The narratorprotagonist of "Uneasy Rider" is a long-haired marijuana smoker driving a Chevrolet with a "peace sign, mag wheels, and four on the floor." The song is a spoken-word description of an interlude in a trip from a non-specified location in the Southern United States to Los Angeles, California. When one of the narrator's tires goes flat in Jackson, Mississippi, he stops at a "Redneck" bar and calls a gas station to come repair it. He is alone at first, to his relief, but several local residents soon arrive and question his manners, physical appearance, and choice of vehicle. In order to extricate himself from a potential physical altercation, the narrator accuses one man of being a federal agent working undercover to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan, who removes George Wallace bumper stickers, voted for George McGovern, and has a Communist flag on his garage wall. As the others begin to believe the narrator's story, the man defends himself by saying he has lived in Jackson all of his life, has no garage, is a faithful Baptist, and adheres to the teachings of "Brother John Birch". The distraction lasts long enough for the narrator to escape just as his tire is repaired. After chasing the rednecks around with his car for a short time, he speeds away quickly and resumes his journey to Los Angeles; already on a northward track to Arkansas, he decides on the fly to reroute through Omaha, Nebraska.
Cultural referencesedit
The lyrics reflect cultural divisions in the Southern United States in the early 1970s between the counterculture of the 1960s and more traditional Southern culture. Unlike with most country music of the time, Daniels' protagonist is a member of the counterculture.
The song's title, which does not appear in the lyrics, is a play on the film Easy Rider, which follows two counterculture motorcyclists on a journey in the opposite direction, from Los Angeles to New Orleans, Louisiana and eventually to Florida.
Daniels' counterculture attitude was consistent with that of others in the outlaw country music movement but is in contrast to his later right-wing attitudes expressed in songs such as 1989's "Simple Man".
Two Southern men decide to travel to New Orleans to party, but on the way get pulled over by a police officer for speeding. They decide to stop at the Cloud 9 Bar and Grill in Houston, Texas. The narrator reacts violently to sexual harassment from a cross-dressing customer, which instigates a fight with the locals.
His friend joins in, and learns during the fight that the good-looking gal he had been dancing with was also a crossdresser, much to his disgust. The narrator and his friend struggle to leave the bar amid the fight, get into their vehicle, and speed away—and get pulled over by the same police officer who stopped them earlier. They end up in a county jail where the narrator swears off drinking and partying, and resolving to go "back where the women are women and the men are men."
Notesedit
^Barber, James (July 6, 2020). "7 Patriotic Classics from Country Rock Legend Charlie Daniels". Military.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
^Friskics-Warren, Bill (July 6, 2020). "Charlie Daniels, Fiddling Force in Country and Rock, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
^Later releases from Charlie Daniels are credited to "the Charlie Daniels Band" including compilations featuring "Uneasy Rider" but the single and the album were originally credited to "Charlie Daniels."
^ Otfinoski, Steve, The Golden Age of Novelty Songs, Billboard Books, New York, NY, 2000 p.163
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For other uses see Uneasy Rider disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Uneasy Rider news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Uneasy Rider is a 1973 song written and performed by American singer and multi instrumentalist Charlie Daniels 3 It consists of a narrative spoken over a guitar melody and is sometimes considered a novelty song 4 It was released as a single and appeared on Daniels album Honey in the Rock which is also sometimes known as Uneasy Rider Uneasy Rider Single by Charlie Danielsfrom the album Honey in the RockB side Funky Junky ReleasedJune 1973GenreTalking blues 1 talking bluegrass 2 Length5 18LabelKama Sutra 576 U S 7 single Songwriter s Charlie DanielsProducer s Charlie DanielsCharlie Daniels singles chronology Great Big Bunches of Love 1972 Uneasy Rider 1973 Whiskey 1974 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cultural references 3 Chart performance 4 Uneasy Rider 88 4 1 Content 5 Notes 6 External linksPlot editThis article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed February 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message The narrator protagonist of Uneasy Rider is a long haired marijuana smoker driving a Chevrolet with a peace sign mag wheels and four on the floor The song is a spoken word description of an interlude in a trip from a non specified location in the Southern United States to Los Angeles California When one of the narrator s tires goes flat in Jackson Mississippi he stops at a Redneck bar and calls a gas station to come repair it He is alone at first to his relief but several local residents soon arrive and question his manners physical appearance and choice of vehicle In order to extricate himself from a potential physical altercation the narrator accuses one man of being a federal agent working undercover to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan who removes George Wallace bumper stickers voted for George McGovern and has a Communist flag on his garage wall As the others begin to believe the narrator s story the man defends himself by saying he has lived in Jackson all of his life has no garage is a faithful Baptist and adheres to the teachings of Brother John Birch The distraction lasts long enough for the narrator to escape just as his tire is repaired After chasing the rednecks around with his car for a short time he speeds away quickly and resumes his journey to Los Angeles already on a northward track to Arkansas he decides on the fly to reroute through Omaha Nebraska Cultural references editThe lyrics reflect cultural divisions in the Southern United States in the early 1970s between the counterculture of the 1960s and more traditional Southern culture Unlike with most country music of the time Daniels protagonist is a member of the counterculture The song s title which does not appear in the lyrics is a play on the film Easy Rider which follows two counterculture motorcyclists on a journey in the opposite direction from Los Angeles to New Orleans Louisiana and eventually to Florida Daniels counterculture attitude was consistent with that of others in the outlaw country music movement but is in contrast to his later right wing attitudes expressed in songs such as 1989 s Simple Man Chart performance editChart 1973 PeakpositionU S Billboard Hot Country Singles amp Tracks 67U S Billboard Hot 100 5 9Canadian RPM Country Tracks 69Canadian RPM Top Singles 18Uneasy Rider 88 edit Uneasy Rider 88 Single by The Charlie Daniels Bandfrom the album Homesick HeroesReleasedNovember 1988RecordedMay 4 1988Length4 26LabelEpicSongwriter s Charlie DanielsTom Crain Taz DiGregorioCharlie HaywardJack GavinProducer s James StroudThe Charlie Daniels Band s 1988 album Homesick Heroes featured the single Uneasy Rider 88 that was musically and thematically similar to Uneasy Rider but with a story set in a gay bar in Houston Texas Content edit Two Southern men decide to travel to New Orleans to party but on the way get pulled over by a police officer for speeding They decide to stop at the Cloud 9 Bar and Grill in Houston Texas The narrator reacts violently to sexual harassment from a cross dressing customer which instigates a fight with the locals His friend joins in and learns during the fight that the good looking gal he had been dancing with was also a crossdresser much to his disgust The narrator and his friend struggle to leave the bar amid the fight get into their vehicle and speed away and get pulled over by the same police officer who stopped them earlier They end up in a county jail where the narrator swears off drinking and partying and resolving to go back where the women are women and the men are men Notes edit Barber James July 6 2020 7 Patriotic Classics from Country Rock Legend Charlie Daniels Military com Retrieved September 22 2021 Friskics Warren Bill July 6 2020 Charlie Daniels Fiddling Force in Country and Rock Dies at 83 The New York Times Retrieved 2022 12 17 Later releases from Charlie Daniels are credited to the Charlie Daniels Band including compilations featuring Uneasy Rider but the single and the album were originally credited to Charlie Daniels Otfinoski Steve The Golden Age of Novelty Songs Billboard Books New York NY 2000 p 163 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 XExternal links editCharlie Daniels Uneasy Rider on YouTube Charlie Daniels Uneasy Rider 88 on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Uneasy Rider amp oldid 1188059243, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
