Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

Saturday Night Special
Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Two feet they come a creepin'
Like a black cat do
And two bodies are layin' naked
A creeper think he got nothin' to lose
So he creeps into this house, yeah
And unlocks the door
And as a man's reaching for his trousers
Shoots him full of thirty-eight holes

Mr. Saturday night special
Got a barrel that's blue and cold
Ain't good for nothin'
But put a man six feet in a hole

Big Jim's been drinkin' whiskey
And playin' poker on a losin' night
And pretty soon ol' Jim starts a thinkin'
Somebody been cheatin' and lyin'
So Big Jim commence to fightin'
I wouldn't tell you no lie
Big Jim done pulled his pistol
Shot his friend right between the eyes

Mr. Saturday night special
Got a barrel that's blue and cold
Ain't good for nothin'
But put a man six feet in a hole

Oh, it's the Saturday night special, for twenty dollars you can buy yourself one too

Hand guns are made for killin'
They ain't no good for nothin' else
And if you like to drink your whiskey
You might even shoot yourself
So why don't we dump 'em people
To the bottom of the sea
Before some ol' fool come around here
Wanna shoot either you or me

Mr. Saturday night special
You got a barrel that's blue and cold
You ain't good for nothin'
But put a man six feet in a hole

Mr. the Saturday night special
And I'd like to tell you what you could do with it
And that's the end of the song

Overall Meaning

Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Saturday Night Special" is a song about the dangers of guns, particularly cheap and easily obtainable handguns. The song opens with a description of a break-in where a man shoots and kills another man who was "reaching for his trousers." It then tells the story of Big Jim, who suspects his friend of cheating at poker and shoots him dead. Both men used a "Saturday night special," a cheap handgun that is not very accurate but can be deadly.


The chorus of the song emphasizes the danger of these guns, with the lyrics "Mr. Saturday night special, got a barrel that's blue and cold, ain't good for nothin' but put a man six feet in a hole." The song goes on to suggest that handguns are only good for killing and are not useful for any other purpose. The third verse suggests that guns should be thrown in the ocean, to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.


Overall, the song is a warning against the dangers of handguns, particularly cheap ones that are accessible to anyone. It suggests that these guns lead to unnecessary violence and should be eliminated or heavily regulated.


Line by Line Meaning

Two feet they come a creepin' Like a black cat do
Someone is creeping and approaching, stealthily and quietly, like a cat does.


And two bodies are layin' naked A creeper think he got nothin' to lose So he creeps into this house, yeah And unlocks the door And as a man's reaching for his trousers Shoots him full of thirty-eight holes
An intruder enters a house where two people are sleeping naked, and shoots one of them multiple times while they are trying to get dressed. The intruder feels like he has nothing to lose.


Mr. Saturday night special Got a barrel that's blue and cold Ain't good for nothin' But put a man six feet in a hole
The gun used to commit the murder is a cheap handgun known as a 'Saturday night special', which is unreliable and not good for anything other than killing someone and burying them in a six-foot-deep grave.


Big Jim's been drinkin' whiskey And playin' poker on a losin' night And pretty soon ol' Jim starts a thinkin' Somebody been cheatin' and lyin' So Big Jim commence to fightin' I wouldn't tell you no lie Big Jim done pulled his pistol Shot his friend right between the eyes
A man named Big Jim has been drinking and playing cards all night, and thinks that someone is cheating. He becomes violent and shoots his friend in the head with his pistol.


Oh, it's the Saturday night special, for twenty dollars you can buy yourself one too
The song is pointing out the fact that anyone can easily buy a cheap handgun like the one used in the previous stories for a low price of twenty dollars.


Hand guns are made for killin' They ain't no good for nothin' else And if you like to drink your whiskey You might even shoot yourself So why don't we dump 'em people To the bottom of the sea Before some ol' fool come around here Wanna shoot either you or me
Handguns are designed to kill people and are useless for anything else. If you own a handgun and enjoy drinking alcohol, you might accidentally shoot yourself. The song suggests that guns should be thrown into the sea to prevent anyone from getting hurt by them.


Mr. Saturday night special You got a barrel that's blue and cold You ain't good for nothin' But put a man six feet in a hole
The song repeats its message: cheap handguns like the 'Saturday night special' are not good for anything other than killing someone and burying them in a six-foot-deep grave.


Mr. the Saturday night special And I'd like to tell you what you could do with it And that's the end of the song
The song ends with a final repetition of the title phrase, and hints that there is nothing positive that can be done with such a dangerous weapon.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: Edward C. King, Ronnie Van Zant

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

More Versions