History YMMV / LynyrdSkynyrd

** The song was written as a defense of the southern way of life. You wouldn’t know that since the song is often used to mock southern stereotypes, especially incest to the point where the song is synonymous with incest jokes.
* PanderingToTheBase: Their more recent work is generously peppered with right-wing political ideology that mainly appeals to older white southerners.
* SignatureSong: Too close to call between "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird." The former is probably better known among the greater public, but the latter is more revered as a rock classic. Then, there's also "Simple Man" which, while not released as a single, is very close in popularity, and is also regarded as a classic in rock music history.

** A genuine Tear Jerker moment: In January of 1979, the surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited at a Charlie Daniels concert and played "Free Bird" - the only song they would perform that night - as an instrumental, while the spotlight focused on an unattended microphone.

* MisaimedFandom: "Sweet Home Alabama" has faces this on two fronts.

* MisaimedFandom: "Sweet Home Alabama" has been embraced by some White nationalists and other far right groups as an explicit defense of racial segregation and Southern values, ignoring the nuances of the passages, such as the often ignored "Boo!" line after the mention of then governor George Wallace. Both songwriter Ronnie Van Zant and producer Al Kooper expressed their disdain for the noted segregationist George Wallace, who himself recanted his racist views later in life.

** In a similar vein, thanks to it's inclusion in the SignatureScene for Film/KingsmanTheSecretService, people have been putting Free Bird over [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikOagBomLmY several]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIMhfRg4-vc other]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FPjYDPCuU8 memorable]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogIU-C2GehM fight]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJNXo5BajXw scenes.]]

** "FREEEEE BIIIIIIRD!" People even shout it at non-Skynyrd concerts.

* MemeticMutation: "FREEEEE BIIIIIIRD!" People even shout it at non-Skynyrd concerts.

* PanderingToTheBase: Their more recent work is generously peppered with right-wing political ideology that appeals to older white southerners.

** "Sweet Home Alabama" was written in the aftermath of the [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate scandal]] and the de facto end of racial segregation following the passing of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, when the Southern identity was beginning to be questioned, but Van Zant believed that there are still some good aspects in it. By the 2010s, the concept of Southern pride has been irreparably damaged by incidents such as the 2015 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_church_shooting Charleston church shooting]] and 2017 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unite_the_Right_rally Unite the Right rally]], leading to removals of Confederate statues and flags across the southern USA.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The band's 1977 album ''Street Survivors'' was released three days before the plane crash, and the front cover featured the band standing on a street while flames surround. It was changed shortly after, to a picture of the band standing in a spotlight from the same photo shoot.
* HarsherInHindsight: "That Smell", a song about [[DrugsAreBad the dangers of drugs and alcohol]], written as a response to founding guitarist Gary Rossington getting into a single-car wreck while under the influence, and warning to others not to follow the same path. In 1986, the band's other founding guitarist, Allen Collins, was paralyzed when he got into a wreck while driving drunk, and ultimately died of complications from the injury four years later.
** "That Smell" in general, really. Drug issues aside, lyrics like "the smell of death surrounds you" and "tomorrow might not be here for you" are particularly wrenching given that it was released just days before Van Zant's death.

** In mid-2022 it suddenly became popular to post videos of 3D rat(s) spinning or rotating whilst the guitar solo of Freebird plays in the background.