He was on his way home from Candletop
Been two weeks gone and he thought he'd stop
At Webb's and have him a drink 'fore he went home to her
Andy Wolloe said "Hello"
And he said "Hi, what's doin', Wo?"
"Seth, sit down, I got some bad news, it's gonna hurt"
He said "I'm your best friend and you know that's right"
"But your young bride ain't home tonight"
"Since you been gone she's been seein' that Amos boy, Seth "
Well, he got mad 'n' he saw red and Andy said "Boy, don'tcha lose your head"
" 'cause to tell ya the truth, I been with her myself"

That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
That's the night that they hung an innocent man
Well, don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer
'cause the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands

Well, Andy got scared and left the bar
Walkin' on home 'cause he didn't live far
See, Andy didn't have many friends and he'd just lost him one
Brother thought his wife musta left town
So he went home and finally found
The only thing Papa had left him, that was a gun

And he went off to Andy's house
A'skippin' through the backwoods quiet as a mouse
Came upon some tracks too small for Andy to make
He looked through the screen at the back-porch door
And he saw Andy lyin' on the floor
In a puddle of blood and he started to shake

Well, the Georgia Patrol was a'makin' their rounds
So he fired a shot just to flag 'em down
And a big-bellied sheriff got his gun and said "why'dya do it?"
And the judge said "Guilty" in a make-believe trial
And slapped the sheriff on the back with a smile
Said' supper's waitin' at home and I gotta get to it"

That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
That's the night that they hung an innocent man
Well, don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer
'cause the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands

Well, they hung my brother before I could say
The tracks he saw while on his way
To Andy's house and back that night were mine
And his cheatin' wife had never left town
And that's one body that'll never be found
See, little sister don't miss when she aims her gun

That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia, oh-oh-aah
That's the night that they hung an innocent man, ah-huh-unh
Well, don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer

FADE
'cause the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands



Lyrics submitted by bono_212, edited by npod

Track duration: 03:47


The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:Still LOVE this song after so many decades. It used to fill my house when it was storming outside and all the lights were off in the living room. I'd get up to put the needle back to the beginning of this song time and time again.
    Flag fivefortypmon February 09, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is a story told only for the fact that the justice system in this country is and has been a failure... the main point of this song is to shed light on the "injustice" system.
    Flag srs606791163on May 14, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I didn't mean that to be a reply, I wanted it be a comment, sorry for the double post.

    Seems like it is kinda odd to want to hear about how she took out the judge or whatever.

    Look at the situation...his wife was cheating on him with another man, and he was caught outside his house with the same gun that was used to kill him.

    So, he was caught with a gun that fired the shots that killed the guy, he was immediately outside of his house, and he had the motive of him having stolen his girl.

    There isn't a court on earth that would have found a guy innocent with all that evidence.

    I like the song and think it is quite entertaining...but the character that Vicki plays is kinda deranged. Not only does she murder someone in cold blood, she seems to have absolved her guilt in the matter despite being directly responsible for all the events that went down, choosing instead to blame it on everyone else.
    Flag asugaron February 10, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:There's nothing like your little sister sticking up for you when you can't . . . and since I don't have a little sister or brother for that matter, I'm hoping I have a female friend/cousin who's ready to take out my girl if she finds her cheating and I don't know.

    Basically, the sister finds out her sister-in-law is cheating on her brother and she takes things into her own hands and takes her out to the woods and does her in the back of the head and buried the body...and then takes out the guys who slept with her...and her brother in a fit of rage after being told by his best friend everything (excluding his sister's acts) goes up to his best friend's place - Andy - to give him what for and comes onto what is now a crime scene...he panics and sees a cop, flashes him down...and the rest everyone should be able to figure out. Her brother's the guy who was hung when the lights went out - though that may led you to believe he was put in the chair . . . they should have done a whole concept album and she should have ended up taking out the Sheriff, Judge, Mayor everyone who basically hung him without evidence, trial, etc.
    Flag Dream MacLeodon July 11, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Seth went after andy because andy said he had fooled around with his wife just like the amos boy did.
    " 'cause to tell ya the truth, I been with her myself"
    Flag Nova_Crashon May 20, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Seth went after andy because andy said he had fooled around with his wife just like the amos boy did.
    " 'cause to tell ya the truth, I been with her myself"
    Flag Nova_Crashon May 20, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Little sister got that cheatin' bee-otch! And poor Seth took the fall. But he went to Andys to shoot him? Thats the part that confuses me.
    Flag spiceoflifeon March 21, 2007   Link

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