In this song, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was warning about the dangers of hardcore drugs, which the band was just learning about.
In 2015, Guitar World honored guitarist Allen Collins' solo, and his use of the wah-wah pedal to inject the Southern rock song with a hit of '70s psychedelia, by ranking it at #19 on the magazine's list of greatest wah solos of all time.
Lyrics
Thirty days, lord and thirty nights
I'm comin' home on an airplane flight
Mama waitin' at the ticket line
Tell me son why do you stand there cryin'
It was the needle and the spoon
And a trip to the moon
Took me away, took me away
I've been feelin' so sick inside
Got to get better, lord before I die
Seven doctors couldn't help my head, they said
You better quit son before your dead
With the needle, with the spoon
And a trip to the moon
Gonna take me away, lord gonna take me away
It was the needle and the spoon
I've seen a lot of people who thought they were cool
But then again, lord I've seen a lot of fools
Well, I hope you people, lord can hear what I say
You'll have your chance to hit it some day
Don't mess with the needle or a spoon
And a trip to the moon
Well it'll take me away, lord they're going to bury you boy
Don't mess with the needle, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
Songwriters: Allen Collins / Ronnie Van Zant
The Needle and the Spoon lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
