"Simple Man" is a song by American rock band

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

, released on their debut studio album, ''

(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. To This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or all language in a specific dialect—"correct" or "standard" pronunciation—or si ...

'' (1973). The song is one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's most popular. Since the song became available for digital download, it has become Lynyrd Skynyrd's third best-selling digital song after " Sweet Home Alabama" and " Free Bird." It has sold 1,333,000 copies in the U.S. as of November 2013.

Musical structure

"Simple Man" is written in the key of

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic ...

C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...

, though all guitars were tuned down a half step, effectively making it G♯ minor/B. The song begins with an

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

arpeggiated chord sequence made up of the chords C major, G major and A minor (though with the tuned-down guitars, effective progression of B major, F♯ major and G♯ minor). This intro is accompanied by a bass line and

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

s before the drums and vocals come in for the verse. Lyrically the song is about a mother talking to her child about life, inspired by the passing of Ronnie Van Zant's grandmother. The chorus of the song includes

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

s playing variations on the arpeggiated intro progression. The

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melody, melodic passage, instrumental section (music), section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, classical, electric guitar, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and ...

is performed by Gary Rossington.

Personnel

Lynyrd Skynyrd

* Ronnie Van Zant – lead vocals * Gary Rossington – lead guitar * Allen Collins – rhythm guitar * Ed King – bass * Bob Burns – drums * Billy Powell – keyboards

Additional personnel

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s he was a prolific studio musician, including playing organ on the Bob Dylan song " Like ...

– organ

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1973 songs Lynyrd Skynyrd songs Song recordings produced by Al Kooper Hard rock ballads 1970s ballads Songs written by Ronnie Van Zant Songs written by Gary Rossington Ty Cobb