When Lynyrd Skynyrd started out, they recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama, where they recorded an album in 1972 that contained this song. According to Roger Hawkins and David Hood, who were part of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, no record company would pick up the album because the demo reel with the album somehow got flipped when it left the studio, and when Skynyd's manager played it for record executives, it sounded muffled. The band ended up recording a new version of their album in Georgia with Al Kooper, which became their 1973 debut Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd. "Was I Right Or Wrong" didn't appear until 1978 when the album Skynyrd's First and... Last, which contained their original Muscle Shoals recordings.
When the album Second Helping was re-released, this was added to the album.
The song is about leaving home to follow your dreams only to return to a family that is deceased. It is not a reference to Ronnie's father, Lacy Van Zant, who is often referred to as the "Father of Southern Rock."
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