Ronnie Van Zant Talks About Music & Freedom While Fishing

Tim Meinart YouTube Channel

The Side To Ronnie Few Ever Saw

Despite being one of the greatest legends in rock history, Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was incredibly down-to-earth.

Although he performed in front of thousands of people, he often preferred to spend some alone time out fishing.

Ronnie never liked giving interviews, but on one occasion he worked in an interview while he was out fishing.

Fishing With A “Free Bird”

The interview shows a whole new side to Ronnie, who played up the image of the wild rebel while he was on stage. But in this interview, the real Ronnie came through, showing that he was truly just an ordinary guy who loved life.

During the interview, Ronnie told the story behind the creation of the band’s signature song “Free Bird,” and as one of the co-writers, he also shared the meaning behind its famous lyrics.

“The content of ‘Free Bird’ is based on the idea of everybody being free,” he said with a smile. “To me there’s nothing freer than a bird, ya know, just flying wherever he wants to go. That’s what this country’s all about, being free. I think everybody wants to be a free bird.“

Ronnie also shared that even though he had performed “Free Bird” many times by then, it still touched him every time he saw how the crowd reacted to it: 

“There’s something about playing in front of fifty thousand people, and seeing ’em still get up for that song, seeing ’em still stand up. Just seeing people stand up and put their hands together for a song that you wrote, to me that’s what it’s all about. That’s what makes me keep goin’ back.”

Although Ronnie’s fishing interview is only a minute long, it reveals so much about him as an artist and a person. Tune in below to see for yourself.