Album: Street Survivors (1977)

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• Whiskey bottles and brand new cars
  Oak tree, you're in my way
  There's too much coke and too much smoke
  Look what's going on inside you
  
  Ooh, that smell
  Can't you smell that smell?
  Ooh, that smell
  The smell of death surrounds you
  
  Yeah
  
  Angel of darkness is upon you
  Stuck a needle in your arm (you fool, you)
  So take another toke, have a blow for your nose
  One more drink, fool, would drown you (hell yeah)
  
  Ooh, that smell
  Can't you smell that smell?
  Ooh, that smell
  The smell of death surrounds you
  
  Now they call you Prince Charming
  Can't speak a word when you're full of 'ludes
  Say you'll be alright come tomorrow
  But tomorrow might not be here for you (yeah, you)
  
  Ooh, that smell
  Can't you smell that smell?
  Ooh, that smell
  The smell of death surrounds you
  
  Oh, you a fool, you
  Go on, stick them needles in your arm
  Ooh, hoo-hoo-hoo
  I know, I been there before
  (You fool)
  (Fool)
  
  One little problem that confronts you
  Got a monkey on your back
  Just one more fix, Lord, might do the trick
  One hell of a price for you to get your kicks (hell yeah)
  
  Ooh, that smell
  Can't you smell that smell?
  Ooh, that smell
  The smell of death surrounds you
  Ooh, that smell (whoa)
  Can't you smell that smell?
  Ooh, that smell
  The smell of death surrounds you
  
  Oh, you a fool, you
  Go on, stick those needles in your arm
  You're just a fool, just a fool, just a fool
  Gimme one more blow
  One more blow for my nose, whoa, yeah Writer/s: Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 53

• Al Davis from OhioScott Utsler. Gary’s nickname was Prince Charming
• AnonymousHey Tennessee, Ronnie was sober when his plane went down. Similar to the day the music died.
• Jesse J from TennesseeMost of this song is talking about the intravenous usage of Cocaine, clear and simple, but ill be more specific down to the lyric.
  
  Whiskey bottles, and brand new cars
  Oak tree you're in my way (Garry Rossington, the guitarist, crashes into an oak tree, on way to many Quaaludes and who knows what else)
  There's too much coke and too much smoke ( too much cocaine everywhere and smoke from whatever they were smoking. Thick and cloudy)
  Look what's going on inside you (Look what damage your doing to your insides by using these drugs)
  Ooooh that smell
  Can't you smell that smell (only the person injecting cocaine can smell that smell of, whatever chemical it is, going over the olfactory part of the brain
  allowing you to directly smell the injection running through your brain)
  Ooooh that smell
  The smell of death surrounds you (Injecting cocaine is the riskiest drug to IV that still is to this day and can easy kill someone, even being the first time
  using cocaine by IV, with no tolerance or even a built tolerance, who first time injects even .1/point of a gram to much can
  be fatal. Plus without extremely accurate digital scales is all left to "eyeballing it." So Ronnie tied in the "smell only the
  user smells injecting cocaine, to the smell of death, being just how risky it was for that person who was getting that type
  of smell/high off cocaine)
  
  Angel of darkness is upon you
  Stuck a needle in your arm (that intravenous use of cocaine)
  So take another toke, have a blow for your nose
  And one more drink fool, will drown you (Most cocaine users like to drink and they think they can drink more on cocaine, but all the while the alcohol content
  builds like normal in the bloodstream and mixes a certain chemical when introduce to cocaine, by any use of it, in
  the system which is toxic)
  Ooooh that smell
  Can't you smell that smell
  Ooooh that smell
  The smell of death surrounds you
  
  Now they call you Prince Charming
  Can't speak a word when you're full of 'ludes
  Say you'll be all right come tomorrow
  But tomorrow might not be here for you (The car wreck into the oak tree. He was so intoxicated on Quaalude's he could barely speak and drove that car
  into'' that Oak Tree)
  Ooooh that smell
  Can't you smell that smell
  Ooooh that smell
  The smell of death surrounds you
  Hey, you're A fool, you (2:30)
  
  Go on stick them needles in your arm (2:34) (obviously talking about injecting)
  
  I know I been there before (2:50) (Ronnie has experience needles and injected before so he knows, which makes sense of the song title, and the song
  Needle and The Spoon written by Ronnie shows his familiarity with IV drug use)
  One little problem that confronts you
  Got a monkey on your back (started to get hooked on a drug, doing it as much, if not all the time)
  Just one more fix, Lord might do the trick (one more shot could be the one that kills you)
  One hell of a price for you to get your kicks ( one more fix meaning doing another shot of coke when coming down and shooting again over and over in a short amount of time, is the most common deadly risk associated with it)
  can be very fatal
  Ooooh that smell
  Can't you smell that sm
  The smell of death surrounds you
  Ooooh that smel
  Can't you smell that smell
  Ooooh that smell
  The smell of death surrounds you
  Hey, you're a fool, you
  Go on stick those needles in your arm (again, needles in your arm which he repeats though out this song)
  You're just a fool, just a fool, just a fool (your a fool for risking death on a high)
• Zeny from PaThey great thing about lyrics, especially ambiguous ones, is that one can costumize them to their own personal experiences & feelings... Yet one should not confuse &/or confess them to be the truth! True to you may not be true to the writter. After all, everyone is here to hear the writers stories & meanings.
  
  That being said, Ronnie clearly states "the smell of death surrounds you". It was and is a statement mentioned for reckless people who could be close to death, or causing death(s) as a result of their actions. Albeit coke is mentioned in the song, so are other substances. There are a lot if smells assiciated with all of it. Simple fact: just all generalized as a flirt with death!
  
  The lyrics tell the story of their band member Gary. Their struggles to keep him clean & the accident he had which led to fining him for missed tour dates & serious ultimatums. Ultimatly leading to writting thensing as a big reminder not only to Gary, but to all that may need to hear it!
• Mark from TxI agree with anonymous below. The smell has to do with injecting cocaine. And you will never know that smell unless you have done that
• Scott Utsler from Richmond, Va.Can someone explain the "Prince Charming" refence to me? Is that slang for a drug addict?
• Ktaylor from NcGary did an interview in the 80s where he talked about a saying that Ronnie used to have saying about people who were reckless and crazy. "That guy has the smell of death around him or he smells like death" Allen wrote the song and said lets talk about Gary and how he smells like death after Gary wrecked a brand new car coming back from club with his girlfriend. Gary would go on to say he loved taking quaaludes (xanax) late at night after drinking because he would "just pass out and sleep like a baby". On this particular night he took a quaalude on his way home which was too soon and he passed out and wrecked.
• AnonymousBeing from that era when cocaine was the big drug and when it was injected there would be a taste and smell only to the user of a kind of ether right before the blast that would drop people to their knees. That was the anticipatory "smell" right before the euphoria. THAT is what they are talking about. No one will tell me different. Coke was the biggie then, not heroin. People that did lines would never know that, it was only the intravenous users that knew it.
• Jr Mcswiggen from FloridaYes been there and done it Oaktree you’re in my way I got several.
  BTW.... may Lynyrd Skynyrd RIP what a great bunch of guys n girls! Gary will carry the legacy!
• Rob C from San Jose, CaAs several people have commented it is my understanding that the song "That Smell" was inspired by Gary Rossington's drug and alcohol abuse. The reference to "Whiskey bottles", "Brand new cars", and "Oak trees" in the way most certainly refers to the car wreck drunk driving incident that delayed the start of one of the bands tours... What I will add to this conversation is the interpretation of the song's line "The smell of death surrounds you!"
  When you shoot Heroin in tar form it must be melted (or mixed with water and heated) to a liquid form in order to inject into the bloodstream with a syringe. Before disposable butane lighters were ubiquitous addicts often would use matches lighting 2 or 3 at a time to heat the spoon with the Heroin in it, often burning a book or more of matches in quick succession. This can result in the sulfur smell from the match heads lingering in a persons hair and clothing after they have 'shot up'. Reportedly Gary Rossington was not only drinking excessively but also shooting heroin, which the other band members became aware of by the smell of matches, 'the smell of death', when he would enter the room.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn September 5th 1976, Garry Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd falls asleep at the wheel of his brand new Ford Torino and hits a oak tree and then a house in Jacksonville, FL...
  "That Smell" was track two of side one on the group's fifth studio album, 'Street Survivors', and the album peaked at #5 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart.
• Cyberpope from Richmond, CanadaWhy was I so sure this was an Alice Cooper song? The chorus sounds like the spittin' voice image of Cooper! Just found out it's Lynyrd after googling for the lyrics! Good tune -- great ringtone for your friends who really stink!
• Jorge from Bronx, NyI came to follow this band work,by listening to Rossington Collins band Dont Misunderstand me song,Then I'd learned they were surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Tha Smell was my favority and so is Simple Man.
• Jim from Minneapolis, MnI believe that at the time of the crash, if it didn't happen, that smell and the whole album would have propeled skynyrd into the super star rock band status. I finally got to see them live a couple of years ago on the frynds tour with hank williams jr. first out was the warm up guy chris jenson??? then skynyrd the williams. The warm up guy was the best. skynyrd looked tired and beat up. they just went thru there song list as fast as they could and got the hell out of there. williams was so loud half the crowd got up and left. JT mpls
• Sarafina from Kenosha, Withankyou oldpink!!!! now i just feel stupid though.
• Oldpink from New Castle, InTo sara from Kenosha, United Kingdom,
  "Blow" in this song is slang for cocaine. There is a direct reference in the line "There's too much coke, and too much smoke..."
• Deb from Jacksonville, FlAllen Collins wreck was on Plummer Grant Rd almost a mile from his home. He was my neighbor. And a good one.
• Sara from Kenosha, United Kingdomi love this song, and it is crazy with the flames and everything. but im confused on one line, what does he mean by blow? whats that mean?
• Tyler from Greeneville, Tnfreaky, they sing about death and the album has a pic of the band in flames. then some members die in a plane crash.
• Randy Howe from Mobile, Al, AlSo, skynyrd, the group, they had their ups and downs. Like everyone. yall people talk too much. its annoying. Quit the arguement. Listen to music. Hear the color. Grow up. Just listen to the much. Accept it. don't argue it.
• Alan from Rochester, NyI learned something today about this song...thanks, guys. (that it may have been a reference to something wider than Rossington's drug problems)
  
  Rossington being the only surviving Skynyrd member, in spite of what this song represents, reminds me of how Paul is one of the remaining Beatles, despite the whole "Paul is Dead" shtick.
  
  I certainly could call this the best Skynyrd song I know of. Flew in under the Freebird/Sweet Home Alabama radar, that's for sure...that seems to happen a lot: even if the Big Hit(TM) was a solid song, look closer and find some hidden gems.
• Reed from New Ulm, MnI never knew the lyric said: the smell of death surrounds you ------i always thought they said:
  the smell that's around you.
  
• Brad from Long Island, NyHey Randy, didnt Billy Powell die like 2 days ago. I guess he wouldnt be considered an original member technically anyway. But given the impetus for this song, it is ironic that only Gary survives
• Jami from Redding, CaAfter all these years it's still a song I just have to crank up and jam to, even if it does bother the hell out of my kids.
• Oldpink from New Castle, InAnyone who thinks that Skynyrd wrote fluff needs to listen again to Ronny's clear words on this.
  The guitars are also incredible.
  Great song, great album.
  Essential, alongside Pronounced, and Second Helping.
• Mark from Springfield, MaProbably my favorite Skynyrd song, overall. Not to mention the best anti-drug song ever.
• Jenelle Canevari from New Orleans, LaThis song is awesome! Some of the best guitar playing ever! and Ronnie is the best ever. one of the greatest Skynyrd songs ever. Cajun Queen, from Louisiana
• Jeanette from Mcgrady, NcCassie Gaines, Steve's sister, was a back up singer for the band. She was the reason Steve had a chance to try out for the band.They band agreed to let him try out for the band, more or less, as a favor to Cassie. To their surprise he was just what they were looking for. The two other back up singers were Jo Jo Billingsly and Leslie Hawkins.
• Prad from Pondicherry, Indiaanyone know a song similar to this by lynyrd?
• Randy from Colerain Twp., OhAndre, unless you have actually heard this song, don't knock it. And from reading your postings, it appears that you had nothing else to do on a computer. And Mark from Marion, In., I have viewed that "Street Survivors" album cover from every aspect- and I simply do not see such an image of a grinning skull from that window above Ronnie. Please don't tell me that you also like spending time viewing bibical images from potato chips.
• Randy from Colerain Twp., Oh1977 definitely was not a good year for Gary Rossington. How ironic is it that despite both horrific crashes he is the only surviving original member of 'Skynyrd left. I also notice that there's that loud 'whistle' on the song "Call me the Breeze".
• Rick from Tuscola, United Statesmy favorite skynyrd song. sure freebird is a classic but that smell has real life lyrics and great music. how many great musicians have we lost to plane crashes.
• Sanitarium from Sharon, Kstobacco had nothin to do with the song. It was about drinkin and drugs, plain and simple.
• Mark from Marion, InFor those of you who have the original "flames" album/cd cover. Van Zant is wearing a t-shirt that is a copy of Neil Youngs' Tonight's The Night; an album rife with drugs and death. Neils dark classic. If you have the Street Survivors cover...look at Van Zant. Above him is a flaming window. Turn the cover upside down and it becomes a grinning skull. Very eerie.
• Steven from Boca Raton, FlI produced the song, it was about Allen and his Herion problem. There is a saying among "H" users that the smell of cooking the Heroin brings you right back to shooting it. Everyone was able to kick except for Allen. After the car accident Allen's habit was worse than ever and caused him to die of pneumonia. Rolling him on stage was killing us all and he just gave up..
• Jeanette from Mcgrady, NcGary and Allen were actually in car accidents, separately, in the same weekend. This song expresses Ronnie's disgust with drinking and driving and the Rock n Roll lifestyle in general, that they were very much a part of. This song was released on Street Survivors, their last album. This is not the crash that paralyzed Allen Collins. The crash that paralyzed Allen occured some time after the plane crash and the death of his wife. Sad, Allen was a guitar GOD.
• Johnny from Los Angeles, CaThis song is about Ronnie Van Zant getting tired of the Rock'n'Roll lifestyle. The members of Lynyrd Skynyrd took so many drugs (There's too much coke and too much smoke). He stopped and tried to convince other members to do so. (Stick them needles in your arm I know I been there before) but drugs were to addicting for the other members he knew it if they didn't stop they'd meet a cruel demise (Stuck a needle in your arm So take another toke, have a blow for your nose One more drink fool, will drown you Just one more fix, Lord might do the trick, One hell of a price for you to get your kicks ). Unfortunately, it did. RIP Ronnie. You could see the future in this underrated song.
• Garrett from Clermont, FlThe first time i listned to this song I was trying to figure out the words like "toke" and phrases like "blow for your nose" meant.of course I was 5 when I heard it
• Carrie from Roanoke, VaThe first time I listened to the song, I couldn't help laughing at the title...I thought it was about a person who lived in a dirty house with a moldy refrigerator. Once I listened to the lyrics, though, I learned to really appreciate the song and how serious its meaning was, even though the slang and sarcasm make its tone a lot lighter. Impressive guitar work, and I've never heard anyone who could whistle for as long as Van Zant could. It's a unique song, and an easy one to appreciate because unlike most rock songs it's not all about newfound love, lost love, or sex (well, at least not primarily). For this reason, this was the song I sang when my sorority sisters dared me to sing a favorite song as part of my induction. Great effort.
• Kevin from Jacksonville , FlI was one of the first people on the scene of Allen Collins last car crash which killed his girlfriend and left him in a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. The wreck occured on plummers cove road in Mandarin Florida just a half mile from Collins' house on Julington Creek road.
• John from Cudahy, CaWasnt this song released a year before the accident happened?
• Tom from Bridgeport, CtLynyrd Skynyrd were very much into drinking drugs and ETC.... The reason Ronnie wrote this song was that he himself was getting sick and tired of being wasted all the time.And to send a message to Gary Allen and Billy that their drug and drinking binges and crashing cars were ruining the group.As a matter of fact Garys Accident ruined a chance for them to co headline a tour with Aerosmith.As Ronnie said about the Car wrecks "they were just plain dumb and stupid"
• Mark from Bourbon, Mofrom the information that i have is that gary rossington has change his life and has two little grils
• Samantha from Janesville, WiAwesome song! Lynyrd Skynyrd didn't want to be involved with alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. That is not common during those days. It just shows that they did everything to make a difference. Lynyrd Skynyrd is the best band that ever played!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Nick from Milwaukee, WiMy favorite song ever. It is featured in Joe Dirt twice
  ~Nick, Milwaukee, WI
• Michael from Greensboro, Ncactually, there were three female backup singers on this track.....Cassie Gains, Jo Jo Billingsly and Leslie Hawkins.
  
  michael/greensboro, nc
• Michael from Greensboro, NcTo me, this song has a lot of meaning. Not only from a musical standpoint, but lyrically as well. In my opinion, Ronnie Van Zant is a "poor man's poet". Also, "I" like the guitar parts, the way that they arranged, mixed, and the general feel of everything together. Boyyom line, as with all their songs......I can relate. I would venture to say that most people can relate.
• Adam from Durham, United Stateslol i didnt get this at first, thought it was about a smelly dude, but yeah the message really speaks to me ither way, we've all met our share of drunks and smelly pple, and yeah i like it no matter what my sister says
• Angie from Rockmart, GaAlways loved this song, as well as it's message.
  
• Greg from Asheville, Nc"About Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington"
  
  
  is it really? the first two lines may be, but the rest of the song is about addiction (drug, alcohol, tobacco). Was not Gary intoxicated? thence the reference to "whisky bottle, brand new car"
  
  that seems to more accurately describe the song, but please correct me if i'm wrong.
• Mick from Corpus Christi, TxIn my view, one of the best rock-n-roll songs ever. Artistically, this song was the best Skynyrd wrote. Very good lyrics, guitar lines, bass, vocals, and a variety of dimensions.
• Victor from Vienna, VaAppears in the movie "Blow" (2001) as George Jung (Johnny Depp) is getting ready to go to the hospital with his wife, who is about to give birth to his baby girl.
• Dave from Cardiff, WalesSteve Gaines' guitar playing on this song was absolutely amazing! What a pity tragedy struck so soon afterwards... This track also featured a rare female vocal behind Van Zant's own vocals - presumably they were those of Steve Gaines' sister, Cassie.

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