The moment “Dixieland Delight” kicks in at Alabama football games inside Bryant-Denny Stadium has become sacred to Crimson Tide fans, but beyond those walls, other SEC fan bases have adopted the tradition.
The song, written and performed by the legendary country music group Alabama, is also part of the Arkansas football gameday experience, which we learned via Twitter Friday night, as Razorback fans gathered for a pep rally and belted it in unison ahead of the Tide’s road game at Arkansas.
University of Arkansas student Blake Taylor tweeted a video from the pep rally, during which students sing along to what sounds like a slightly modified remix (listen to the drumbeat), adding their own extra lyrics similar to the way Tide fans tailor it to their stadium experience. Here’s what their alternative additions say, at least during the video Taylor tweeted. (Warning: It includes some naughty language, just like the Alabama fan version)
Spend my dollar (on beer!)
Parked in a holler ‘neath the mountain moonlight (Woo pig!)
Hold her uptight (against the wall!), make a little lovin’ (all night long!)
A little turtle dovin’ on a Mason-Dixon night (F--- Bama!)
Fits my life (and LSU!), oh, so right (and Tennessee, too!)
My Dixieland delight
“Dixieland Delight” inside Razorback Stadium? Taylor said it happens often in Fayetteville, not just during Alabama week, having become a staple throughout the season.
So, yeah. It isn’t just an Alabama thing, turns out. In fact, other fan bases often troll the Tide faithful because of the reference to Tennessee in the lyrics (“...on a Tennessee Saturday night”). “Why do Alabama fans sing a song about Tennessee at their football games anyway?” is a frequent attempt to get under the skin of Bama fans, as you’ll see in the replies under Taylor’s video.
One fan quipped the Arkansas fans should go check to see who wrote the song and report back, while another said, “Yall will never stop being the Dollar General version of us and I love yo so much for it.”
After the song was taken out of rotation in 2014 due to the students’ alternate lyrics (with some colorful language), it returned for the 2018 homecoming game against Missouri, with Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne, Nick Saban and others pleading with fans to keep it clean via the #DixielandDelightDoneRight campaign. UA piped in some audio to drown out the naughty words, and fans had one of their favorite gameday traditions back. The place is electric when they blast it on the PA, as evidenced during the second half of Alabama’s recent blowout win over Vanderbilt.
AL.com’s Michael Casagrande captured the moment on video, as thousands of Tide fans sang in unison under the Bryant-Denny Stadium lights at night in one of the loudest versions yet. Watch the full video.
Alabama has beaten Arkansas 15 straight games. Saban remains unbeaten against the Hogs heading into Saturday’s game in Fayetteville, where the Tide will face their toughest of the 2022 season so far in Sam Pittman’s physical team playing with their season in the balance.
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