This is an opinionated caption contest

Kalen DeBoer’s ears have been burning all week from your hot guitar solos – I mean captions.

Let’s get down to business. This caption contest started with my Crowe Jam newsletter subscribers and then reached out to the AL.com and social media masses. Y’all do good work. Today I’ve included the Top 20 (and several more) fantastic song captions from every corner of the Lower Alabama internet and beyond. I’m grateful for all your crazy ideas. You are all winners in my sketchy book.

But if you want to win a fabulous prize – a signed print of your caption on the cartoon – you need to sign up for my Crowe Jam newsletter. Them’s the rules I made up just now. Go ahead. It’s free, easy and fun.

I loved-up all your captions, but here’s the secret: I gave extra credit for recognizing the white Fender Stratocaster guitar Coach DeBoer chose to play behind his head in the cartoon. It was a reference to Jimi Hendrix. Many rock guitarists have paid tribute to Hendrix by playing their axe behind the back, on top of their head, with their teeth and setting the thing on fire – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ritchie Blackmore come to mind – but it was Jimi who made electric guitar contortion, distortion and pyromania theatrics famous.

The featured winner at the top is Crowe Jammer David Essex with “Manic Depression” by Jimi Hendrix. After two losses before November, Alabama football fans can relate to the lyrics of this song. Perfect Hendrix song choice. Kudos, dude.

Jammer Elaine Eggers selected another Hendrix tune Crimson Tide fans may be feeling in Saban’s absence: “House Burning Down.” Well played, Elaine.

The other Hendrix-inspired caption on this list is “Purple Haze” from my friend and musician Mike Estep. If Mike signs up and wants a print, he’ll get one too.

Same goes for this world-famous local legend Fairhope/New Orleans-y singer-songwriter guitar dude who has a new album coming out this week. Go get yourself some Misery, Heartache and Death.

I’m proud to have Grayson Capps as a friend, neighbor and wise, artistic voice of reason. This man writes too many great songs to spend time on a silly football coach guitar caption contest. Yet here he is. A man of the people. A patron of the arts. He might get a print of this Skynyrd-inspired cartoon if he wants one.

“Gimme Three Steps” was also submitted by Andy Betbeze, and he could get a print too.

There were so many good ones to pick from. Go through the list, send me your favorites and let’s give ‘em all some love.

Subscribers listed first, here are some of the best of the rest:

“Don’t Stop Believing” – A message of hope from Jammer Mona Quin.

“The Song Remains the Same” – Winston Smith

“Rocky Top” (Commodores soulful funk version) – Donna Burgess

“Running Down a Dream” – Dianne Greene

“How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live” by JD Simo; “Helpless” by Old Crow Medicine Show – David Morris

“Time” – Donna Riley-Lein

“Not Sweet Home Alabama” and “I Came To Alabama And Got A Bandage On My Knee.” – Maury Brook

“Changes in Latitudes Changes in Attitudes” – Carol Bohatch

“Satisfaction” – Timothy Raths

“Highway to…WELL???” – JoeL

“Knockin on Heaven’s Door” – Paulette Aberts

“Take Me Back” (The Weeknd) – Tommy Olsen

“Feelin’ alright? I’m not feelin’ too good myself” – TwofbyC

Gotta love this one from AL.com reader Dave Taylor:

“Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” – Ronald Wyatt

“Sitting on the Dock of the Bay Watching the Tide Roll Away” – Gary Carter

“Ain’t No Sunshine When He’s Gone” (He being Saban) – Joel Abbott

“I Should Have Stayed At Washington Blues” – Kevin Snow

“Ring of Fire” – Caleb Holloway

“I Won’t Back Down” – Andrew Saab

“I Will Survive” – Cheryl Clarke

“Whipping Post” – Kathy Sills

“R-E-S-P-E-C-T” – Wade Wellborn

“Another One Bites the Dust” – Daniel Stephen

“Should I Stay or Should I Go?” – Dennis Fobes

“We Gotta Get Out of This Place” – B.B. Joyner

“Beast of Burden” – “Am I rough enough, am I tough enough?…” Bebe Kern

“Oh I Wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener” – Tuainfinity

“Mama Told Me (Not To Come)” – Mike Penn

And we’ll end it with this one from The Beatles:

“HELP” – Chris McLeod

Well done, y’all. I thoroughly enjoy working with you. I know I may have missed a few that belong up in here. Thanks for puttin’ up with me.

Keep on rocking!

Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe

JD Crowe is the cartoonist for Alabama Media Group and AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award for local and state cartoons by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix. Give him a holler @[email protected].