Tobacco Road
Johnny & Edgar Winter Lyrics


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I was born in a trunk
Mother died and my daddy got drunk
Left me here to die or grow
In the middle of Tobacco Road

Grew up in a dusty shack
And all I had was a'hangin' on my back
Only you know how I loathe
This place called Tobacco Road

But it's home
The only life I've ever known
Only you know how I loathe
Tobacco Road

I'm gonna leave and get a job
With the help and the grace from above
Save some money, get rich I know
Bring it back to Tobacco Road

Bring Dynamite and a crane
Blow you up, start all over again
Build a town be proud to show
Give the name Tobacco Road

Cause it's home
The only life I've ever known




Oh I despise and disapprove you
But I love ya, 'cause it's home

Overall Meaning

The song "Tobacco Road" by Johnny and Edgar Winter is a poignant depiction of the singer's life, from his birth to his eventual hope of bettering his situation. The first verse tells us that the singer was born in difficult circumstances. His mother passed away and his father turned to alcoholism, leaving the child all alone in the world. Tobacco Road, a real-life location in North Carolina, is where he grew up. The second verse adds to our understanding of this place - it is dusty and impoverished, and the singer has very little to his name. He despises it there, but at the same time, it is the only home he has ever known.


It is in the third verse where the singer expresses hope that he will be able to leave Tobacco Road one day. He puts his faith in God, hoping for a better future. He plans to leave, earn some money, and then return to help his fellow residents climb out of poverty. But the final verse shows the ultimate irony - he gets so frustrated with the world that he wants to blow it all up and start again. But even with all of its troubles, he still loves Tobacco Road and calls it home.


Line by Line Meaning

I was born in a trunk
I was born into a family with nothing, living in abject poverty.


Mother died and my daddy got drunk
After my mother passed away, my father turned to drinking and was unable to care for me properly.


Left me here to die or grow
My father abandoned me to my fate; I had to fend for myself from then on.


In the middle of Tobacco Road
I was left in a place called Tobacco Road, which was not a desirable place to live in.


Grew up in a dusty shack
I was raised in a small, worn-out house that was covered in dust and provided very little comfort.


And all I had was a'hangin' on my back
I had nothing but the clothes on my back; I had nothing else to my name.


Only you know how I loathe
Only those who have experienced living in Tobacco Road can understand how much I dislike it.


This place called Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road is a place that brings nothing but misery and hardship to those who live there.


But it's home
Despite all the hardships, Tobacco Road is the only place I've ever called home.


The only life I've ever known
I have never lived anywhere else or experienced any other kind of life.


I'm gonna leave and get a job
I plan to leave Tobacco Road to find work and support myself.


With the help and the grace from above
I'm hoping for some divine intervention to help me achieve my goals.


Save some money, get rich I know
I plan to save up some money and become wealthy one day.


Bring it back to Tobacco Road
My ultimate goal is to return to Tobacco Road and share my wealth with the people there.


Bring Dynamite and a crane
Tobacco Road is so run-down and depressing that it needs to be completely destroyed and rebuilt.


Blow you up, start all over again
To create a better life for the people of Tobacco Road, everything there needs to be destroyed and rebuilt from scratch.


Build a town be proud to show
Once Tobacco Road is rebuilt, it will become a town that people can be proud to call home and show off to others.


Give the name Tobacco Road
The new and improved town will still retain the name Tobacco Road, as a reminder of where it came from and how far it has come.


Oh I despise and disapprove you
I really don't like Tobacco Road and everything it represents.


But I love ya, 'cause it's home
Despite all the negative aspects of Tobacco Road, it's still the only place I can call home, and I have a deep attachment to it.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN D. LOUDERMILK

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@ptalley47eh

The Winter brothers. There's nobody like them. Each so talented in their own right. I could listen to them all day. Thanks for this video!

@nickphillips7319

Couldn't agree more.

@iconoclast4440

Winter, not Winters.

@ptalley47eh

@@iconoclast4440 Oooops. I meant WINTER.

@nickphillips7319

@@iconoclast4440 fair point. But was it not Edgar Winters White Trash? 🤠

@reedbender1179

@@iconoclast4440 correct, but two Winters are better than one ! 🤩

5 More Replies...

@kelanders

The older I get the more I appreciate what an extraordinary talent Johnny Winter was. He was the real deal, a musician’s musician

@robpattison6606

have you heard a blues guitarist named Eric Gales?

@theherbpuffer

A guitarists guitarist

@BenErasBen

Get tears in my eye when I hear him, too good to be true

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