The song doesn't necessarily need to be historical.
A more existential approach might suggest a broader meaning, that of man's isolation in the face of his culture and traditions dying (or being killed) around him. Walker Percy-esque.
For us Southerners, the song expresses some of the frustrations we feel when witnessing the death of the culture that we love and that defines us. There's a definite, deliberate connection between past and present established in this song. In the beginning, the character is on a horse, in the rain, and images of cannons are evoked, seemingly implying the Civil War era. But in the last verse that really develops the story, the character is on a highway, going very fast on something that "rolls." Sounds like a car, which would be closer to the present.
The song doesn't necessarily need to be historical.
A more existential approach might suggest a broader meaning, that of man's isolation in the face of his culture and traditions dying (or being killed) around him. Walker Percy-esque.
For us Southerners, the song expresses some of the frustrations we feel when witnessing the death of the culture that we love and that defines us. There's a definite, deliberate connection between past and present established in this song. In the beginning, the character is on a horse, in the rain, and images of cannons are evoked, seemingly implying the Civil War era. But in the last verse that really develops the story, the character is on a highway, going very fast on something that "rolls." Sounds like a car, which would be closer to the present.
Fucking yankees.