“Free Bird” closed Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1973 debut and became the song every crowd yells for, whether the band on stage knows it or not. I’ve played bars where somebody requested it during a slow ballad. Ronnie Van Zant later dedicated it to Duane Allman. It’s a man explaining why he has to leave, and it’s honest about the cost. Freedom that leaves people behind still leaves people behind. Through a Christian lens, the world sells freedom as having no ties. Real freedom is being loosed from the things that kept you from loving the people you’re tied to.
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36
— JC
