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"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" is a Southern Gothic song written by songwriter Bobby Russell and performed in 1972 by his then-wife Vicki Lawrence; Reba McEntire later covered it in 1991.

Recorded in late October 1972 in United/Western Studios on Sunset in Hollywood and released less than two weeks later in November 1972, the song centers around the older brother of the narrator.

Contents 1 Plot of song 2 Reception 3 Covers and popular culture 4 Chart performance 4.1 Vicki Lawrence version 4.2 Reba McEntire version 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Plot of song

The lyrics are narrated by a young woman telling the story of her older brother (Raymond) who returns home after a two-week trip and meets his best friend (Andy Wooloh) at Web's bar. Andy informs him that Raymond's wife has been cheating on him with another man ("that Amos boy Seth"), and then for good measure Andy reveals that he too has been sleeping with his friend's wife. Raymond is understandably upset, which scares Andy so he leaves the bar and walks home. Finding his home empty, Raymond assumes his wife left town, so he gets his gun ("the only thing Daddy had left him") and heads out to murder Andy. When he arrives there, he finds small tracks outside the house ("tracks that were too small for him to make"), and discovers that someone has already killed Andy. He fires his gun in the air to summon a passing sheriff, but when he is found standing over the dead body with a smoking gun, he is arrested for murder. The sheriff and a judge convict him in a kangaroo court, and hang him that night at midnight, effectively lynching him. In the final verse, the singer then reveals that it was she ("little sister") who killed Andy, and that she also killed her promiscuous sister-in-law ("one body that'll never be found").

Beyond simply the typical police corruption, the song relates that the judge is just as corrupt as the officer, and also heartless, when rendering the guilty verdict: slapped the sheriff on the back with a smile, said "supper's waiting at home and I gotta get to it" (In the 1991 music video it is also alleged that the judge was also sleeping with the wife and wouldn't listen to the truth to protect himself, "Cause the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands.").

[edit] Reception

Originally, Bobby Russell did not want to even record a demo for the song because he didn't like it. Vicki Lawrence, his wife at the time, revealed the history of the song on her talk show in the 1990s when Reba McEntire was a guest on her show. According to Lawrence, she believed it was destined to be a hit and recorded the demo herself. The publisher didn't quite know where to pitch the song. The first thought was to pitch the song to Liza Minnelli. However, "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" was first offered to Cher, but her then-husband and manager Sonny Bono reportedly turned it down (he was said to be concerned that the song might offend Cher's southern fans).^[1]

Without an artist to record the song, Vicki Lawrence went into the studio to record the song for release. The song became a number-one hit for Lawrence (who was then a regular on The Carol Burnett Show) on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and also reached the top forty of Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. The song was number one for two weeks, being succeeded by Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree".

[edit] Covers and popular culture

Tanya Tucker recorded a different version for the 1981 film The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia although with some altered lyrics which reflected the plot line of the movie, which is not the same as the story of the original song.

"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" enjoyed a renewed push in popularity in 1991 when country music singer Reba McEntire released her own version of the song. The song, included on McEntire's For My Broken Heart album, hit #12 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Songs chart; the song also had a hit music video (which implied much more than the original Vicki Lawerence song) and has seen extensive airplay on The Nashville Network, GAC, and CMT.

Another 11 years later, pop singer Taylor Horn covered McEntire's version of the song in 2002 for her album, taylor-made. The song was also recorded by artist Daniel Selby in 1985 on his LP Finishing Touches for Davis / Capitol.

Vic Chesnutt recorded a version of the song for the 1994 Star Power compilation album (contemporary artists covering 1970s hits).

Although not recorded, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland performed the song on CMT Giants:REBA in honor of Reba McEntire.

Also, Vicki Lawrence & Reba McEntire performed it together on Vicki's talkshow "Vicki."

In a reference in popular culture, in The New Adventures of Old Christine episode "Friends", Christine sings a misheard version of the song in the car scene.

The song and its narrative are discussed in the opening scene of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992)

[edit] Chart performance

[edit] Vicki Lawrence version

Chart (1973)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	6
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	36
Canadian RPM Top Singles	1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary	2
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	25

[edit] Reba McEntire version

Chart (1992)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	12
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	7

[edit] See also

• Murder ballad

Preceded by "Killing Me Softly with His Song" by Roberta Flack

Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Vicki Lawrence version) April 7, 1973 — April 14, 1973

Succeeded by "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando

[edit] References