Rocky Top

There's a type of song that naturally rouses up Southern audiences at concerts.  Obviously, you can probably think of "Dixie" or "Sweet Home Alabama" or "Freebird."  These are more occasions to whoop and holler, as the activity is called.  They don't mean any more than an affirmation of group solidarity for the audience, much like fight songs at football games.

One such song  is "Rocky Top."  "Rocky Top" is a fast-tempo song by songwriters Felice and Boudleaux Bryant about the passing of a way of life:

Wish that I was on ole Rocky Top,
Down in the Tennessee hills.
Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top,
Ain't no telephone bills.

Once there was a girl on Rocky Top,
Half bear the other half cat.
Wild as a mink, sweet as soda pop,
I still dream about that.

Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me.
Good ole Rocky Top,
Rocky Top Tennessee, Rocky Top Tennessee.

and other verses.

This song has been covered by numerous singers and groups, and is a sure-fire crowd stirrer.  Rocky Top is the official fight song of the University of Tennessee Volunteers.

Rocky Top is a real place.  It's one of the peaks of Thunderhead Mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Here's the original Osborne Brothers bluegrass version:

And here's some cute Korean kids doing theirs: