Daniels began writing and performing in the 1950s. In 1964, Daniels wrote a song called "It Hurts Me" which Elvis Presley recorded. He worked as a session musician, including playing on three Bob Dylan albums during 1969 and 1970. Daniels recorded his first solo album, Charlie Daniels, in 1970. His first hit, the novelty song "Uneasy Rider", came off his 1972 second album, Honey in the Rock, and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1974, Daniels organized the first in a series of Volunteer Jam concerts based in or around Nashville, Tennessee. Except for a three-year gap in the late 1980s, these have continued ever since.
In 1975, he had a top 30 hit as leader of the Charlie Daniels Band (CDB) with the Southern rock self-identification anthem "The South's Gonna Do It Again". "Long Haired Country Boy" was also a minor hit in that year.
Daniels won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance in 1979 for "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", which reached #3 on the charts.
Subsequent Daniels pop hits included "In America" (#11 in 1980), "The Legend of Wooley Swamp" (#31 in 1980), and "Still in Saigon" (#22 in 1982).
In the late 1980s and 1990s several of Daniels' albums and singles were hits on the country charts. Daniels also released several gospel and Christian records.
Charlie Daniels has never shied away from politics. "The South's Gonna Do It" had a mild message of Southern cultural identity within the Southern rock movement. Daniels was an early supporter of Jimmy Carter's presidential bid and performed at his January 1977 inauguration.
"In America" was a reaction to the 1979-1981 Iran Hostage Crisis; it described a patriotic, united America where "we'll all stick together and you can take that to the bank / That's the cowboys and the hippies and the rebels and the yanks." In contrast, "Still in Saigon" (written by Dan Daley) was an effective portrayal of the plight of the American Vietnam veteran ten years after the war; it was part of an early 1980s wave of attention to the subject, in contrast to treatments such as Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." and "Shut Out the Light", Billy Joel's "Goodnight Saigon", and somewhat later Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road".
In 1990, Daniels' country hit "Simple Man" seemingly advocated a pseudo-Biblical form of vigilantism; lines such as "Just take them [rapists, killers, child abusers] out in the swamp / Put 'em on their knees and tie 'em to a stump / Let the rattlers and the bugs and the alligators do the rest," got Daniels considerable media attention and talk show visits.
In 2003, Daniels published an Open Letter to the Hollywood Bunch in defence of George W. Bush's Iraq policy. His 2003 book Ain't No Rag: Freedom, Family, and the Flag contains this letter as well as many other personal statements. During the 2004 presidential campaign, Daniels acknowledged that having never served in the military himself, he did not have the right to criticize John Kerry's service record.
In 2005, he has made a cameo appearance along with Larry the Cable Guy, Kid Rock, and Hank Williams, Jr. in Gretchen Wilson's music video for the song "All Jacked Up", whose album has been released.
In November 2007, Daniels was invited by Martina McBride to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
In October 2016, Daniels officially became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
On October 26, 2018, Daniels released a new side album project that was not solo or CDB, but a new band called Beau Weevils, along with CDB bass player, Charlie Hayward, producer James Stroud on drums and Billy Crain on guitar.
Uneasy Rider '88
Charlie Daniels Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And figured we wanted to go somewhere
So we loaded up in my ragtop Chevrolet
We had a little bit of money
And a whole lot of show
And with Hank Jr. blaring on the radio
We got us a tank full of gas
And we was on our way
We figured we'd go down to New Orleans
We were barrelling down old 17
When a man with a blinking red light
Was on our tail
He said you were doing 60 in a 45
But I'm gonna let you go this time
But if I catch you again
I'm gonna slap you in the county jail
We said thank you sir you sure been nice
And you ain't gonna have to tell us twice
And we were Southbound and down with the wind
Blowing in our faces
We kept on rolling and pretty soon
The radio was cooking out a Haggard tune
And we were pulling into Houston
Checking out all them places
I was feeling dry and I said I think
We ought to stop and get ourselves a drink
And old Jim said yeah 'cause we got time to kill
We kept on rolling and I seen this spot
And we pulled into the parking lot
Of this place called the Cloud Nine Bar and Grill
We walked through the door
And the place was jammed
The lights were low they had a punk rock band
And some orange haired feller singing about suicide
I said Jim this ain't our kind of place
He said well let's just have one round anyway
So against my better judgement we walked on inside
Went up to the bar and we sat down
This feller walked up and said I'll buy this round
And he sat down on the barstool next to Jim
He looked like a girl but he talked like a guy
He had lipstick on and mascara in his eyes
And everybody in that place looked just about like him
I said Jim this ain't our kind of bar
Let's just go on out and get back in the car
'Cause there's gonna be trouble
Ain't no sense in taking a chance
We was getting up getting ready to leave
When somebody grabbed old Jim by the sleeve
And this good looking girl was asking my buddy to dance
I said Jim don't do it there's something missing
There's fellers dancing and fellers kissing
There's a feller in high heeled shoes wearing panty hose
He said partner I just can't turn this down
You just go over there and have one more round
And I'll dance with the lady
And we'll get on down the road
So he walked away and left me alone
But this funny looking feller kept coming on
And he was making me mad with some of the things he said
Then he put his hand on my knee
I said if you don't get your paw off me
I'm gonna locate your nose around
The other side of your head
He said I love it when you get that fire in your eye
I said well partner try this on for size
And I unloaded on him and he went out like a light
Everybody in that place must have been his friend
They all headed for me I said this is the end
But where I come from we don't give up
Without a fight
They were screaming and yelling and scratching and clawing
I was punching and hitting and kicking and pawing
I was holding my own 'cause I've been in a scrap or two
Old Jim come running up out of the blue
And that gal he was with come running up too
And proceeded to beat on me with a high heel shoe
I grabbed her by the hair it came off in my hand
And that beautiful girl was just a beautiful man
And old Jim just got sick right there on the floor
He dropped that dude like a shot from a gun
Smeared his lipstick made his makeup run
And me and old Jim started fighting our way to the door
We lit out of there in that Chevrolet
I put in on the floor and it stayed that way
We were going down the highway
Doing about a hundred and ten
We were headed for home and we was getting nearer
Then a red light came on the rear view mirror
And that same blame cop was pulling us over again
Now I'm sitting here in this county jail
I had to call my daddy to go our bail
But I learned me a lesson
That I never will forget again
I've done give up drinking I've give up bars
And running around the country in souped up cars
I'm going back where the women are women
And the men are men
In Charlie Daniels's song Uneasy Rider, the singer and his buddy take a road trip in his ragtop Chevrolet, fueled by money and an intense desire to go somewhere. The two plan to visit New Orleans but run into a cop who pulls them over for speeding. The cop lets them off with a warning but warns them of dire consequences if he catches them again. The two continue their journey until they stop at a bar called Cloud Nine, which turns out to be a punk rock bar filled with individuals they don't relate to. Despite feeling uncomfortable, Jim convinces the singer to stay for one drink. While in the bar, a man who looks like a woman chats up the singer, flirts with him, and touches his leg. The singer warns him to back off, but the man doesn't listen. Frustrated, the singer hits him, which causes a brawl that involves everyone in the bar. After escaping and driving home, the singer realizes that he's going to jail for his actions.
The lyrics to Uneasy Rider reflect the singer's unease and discomfort in situations that are unfamiliar to him. He and Jim are fish out of water in the Cloud Nine bar, surrounded by punk rockers, crossdressers, and other people they don't understand. The singer is initially hesitant to stay, but Jim convinces him to have a drink, which leads to a confrontation with a man who threatens his personal space. The song is a commentary on the fear and alienation that can accompany exploring new places and meeting new people.
Line by Line Meaning
Me and my buddy got us a wild hare
My friend and I had an impulsive idea
And figured we wanted to go somewhere
We wanted to travel
So we loaded up in my ragtop Chevrolet
We got into my convertible car
We had a little bit of money
And a whole lot of show
We didn't have much money, but we had a lot of confidence
And with Hank Jr. blaring on the radio
We were listening to Hank Williams Jr. songs loudly
We got us a tank full of gas
And we was on our way
We filled up the gas tank and started driving
We figured we'd go down to New Orleans
We planned to visit New Orleans
We were barrelling down old 17
We were driving very fast down highway 17
When a man with a blinking red light
Was on our tail
A police officer with flashing lights was following us
He said you were doing 60 in a 45
But I'm gonna let you go this time
The officer said we were speeding, but he wouldn't give us a ticket this time
But if I catch you again
I'm gonna slap you in the county jail
The officer warned us that we would go to jail if we got caught speeding again
We said thank you sir you sure been nice
And you ain't gonna have to tell us twice
We were grateful and promised to drive more carefully
And we were Southbound and down with the wind
Blowing in our faces
We were driving quickly and the wind was blowing our hair
We kept on rolling and pretty soon
The radio was cooking out a Haggard tune
And we were pulling into Houston
Checking out all them places
We continued to drive and listen to a Merle Haggard song, while looking at the sights in Houston
I was feeling dry and I said I think
We ought to stop and get ourselves a drink
And old Jim said yeah 'cause we got time to kill
I was thirsty and suggested that we stop for a drink, and my friend Jim agreed because we had time
We kept on rolling and I seen this spot
And we pulled into the parking lot
Of this place called the Cloud Nine Bar and Grill
We still continued to drive until we saw a bar called the Cloud Nine Bar and Grill and decided to stop there
We walked through the door
And the place was jammed
The lights were low they had a punk rock band
And some orange haired feller singing about suicide
The bar was crowded and there was a punk band playing. There was also a guy with orange hair singing about suicide
I said Jim this ain't our kind of place
He said well let's just have one round anyway
So against my better judgement we walked on inside
I told Jim that the bar wasn't for us, but he convinced me to stay and have a drink anyway
Went up to the bar and we sat down
This feller walked up and said I'll buy this round
And he sat down on the barstool next to Jim
We went to the bar and a guy bought us a drink and sat next to Jim
He looked like a girl but he talked like a guy
He had lipstick on and mascara in his eyes
And everybody in that place looked just about like him
The guy looked feminine, but spoke like a man and had makeup on. Everyone in the bar also looked like him
I said Jim this ain't our kind of bar
Let's just go on out and get back in the car
'Cause there's gonna be trouble
Ain't no sense in taking a chance
I again told Jim that we should leave because there might be trouble and it wasn't safe for us to stay
We was getting up getting ready to leave
When somebody grabbed old Jim by the sleeve
And this good looking girl was asking my buddy to dance
As we were about to leave, a girl asked Jim to dance and grabbed him by the arm
I said Jim don't do it there's something missing
There's fellers dancing and fellers kissing
There's a feller in high heeled shoes wearing panty hose
I cautioned Jim not to dance because something wasn't right in that bar. There were men dancing with men and a guy wearing high heels and pantyhose
He said partner I just can't turn this down
You just go over there and have one more round
And I'll dance with the lady
And we'll get on down the road
Jim couldn't resist the offer to dance, so he asked me to have another drink and he would meet me outside after they danced
So he walked away and left me alone
But this funny looking feller kept coming on
And he was making me mad with some of the things he said
Jim left and a strange guy kept bothering me and saying things that made me angry
Then he put his hand on my knee
I said if you don't get your paw off me
I'm gonna locate your nose around
The other side of your head
The guy touched my leg, and I warned him to remove his hand or I would punch him
He said I love it when you get that fire in your eye
I said well partner try this on for size
And I unloaded on him and he went out like a light
The guy commented on my aggressive behavior, so I hit him and he passed out
Everybody in that place must have been his friend
They all headed for me I said this is the end
But where I come from we don't give up
Without a fight
Everyone in the bar was his friend, and they all attacked me. However, I fought back because we don't give up easily
They were screaming and yelling and scratching and clawing
I was punching and hitting and kicking and pawing
I was holding my own 'cause I've been in a scrap or two
The fight was intense, and both sides were fighting back with everything they had. I was fighting well because I had been in fights before
Old Jim come running up out of the blue
And that gal he was with come running up too
And proceeded to beat on me with a high heel shoe
Jim came back and a girl he was dancing with also joined the fight by hitting me with her high heel shoe
I grabbed her by the hair it came off in my hand
And that beautiful girl was just a beautiful man
And old Jim just got sick right there on the floor
I grabbed the girl's hair but it came off in my hand, and I realized that she was actually a man. Jim got sick from seeing this
He dropped that dude like a shot from a gun
Smeared his lipstick made his makeup run
And me and old Jim started fighting our way to the door
Jim punched the guy and made his makeup run. Then, we both started fighting our way out of the bar
We lit out of there in that Chevrolet
I put in on the floor and it stayed that way
We were going down the highway
Doing about a hundred and ten
We quickly left the bar in my car, and I drove very fast down the highway
We were headed for home and we was getting nearer
Then a red light came on the rear view mirror
And that same blame cop was pulling us over again
We were getting closer to home when we saw the red light behind us. Unfortunately, the same police officer who pulled us over before stopped us again
Now I'm sitting here in this county jail
I had to call my daddy to go our bail
But I learned me a lesson
That I never will forget again
I am now in jail, and my dad had to bail us out. I learned a lesson that I will always remember
I've done give up drinking I've give up bars
And running around the country in souped up cars
I'm going back where the women are women
And the men are men
I decided to stop drinking, going to bars, and driving fast cars. I am going back to where things are simpler and traditional gender roles are observed
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHARLES EDWARD DANIELS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind