Look into the background of this song, it's not just well written it's their real life experience.

The song was written as a warning to guitar player Gary Rossington who was doing all the things mentioned in the song. After the success of the first album and tour, he crashed his car into an oak tree during a night of partying. He delayed the second tour by months. Singer Ronnie Van Zant(band leader) was furious and worried about fellow band member Gary Rossington. So he wrote this song as a warning to Gary and all others who indulge. Oddly enough, with all of Gary's vices, he was the last surviving member of the original band.

A lot of us in the 70’s smelled that smell. Lucky to be alive.

It's an over used cliche, but to me, Leon Wilkerson was a tragically underrated bass player. His name is never mentioned among the elites, but his tremendous talent and style drove many Skynyrd tunes, this song being a great example. With Van Zant's in-yer-face vocals and that three guitar battalion tearing it up, it was easy to overlook Leon's huge contribution, but that boy deserves serious respect.

Always loved it when Ronnie Van Zandt would do that whistle during a song because you knew he was calling out his three guitarist to the front to jam it out with each other

You're just scratching the surface with Skynyrd .. Truly the greatest American band in history ..

I challenge anyone to dispute the fact this isnt one of the best songs ever written and performed. The drums, the bass, the guitars, the vocals, and the lyrics are all perfect. Absolutely legendary song.

Skynyrds guitar army is absolutely Astonishing.

"... one hell of a price for you to get your kicks" Says it all. We lost so many back in those days, and still are. A cautionary tale for the ages. With some very dope music to drive it home.

Processed music of today can't hold a candle to the decades of raw organic music so many of us were lucky to grow up with.

You guys crushed it today! Zep, Who, Skynyrd! Hell Yes. This is an iconic song. Their first 5 albums has all bangers!

This album cover is something of a collector's item. The record had shipped when they had their awful plane crash and the company pulled it in a hurry.

I wish we could bring back this era of great bands with deep meaning lyrics. So glad I was around back then when it all went down.

Very personal to me. A good friend, fraternity brother and basketball teammate would play this for me during a difficult time in my life. Thankfully I survived! Thanks my friend Karl

Skynyrd rockin' truth. Thanks for your reaction.

'I know a little' is another awesome tune of this album.

This great song takes you on such an intense journey about the horrors of drug and alcohol addiction. The guitar and descriptive lyrics are perfect. Thanks guys for reacting to this one!💞

They're so good, it's almost exhausting to endure the greatness.

As a kid growing up in the 60's and 70's songs like this from bands like this were on the radio all day everyday. What a time to be alive. I had forgotten how much of a banger this is and Skynyrd with there legendary dual guitar solos.

I hope this spoke to someone who needed to hear the message. As the Righteous Brothers once said, "If there's a rock n' roll heaven Well you know they've got a hell of a band" RIP Skynyrd.

Written about guitarist Gary Rossington as a warning. Can't imagine playing live on a song for 40+ years that was about you.

One of the guitar players, Gary Rossington, got his front teeth knocked out in a bad car crash because he was high. Strangely enough, he was one of the survivors of the plane crash. He just died this year at 71 years old.

You can never go wrong with Skynyrd, but this is my personal favorite.

Really doesn’t get much better than Lynyrd Skynyrd! Everyone on that album cover who has fire touching them died in the plane crash. RIP

Man....The Who, Zep, Skynyrd back-to-back......greatness overload.

Such a powerful song and it is so well constructed and so well delivered. It's so sad that this is the last album before the plane crash, because they had just picked up Steven Gaines on guitar, brother to Cassie Gaines in the trio of women backing vocalists known as The Honkettes, and it just seemed like they were really starting to take off even more and creating such incredible albums for the time.

My favorite band of all time, so much talent gone far too soon. RIP Ronnie, Steven, Leon, Billy, Allen and Gary. You’ll forever be missed

That Smell and The Needle and The Spoon are both 70's interventions done Skynyrd style!

Written in Hell House a couple miles down the road from me in Green Cove Springs , Fl. We love them boys!

Led Zep, The WHO, and now Skynyrd taking me back to the days of young unabashed craziness. I do enjoy watching you men discovering the music that I discovered as a teenager in the 70s. Here are some songs you never hear them talking about with LS. Hide, Road Fatigue, Cottonmouth Country, Double Trouble, Woman of Mine, Hide your face, Cheatin Woman, Every Mothers Son. all as good as any LS song written.

There's only ever been a handful of rock and roll songs this good, really. This is a musical masterpiece.

I saw lynyrd skynyrd in 1977,Anaheim stadium, there last time in California....awesome,they played, that smell.

Guitar heaven…watch this live. The story behind this song is great but sad. The three guitars killed it.

If you really want to see and appreciate how tight they were listen to their live record one more from the Road

All this band did was tell us what we needed to hear again and again.

That plane crash happened 3 days after the release of this album 😢 Great song / great album Great reaction!

The song was directed specifically at guitarist Gary Rossington (as well as other band members) nicknamed "Prince Charming" who had caused the delay of one of their tours because he crashed his new car into an oak tree. Be just so no one though he was moralizing he says in the song "I been there before" because Ronnie Van Zant was no stranger to any of the stuff he was singing about! You should do Needle and Spoon for a song with similar message.I think you should do literally every song they recorded prior to their plane crash and many of the songs they recorded after reuniting

One of my all time favorites from Skynyrd. Thanks for the reaction ❤

La and Che your on fire 🔥 today. I was fortunate to see them twice as a warm up band. I thought they were better than the headline band. On once with Ronnie's younger brother. So many great songs to delve into. One I would recommend is The Ballard of Curtis Lowe. As always fellas great reaction. Appreciate you 🙏 ❤

“Story-telling at its finest.” That’s the genius of Ronnie Van Zant.

this song is just epic, guitar work transcendent, clear and righteous message

This song was actually about Gary Robinson last surviving member that passed away on April 5 this year, they guitarist who did the slide.

ALL THOSE BROTHERZ KNEW THAT SMELL!!! STEVE GAINES, THANK YOU MY BROTHER FOR BRINGIN' A COMPASS!!!!! YOU ROCKED WITH THE HOMIES, AND INSPIRED!!!!! ROCK IN PEACE!!

The smell of death surrounds you......Hard words when I was 18 years old listening to this song......

Y'all are wise beyond your years!

Three great classics from the 70s today! Zep, The Who, Lynyrd Skynyrd....the soundtrack of my teens. So grateful!

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this... this album, with the cover shown on here came out around the same time they were touring, right before the plane crash. After the plane crash, for obvious reasons, they discontinued this album cover and then re-released it without the flames in the background.😢

Fellas, the looks on your faces are priceless! I love it. You appreciate good music and you show it!

Back in 1980, I was at an audio store looking to buy a a stereo set and the salesman put this on a cool JVC set and I was sold.

Yup brothers because By Far One Of The Greatest Songs Ever Written with deepest darkest meanings ever if you know what i mean if you been there dun that and survived this song says it all on all levels

I was building an album collection back in the 70's. An album every Payday Friday. Bought Street Survivors right when it came out. With the flames. Can remember exactly where I was when the news came on the radio about The Crash. Was crushed. Lynyrd Skynyrd was idolized Down South In New Orleans. And not only Down South , of course. I also had the original Rolling Stones album Some Girls. The album cover had pictures of celebrities that The Rolling Stones did not obtain the rights for. They had to reissue the album without these stars on the cover.

could have been one of the best bands ever. RIP

My favorite Skynyrd song love it love you

I saw them in 1977 you can't go wrong with a Skynyrd song

That's the original album cover, they took the flames away after the plane crash, this song was written for Gary, probably Allen too.

More Lynyrd Skynyrd please!! More Southern Rock period!

Hi la and Che... you are the best reactors... most reactors think the smell is weed 🌳but it’s the smell of death....

Tight is right. Ronnie ran a tight ship! Love listening to ya'll. Soundin like producers. Keep going, you 2 are damn good at it. yo!

I went down a Skynyrd documentary rabbit hole years ago and ever since then, I've considered this one of the most ironic songs in rock and roll history (including Isn't it ironic by Alanis, which, ironically, isn't all that ironic). The nutshell of what I learned is that the band understood and accepted its descent into hedonism. Reportedly, they had decided to attempt to "right the ship" as it were. Hence, this song. Of course, the irony is the subsequent plane crash, which, in hindsight might not be so much irony, as fate.

I can remember saying "see Dad, they're singing against drugs". :)

Sounds as great today as the first time i heard it back in the 70's

That's the original album cover for Street Survivors. The plane crash happened October 20, 1977, the album was to be released on October 23rd. The record company freaked out and had to change the cover quick. No way they could release it with the band surrounded by flames. Eery coincidence.

The album cover with the flames was recalled after their airplane went down during this tour. One of the back up singers (Cassie Gaines), lead singer (Ronnie Van Sant) and 3rd guitarist Steve Gaines were all killed. Lynyrd Skynyrd was already a great band. After Steve joined late in the original line up, he was going to take them to new levels. Damn shame that plane went down.

Great band leader, must of been good with animals, communicating on a high level, that whistle is awesome

Check out Lynyrd Skynyrd live performances. They were amazing in the 70’s on stage. Total guitar overload with awesome story telling.

Always loved this song, takes me way back to the wild and crazy times of my youth. Them boys sure could play!

I'm in Portland and I see that smell every day!

70’s was a lot of fun as a young man but I’m glad it’s over..I’m fortunate to be alive

Great Band and song…Ohhh that Smell 😊

"Oak Tree, you're in my way...." I've luckily lived thru that line myself.

Steve Gaines, great guitar work, so clean, so funky, so effing good. What a loss.

'Can't speak a word when you're full of lude's',he is referring to Quaaludes,a prescription drug that was for depression and mental disorders.They were being used everywhere in the 70's,they were banned in the early 80's.

The back up singers, The Honkettes, deserve some love for their contribution to this song and others.

Thanks for the throwback to the day. Can’t sit still when this is on.

The guitar work in this song is epic.

They lived this song like so many other rock bands, money, drugs and booze at their fingertips and hard, sometimes deadly lessons to be learned!

The panning of the last solo is iconic,Ed King was a musical genius

You guys are the best out here Been a fan of skynyrd since the early to mid 70s my fav Pick any song won't be disappointed Mr Banker On the Hunt Ballad of Curtis Lowe Was I right or wrong

3 Absolute bangers today keep em coming

You speak the truth that should be playing for all or youth. ❤

You are right about band being tight. They were probably the most rehearsed band ever. The lead put them together and demanded perfection.

"Saturday Night Special " is a great song that should be listened to. Like this is about the pitfalls of drugs and has some "grit" to it, SNS covers three different scenarios of gun violence and death via the use of a Saturday Night Special just as much grittiness

Earlier anti-drug song from 1960s was “Kicks” by Paul Revere and The Raiders.

Che is rocking this the way we did back in the day, close your eyes and get into it

“The smell of death surrounds you”

This album was the first with young Steve Gaines and Steve's sister Cassie as one of the singers (3 girls back up singers) Steve gave the band new juice and they were maturing and the best was yet to come. Sadly....it all ended same week album was released. Listen to "I Know a Little" from this album with Steve writing the song and playing lead. You will be blown away at where this band was rising to.

I share the same story this song tells when an oak tree took the the life of a dear friend ❤the year 1978

"Oak tree, you're in my way" He hit the tree. I've seen it, it's famous now; in Jacksonville. This was a warning to himself as well as everybody else.

The ones who lived to tell from the darkness of addiction, can relate to this song.

It rocked but damn sad message. One of the songs which I always kept in mind late Friday nights.....Some times you just have to say no. Thanks guys

When the A's fan was closing his eyes, I knew he was hearing those guitars.

One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite groups! This was guitarist Steve Gains first & only studio album with the band & his picking is phenomenal.His playing complimented the other two guitarist Gary Rossington & Allen Collins so well. ( As did the man he replaced Ed King ). Skynyrd is a deep rabbit hole to dive into. Blues based southern rock sometimes with a country flare. Enjoy gentlemen.

When my friends started calling me prince charming that was my sign to settle down 😅

Skynyrd is one of the rock goats!

One of the greatest anti drug songs ever.🤘🏻🔥

Y’all gotta listen to “Things goin on” by Lynyrd Skynyrd as well as On The Hunt!

Great reaction to a great choice.

Amazing guitar work , and singing and all . I remember listening to an interview with them on Norwegian radio about this album. And then they where gone. PS: Could you get someone to recommend a good Black Oak Arkansas song to play . As the first southern rock band they deserve some recognition. I remember listening to their live album as a teenager. Jim Dandy . Today I love their When Electricty came to Arkansas more

Love me some skynard.Seen them three times amazing.

It was about one of the band members that was drunk and high hit a tree and almost died!