This is about as quintessential Southern Rock as it gets. In many ways, Lynyrd Skynyrd helped define and popularise the genre.
In the mid-1990s, there was this girl Diane who was living in the beautiful seaside town of Mornington on the south-east coast of Australia who put me onto this group. Diane was a real rocker, man, and she even made her own sambuca, which was my favourite liquor at the time – like liquid licorice, just heaven. Well, her concoction… not so much – but no one’s perfect.
She even bought her own tobacco and rolled her own cigarettes. She was a wild girl with a husky voice, a real riot, and had a good heart. She put me onto so much great music – Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eric Clapton, Live – and she loved her some Janis Joplin. Whenever I hear Tuesday’s Gone my mind drifts back to those zany times we had.
The song itself tells of a man leaving on a train, with his woman left behind. “She’s gone with the wind,” he says – but really, he’s the one leaving. He’s seeking distance and solitude, and the reasons sit just beneath the surface. It feels like he’s letting her go, maybe for her own good, or because the love is no longer there on her side. Yet he still sounds deeply attached. You get the sense this departure is final – not a trip, but a turning point. He’s moving on, even if he doesn’t quite know where he’s going next.
So it goes… There was a train track near the place where the band rehearsed. The sound of passing trains inspired vocalist Ronnie Van Zant to write the opening line: “Train roll on, on down the line.”
Musically, the song is an epic, running around 7 and a half minutes. It opens with one of the most unforgettable guitar intros, followed by strong, expressive solos, a gentle and slightly looping piano part in the middle, and subtle sweeping strings. It’s easy to get carried away by it – thoughts of open air, passing landscapes, and your own memories start to blend with the music. It’s a real musical achievement.
Wikipedia:
Tuesday’s Gone is the second track on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s debut album, (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd). It was written by guitarist Allen Collins and vocalist Ronnie Van Zant. Producer Al Kooper (credited as “Roosevelt Gook”) played bass, sang backup vocals, and added orchestral strings with a Mellotron.
The record featured some other Southern Rock classics like Free Bird and Simple Man.
Won’t you please take me far away?
Now I feel the wind blow outside my door,
Means I’m leaving my woman behind.
Tuesday’s gone with the wind.
My woman’s gone with the wind.
And I don’t know where I’m going.
I just want to be left alone.
Well, when this train ends I’ll try again,
But I’m leaving my woman at home.
Tuesday’s gone with the wind.
Tuesday’s gone with the wind.
Tuesday’s gone with the wind.
My woman’s gone with the wind.
Train roll on many miles from my home,
See, I’m riding my blues away.
Tuesday, you see, she had to be free
But somehow I’ve got to carry on.
Tuesday’s gone with the wind.
Tuesday’s gone with the wind.
Tuesday’s gone with the wind.
My woman’s gone with the wind.
References:
1. Tuesday’s Gone – WIkipedia
2. Tuesday’s Gone – Song Meanings
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Always thought Lynyrd Skynrd was WICKED overrated. I saw them in concert a few times & they always played practically the same set list. ALWAYS ended up with “Free Bird” which is a song I hate. I’m leaving out the usual words I would add for emphasis, since you have asked me not to use them. But the Janis Joplin in me wants to add them LOL
I roll my own cigarettes. But I don’t use tobacco.
Overrated – but you saw them a few times? Umm… they definitely got their fair share from someone nonplussed. Or were you dragged along each time, lol?
If I had songs like Tuesday’s Gone, Free Bird, Sweet Home Alabama, Simple Man, and All I Can Do Is Write About It in my repertoire, I’d be playing them every night too.
You’re barking up the wrong tree with Free Bird – I simply don’t have enough superlatives for it. The version that really blows me away is their Oakland performance below, just 40 days before their ill-fated flight.
Also, take a look at how animated and healthy the crowd seems. These were times before processed food, tattoos-makeup, and portable tech became the norm. There’s a kind of radiance in those fresh faces – an ease and vitality that’s hard to match with what we tend to see today.
My third ex LOVED them. So yeah I went to see them.
The one show we saw them at, Max Webster was the opening band ~ great set! ~ John Kay of Steppenwolf was the second set & he was AWESOME ~ a great blues set, which almost NOBODY paid attention to UNTIL the very end, when he played “Magic Carpet Ride” & “Born to be Wild”. & then it was Skynyrd.
Another time, it was ZZ Top opening for Skynyrd & ZZ Top was so bad we walked out of the concert. I actually like ZZ Top but they were having a really bad night.