The relationship between the song and Neil Young is one of the best known parts of its history. Some of the lyrics are a direct jab at him:“I hope Neil Young will remember / A southern man don’t need him around anyhow.”Young had written songs such as “Southern Man” and “Alabama,” which suggested that people in the American South were racist and stuck in the past. Skynyrd answered with “Sweet Home Alabama,” a song of Southern pride and at the same time a defense of all those who felt Young was looking at the South too simply and unfairly. The song was written as a direct but good natured response to Young’s songs.