2176. “Life In The Factory” by The Drive-By Truckers
Courtesy of the U.K. based Last.fm.
Patterson Hood states that “Live In The Factory” is the song on Southern Rock Opera that is most specifically about Lynyrd Skynyrd. Indeed, the lyrics are a thumbnail biography of the Ronnie Van Zandt incarnation of the band. Its a rocking number and, if its not one of my favorites on the album, it certainly has its share of fans.
In the imaginary production of Southern Rock Opera that I’m inventing here, I propose that the hero’s muse (the ghost of Ronnie Van Zandt) has a few things he wants the hero to recognize and sing about. I think he first wants him to recognize and understand the southern thing. Then, he wants him to go and spread the gospel of Skynyrd. Finally, I think he wants him to become a martyr for Skynyrd. See? Its a whole religious riff. People will be wearing little airplanes as holy symbols.
Anyhow, we’ll stage this so that its a concert scene where the hero and his band basically perform this song as their last pre-flight song in a set. His encounter with the plastic flowers on the highway led him to meditate on Steve and Cassie Gaines, which in turn led him to write a song celebrating Skynyrd, fulfilling his destiny.