole context of SRO sink in, the more I love it. Essential track in the history of this band.

roger that.

half-assed, 5 beers in, theory for the night.

contrary to vox populi, sro is/was more biographical than it was about skynyrd. this track and the album, as a whole, are about dbt told thru the story of betamax told thru the legends of skynyrd. the dreaded double secret, but not so secret metaphor. (hate the word metaphor)

really not much of a stretch.

just my opinion.

[Iowan]

I always loved the "they hit the road doing 90..." line.

[Iowan]

the more I absorb the stories about the band and let the whole context of SRO sink in, the more I love it. Essential track in the history of this band.

roger that.

half-assed, 5 beers in, theory for the night.

contrary to vox populi, sro is/was more biographical than it was about skynyrd. this track and the album, as a whole, are about dbt told thru the story of betamax told thru the legends of skynyrd. the dreaded double secret, but not so secret metaphor. (hate the word metaphor)

really not much of a stretch.

just my opinion.

Lotta truth here. Thought some of this was already standard DBT mythology. I think there are moments (Life In The Factory for one) that are literally about Skynyrd, but for the most part, it's the story of DBT. Skynyrd is the conduit, the make-up.

[beantownbubba]

SRO is the truth as the folks in DBT know it. Some of it is autobiographical, some of it is historical, some of it is observational, some of it is told through the lens of the Skynyrd story and legend and some of that is meant to be literal while other aspects are intended to be metaphorical. To me it's the whole that matters and I personally don't spend a lot of time trying to tie individual lines or verses or songs to any of those specific categories. But there are many ways to listen and many things to hear...

[Kudzu Guillotine]

the more I absorb the stories about the band and let the whole context of SRO sink in, the more I love it. Essential track in the history of this band.

roger that.

half-assed, 5 beers in, theory for the night.

contrary to vox populi, sro is/was more biographical than it was about skynyrd. this track and the album, as a whole, are about dbt told thru the story of betamax told thru the legends of skynyrd. the dreaded double secret, but not so secret metaphor. (hate the word metaphor)

really not much of a stretch.

just my opinion.

That makes a lot of sense to me and I guess I've always gotten that but when trying to express my thoughts or explain the album to others (especially those new to the DBTs) I don't seem to articulate my thoughts very well. One of the first impressions I expressed about the album to friends was, "never has an album about being misunderstood ever been so misunderstood" which is a description of Southern Rock Opera that I stand by to this day.

[bovine knievel]

"never has an album about being misunderstood ever been so misunderstood"

I'd like to thank you all for nothin'

Nothin', nothin', nothin', nothin'
Nothin' at all
Nothin', nothin', nothin'
Nothin' at all

[Rocky]

I really love this song alot
and have always loved when they sing from the swamps
of northern Florida. When we saw them in Asheville
2010 Patterson gestured his hand our way as he sang that
part and it made me love it even more.....it surely was a
highlight for us that evening.
Here is the video so you can see for yourself

It's true. I just saw it. Now all I need to do is get Cooley to acknowledge me during Uncle Frank. (Fifteen rocky acres, figured no one else would want ...) that's Cool as Hell Ms. Swamp.

[gerg]

A song I didn't really care for until I saw it live. Now it's among my favorites to see. Especially, at the Freebird.

[cortez the killer]

the more I absorb the stories about the band and let the whole context of SRO sink in, the more I love it. Essential track in the history of this band.

roger that.

half-assed, 5 beers in, theory for the night.

contrary to vox populi, sro is/was more biographical than it was about skynyrd. this track and the album, as a whole, are about dbt told thru the story of betamax told thru the legends of skynyrd. the dreaded double secret, but not so secret metaphor. (hate the word metaphor)

really not much of a stretch.

just my opinion.

The "dualities" don't start & stop with the "Southern Thing." I'm on board w/ half-assed, beer-inspired theories.

[sactochris]

the more I absorb the stories about the band and let the whole context of SRO sink in, the more I love it. Essential track in the history of this band.

roger that.

half-assed, 5 beers in, theory for the night.

contrary to vox populi, sro is/was more biographical than it was about skynyrd. this track and the album, as a whole, are about dbt told thru the story of betamax told thru the legends of skynyrd. the dreaded double secret, but not so secret metaphor. (hate the word metaphor)

really not much of a stretch.

just my opinion.

The "dualities" don't start & stop with the "Southern Thing." I'm on board w/ half-assed, beer-inspired theories.

After all, what is a message board for, if it's not for half-assed beer inspired theories.

[Slipkid42]

I have loved this song from first listen (and I agree it's even better live). I don't know if it's autobiographical, metaphorical or observational; but it sounds fuckin' great to me. Was lucky enough to see Skynyrd (who none of us had heard of) open for The Who in Dec. '73. They made a good 1st impression to say the least.
Mrs. Swamp, you & Swamp have rubbed elbows w/Skynyrd & now DBT. That pretty much makes you rock royalty (and by my brief association w/you guys, I am like a Rock & Roll ambassador).

[dime in the gutter]

fucking rocks balls, too.




new york critics and redneckers.....

[lynne]

Love this song too - especially they hit the road doing ninety.

[bovine knievel]

Love the whole song but this just grabs me...
Let me tell ya'll a story

[Drop D]

I like DBT songs where you have to try to work out what's going on and there are different interpretations. And I like this kind, 3 Chords, Rock 'n' Roll and a cool story. This is one of my favourite straight ahead rockers and I can't wait to see them tear it up live.

[Smarty Jones]

This is definitely the most literal of all the songs on SRO when it comes to Patterson's description of "a bunch of folklore stories loosely based on Skynyrd." I think the reason why Patterson wanted to tell Skynyrd's story so plainly was to pay tribute to an iconic but deeply misunderstood band from the South. I think the duality he was trying to play on in this song was reality and perception, using the story of Lynyrd Skynyrd because it not only fit extremely well with the overall theme for the concept album, but also because it fit the duality of reality and perception. He starts the song as if he were telling an incredible story, "so far-fetched it must be true," and the line that really grabbed my attention and pointed it in this direction was this one:

They had the fame and all the glory
But folks, it's still a sad story when
Legend overshadows the songs and the band.

I think he's trying to say that when perception overcomes reality, something great and important, like the truth, becomes lost. A great band is remembered for the wrong reasons.
I don't know. That's my take on it anyway.

I wasn't expecting it, and was surprised and happy to hear DBT play this one in Lexington earlier this year. As good a song as it is on the record (and it's a pretty good recording), it can't hold a candle to how alsum this song is live. Everyone, including me, just went crazy when they started playing it. It was a blast. There are so many great lines in this one to scream along to, esp. "Three guitars or a life of crime!"

And Mrs. S, Patterson's shout-out to you and Swamp is so cool. Thanks for sharing a song that hits so darn close to home for you!!

[BigTom]

Don't forget the February 20, 2009 show at the 9:30 Club when Patterson was sick and they brought that dude up from the audience to sing Buttholeville but wanted to do Life In The Factory instead....even that was good.

[sactochris]

It was the song that I was chasing for a long time.