Song of the South ( song ) - wikipedia Song of the South ( song ) `` Song of the South '' Single by Alabama from the album Southern Star B - side ( I Wish It Could Always Be ) ' 55 '' Released November 7, 1988 Recorded January 1, 1988 Genre Country, Southern rock Length 3 : 12 Label RCA Songwriter ( s ) Bob McDill Producer ( s ) Alabama Larry Michael Lee Josh Leo Alabama singles chronology `` Fallin ' Again '' ( 1988 ) `` Song of the South '' ( 1988 ) `` If I Had You '' ( 1989 ) `` Fallin ' Again '' ( 1988 ) `` Song of the South '' ( 1988 ) `` If I Had You '' ( 1989 ) `` Song of the South '' is a song written by Bob McDill. First recorded by American country music artist Bobby Bare on his 1980 album Drunk & Crazy, a version by Johnny Russell reached number 57 on the U.S. Billboard country chart in 1981. Another cover by Tom T. Hall and Earl Scruggs peaked at number 72 in 1982 from the album Storyteller and the Banjo Man. A cover released in November 1988 by American country music group Alabama, from their album Southern Star, reached number 1 on both the U.S. and Canadian country charts. Contents 1 Content 2 Music video 3 Chart positions 3.1 Johnny Russell 3.2 Tom T. Hall / Earl Scruggs 3.3 Alabama 3.3. 1 Year - end charts 4 References 5 External links Content This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2016 ) The song tells the story of a poor Southern cotton farm - family during the Great Depression. `` Cotton on the roadside, cotton in the ditch. We all picked the cotton but we never got rich. '' `` Well, somebody told us Wall Street fell, but we was so poor that we could n't tell. '' The song references President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal in the line, `` The cotton was short and the weeds was tall, but Mr. Roosevelt 's gon na save us all. '' The father of the family is a Southern Democrat ; `` Daddy was a veteran, a Southern Democrat. They oughta get a rich man to vote like that. '' The family loses the farm after the mother becomes ill. `` The county got the farm and they moved to town. '' In the end, the family ends up living comfortably well, having sought a life in a more urban location ; `` Well, papa got a job with the TVA, we bought a washing machine, and then a Chevrolet. '' Music video This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2016 ) The music video, directed by Steve Boyle, consists mainly of black - and - white photos and footage of the South during the 1930s, as well as footage of members of the band and other actors in the South, which is also in black and white, to give the illusion that it was the 1930s when it was filmed. The content of the video mainly follows the song lyrics, such as the footage of President Roosevelt during the lines in the song where he is referenced. The video turns to color during the chorus, showing a large crowd fronted by the band members marching down the street of a small town. At the end, the video is also in color and shows Alabama playing at a concert, at the end of which random people come onto the stage - including the comedians Williams and Ree. Chart positions Johnny Russell Chart ( 1981 ) Peak position US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) 57 Tom T. Hall / Earl Scruggs Chart ( 1982 ) Peak position US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) 72 Alabama Chart ( 1988 -- 1989 ) Peak position US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) Year - end charts Chart ( 1989 ) Position Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) 83 US Country Songs ( Billboard ) 41 References Jump up ^ `` Song of the South ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Johnny Russell Chart History ( Hot Country Songs ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Tom T. Hall Chart History ( Hot Country Songs ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Alabama Chart History ( Hot Country Songs ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1989 ''. RPM. December 23, 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Best of 1989 : Country Songs ''. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2013. External links `` Song of the South '' at AllMusic Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Bobby Bare Studio albums The Game of Triangles Notable singles `` 500 Miles '' `` The Ballad of Lucy Jordan '' `` A Dear John Letter '' `` Detroit City '' `` Four Strong Winds '' `` God Bless America Again '' `` Green, Green Grass of Home '' `` How I Got to Memphis '' `` Just to Satisfy You '' `` ( Margie 's At ) The Lincoln Park Inn '' `` Marie Laveau '' `` Ruby, Do n't Take Your Love to Town '' `` Song of the South '' `` Streets of Baltimore '' Guest singles `` No Memories Hangin ' Round '' ( with Rosanne Cash ) Related articles Bobby Bare, Jr. Tom T. Hall Studio albums In Search of a Song ( 1971 ) Places I 've Done Time ( 1978 ) Song in a Seashell ( 1985 ) Compilation albums Greatest Hits Vol. 2 ( 1975 ) Singles `` Ballad of Forty Dollars '' `` A Week in a Country Jail '' `` Shoeshine Man '' `` Salute to a Switchblade '' `` The Year That Clayton Delaney Died '' `` The Monkey That Became President '' `` ( Old Dogs, Children and ) Watermelon Wine '' `` Ravishing Ruby '' `` I Love '' `` That Song Is Driving Me Crazy '' `` Country Is '' `` I Care '' `` Deal '' `` I Like Beer '' `` Faster Horses ( The Cowboy and the Poet ) '' `` Fox on the Run '' `` Your Man Loves You Honey '' `` It 's All in the Game '' `` May the Force Be with You Always '' `` What Have You Got to Lose '' `` The Old Side of Town '' `` Song of the South '' `` A Bar with No Beer '' Related Discography Alabama ( band ) 1977 -- 1989 singles My Home 's in Alabama `` I Wanna Come Over '' `` My Home 's in Alabama '' `` Tennessee River '' `` Why Lady Why '' Feels So Right `` Old Flame '' `` Feels So Right '' `` Love in the First Degree '' Mountain Music `` Mountain Music '' `` Take Me Down '' `` Close Enough to Perfect '' The Closer You Get... `` Dixieland Delight '' `` The Closer You Get '' `` Lady Down on Love '' Roll On `` Roll On ( Eighteen Wheeler ) '' `` When We Make Love '' `` If You 're Gonna Play in Texas ( You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band ) '' `` ( There 's A ) Fire in the Night '' 40 - Hour Week `` There 's No Way '' `` 40 Hour Week ( For a Livin ' ) '' `` Ca n't Keep a Good Man Down '' Greatest Hits `` She and I '' The Touch `` Touch Me When We 're Dancing '' `` '' You 've Got '' the Touch '' Just Us `` Tar Top '' `` Face to Face '' `` Fallin ' Again '' Southern Star `` Song of the South '' `` If I Had You '' `` High Cotton '' `` Southern Star '' Other singles `` Christmas in Dixie '' `` Deep River Woman '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Song_of_the_South_(song)&oldid=847142493 '' Categories : 1981 singles 1982 singles 1988 singles Bobby Bare songs Johnny Russell ( singer ) songs Tom T. Hall songs Earl Scruggs songs Alabama ( American band ) songs Billboard Hot Country Songs number - one singles Songs written by Bob McDill Vocal duets Song recordings produced by Josh Leo RCA Records singles Great Depression songs 1980 songs Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Articles needing additional references from August 2016 All articles needing additional references Singlechart usages for Billboardcountrysongs Singlechart called without song Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 23 June 2018, at 06 : 40 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote song of the south by alabama
Answer: Bob McDill