Simple Man By Lynyrd Skynyrd

Author Biography Ronnie Van Zant was born in Jacksonville's St. Vincent's Hospital. Van Zant had a passion for baseball. He went as far as playing American Legion baseball, but that all changed when he became interested in the Rolling Stones. He got his start in music when some kids at his high school decided to start a band. The band called themselves "Us." They were holding auditions for a lead singer, but when Ronnie declared he was to be the singer, everyone else gave up because they knew they could not out perform him.

HISTORY Simple Man is the final song recorded in 1973 on Lynyrd Skynyrd's first album, Pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd. This song was written after Ronnie Van Zant's grandmother and Garry Rossington's mother passed away. Rossington created the chord progression while Van Zant wrote the lyrics. The lyrics are about conversations with those women and focused greatly on the advice that they had given them over the years. It took about one hour for them to write the song.

Listening Guide 0:00 Intro- Lead guitar plays melody. Rhythm guitar plays a harmony to the lead guitar. After 8 seconds, drum cymbals begin to play the rhythm. 0:32 Mama told me when I was young Come sit beside me, my only son And listen closely to what I say. And if you do this It'll help you some sunny day. Oh Yah!  Verse one begins- Van Zant sings while the guitars continue to play the melody and the cymbals play the rhythm. 1:04 Bridge- Guitars continue to play the melody and cymbals are joined by more percussion for the rhythm. 1:20 Oh, take your time... Don't live too fast, Troubles will come and they will pass. You'll find a woman, yea yea, you'll find love, And don't forget son, There is someone up above. Second half of verse one begins- Vocals start again. Extra percussion stops and leaves just the guitars and cymbals playing.

Listening Guide 1:51 Short transition from verse to chorus- The guitars and percussion all play homophonically for a few short brisk notes. 1:53 And be a simple, kind of man.  Oh be something, you love and understand. Baby be a simple, kind of man. Oh, won't you do this for me son, If you can?  Chorus- Lead guitar plays the melody with some heavy distortion and the drums and cymbals play the rhythm while Van Zant sings the chorus. 2:24 Bridge- Lead guitar plays melody and percussion plays the rhythm.

Listening Guide 2:33 Forget your lust, for the rich man's gold All that you need, is in your soul, And you can do this, oh baby, if you try. All that I want for you my son, Is to be satisfied. Verse two begins- Vocals with the same melody and rhythm as the previous verses. 3:04 And be a simple, kind of man.  Oh be something, you love and understand. Baby be a simple, kind of man. Oh, won't you do this for me son, If you can?  Chorus- Repeat the chorus with the same rhythm and melody. 3:35 Van Zant says something unrecognizable in-between the chorus and the solo while the guitars play the same melody and the percussion plays the same rhythm.

Listening Guide 3:37 Solo- The lead guitarist starts to take the melody step further, changing it up and constantly progressing up the scale. 4:14 Bridge- The guitars play the original melody again and the percussion plays the same rhythm. 4:30 Boy, don't you worry... you'll find yourself. Follow your heart, lord, and nothing else. And you can do this, oh baby, if you try. All that I want for you my son, Is to be satisfied. Verse three begins- The homophonic melody continues to play while the percussion continues to play the rhythm. Van Zant starts to sing again.

Listening Guide 5:00 And be a simple, kind of man.  Oh be something, you love and understand. Baby be a simple, kind of man. Oh, won't you do this for me son, If you can? Chorus- The chorus repeats again playing the exact same way as before. 5:31 Baby be a simple, be a simple man.  Oh be something, you love and understand.  Baby be a simple, kind of man. Outro begins- Same melody and rhythm as the chorus but slightly different words. Then with a few seconds left in the song it begins to fade out until it is completely silent at 5:57.