A Saturday Night Special is a cheap handgun. When asked on a radio interview, Gary Rossington said that this song was inspired by a poker game that resulted in the shooting of one of the players.
An acoustic version sung by Johnny Van Zant is featured on Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1994 album Endangered Species.
"Saturday Night Special" isn't just a song to Lynryrd Skynyrd; they really did believe in their gun-play! So much so that bass player Leon Wilkeson actually took to wearing a holster and a real gun onstage - luckily the gun was only loaded with blanks. During their earlier tours when they were still an opening act, they were opening for Black Sabbath at Nassau Coliseum, Long Island. Black Sabbath fans apparently found this Southern band a little too mellow for their taste, and rushed the stage with taunts. When one fan got too close, Wilkeson drew his pistol and fired a blank over the heads of the crowd. Everybody immediately backed off and the show completed without further incident.
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