Copperhead Road
Steve Earle Lyrics
Well my name's John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before
You hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here
He only come to town about twice a year
He'd buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper line
Everybody knew that he made moonshine
Now the revenue man wanted Grandaddy bad
Headed up the holler with everything he had
'Fore my time but I've been told
Now Daddy ran whiskey in a big block Dodge
Bought it at an auction at the Mason's Lodge
Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side
Just shot a coat of primer then he looked inside
Well him and my uncle tore that engine down
I still remember that rumblin' sound
When the Sheriff came around in the middle of the night
Heard mama cryin', knew something wasn't right
He was headed down to Knoxville with the weekly load
You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road
I volunteered for the Army on my birthday
They draft the white trash first, 'round here anyway
I done two tours of duty in Vietnam
I came home with a brand new plan
I take the seed from Columbia and Mexico
I just plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road
And now the D.E.A.'s got a chopper in the air
I wake up screaming like I'm back over there
I learned a thing or two from Charlie don't you know
You'd better stay away from Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, O/B/O CAPASSO, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Steve Earle
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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The title song "Copperhead Road" tells of a Vietnam War veteran, scion of a rural moonshine bootlegging clan, who returns home to Johnson County, Tennessee (Copperhead road is an actual road near Mountain City, TN). The song also inspired a popular line dance timed to the beat of the song.
Lyrics:
Well my name's John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before
You hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here
He only come to town about twice a year Read Full BioThe title song "Copperhead Road" tells of a Vietnam War veteran, scion of a rural moonshine bootlegging clan, who returns home to Johnson County, Tennessee (Copperhead road is an actual road near Mountain City, TN). The song also inspired a popular line dance timed to the beat of the song.
Lyrics:
Well my name's John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before
You hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here
He only come to town about twice a year
He'd buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper line
Everybody knew that he made moonshine
Now the revenue man wanted Grandaddy bad
He headed up the holler with everything he had
It's before my time but I've been told
He never came back from Copperhead Road
Now Daddy ran the whiskey in a big block Dodge
Bought it at an auction at the Mason's Lodge
Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side
Just shot a coat of primer then he looked inside
Well him and my uncle tore that engine down
I still remember that rumblin' sound
Well the sheriff came around in the middle of the night
Heard mama cryin', knew something wasn't right
He was headed down to Knoxville with the weekly load
You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road
I volunteered for the Army on my birthday
They draft the white trash first,'round here anyway
I done two tours of duty in Vietnam
And I came home with a brand new plan
I take the seed from Colombia and Mexico
I plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road
Well the D.E.A.'s got a chopper in the air
I wake up screaming like I'm back over there
I learned a thing or two from ol' Charlie don't you know
You better stay away from Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road
Lyrics:
Well my name's John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before
You hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here
He only come to town about twice a year Read Full BioThe title song "Copperhead Road" tells of a Vietnam War veteran, scion of a rural moonshine bootlegging clan, who returns home to Johnson County, Tennessee (Copperhead road is an actual road near Mountain City, TN). The song also inspired a popular line dance timed to the beat of the song.
Lyrics:
Well my name's John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before
You hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here
He only come to town about twice a year
He'd buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper line
Everybody knew that he made moonshine
Now the revenue man wanted Grandaddy bad
He headed up the holler with everything he had
It's before my time but I've been told
He never came back from Copperhead Road
Now Daddy ran the whiskey in a big block Dodge
Bought it at an auction at the Mason's Lodge
Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side
Just shot a coat of primer then he looked inside
Well him and my uncle tore that engine down
I still remember that rumblin' sound
Well the sheriff came around in the middle of the night
Heard mama cryin', knew something wasn't right
He was headed down to Knoxville with the weekly load
You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road
I volunteered for the Army on my birthday
They draft the white trash first,'round here anyway
I done two tours of duty in Vietnam
And I came home with a brand new plan
I take the seed from Colombia and Mexico
I plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road
Well the D.E.A.'s got a chopper in the air
I wake up screaming like I'm back over there
I learned a thing or two from ol' Charlie don't you know
You better stay away from Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road
Copperhead Road
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Debbie Boyd
Bless all who served, and felt this song in their heart and soul.
“Volunteered for the army on my birthday
Draft the white trash first 'round here anyway
Done my two tours of duty in Vietnam
I came home with a brand new plan
I take the seed from Colombia and Mexico
Just plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road
Now the D.E.A's got a chopper in the air
Wake up screaming like I'm back over there
Learned a thing or two from Charlie don't you know
You better stay away from Copperhead Road”
Michael Ulbricht
Absolutely. Earle moved more towards Rock on this record which he called "power twang." Here are the players on the song with Earle:
Donny Roberts – guitars, 6-string bass
Bill Lloyd – acoustic guitar, 12-string electric guitar
Bucky Baxter – pedal steel, lap steel, Dobro
Ken Moore – synthesizer and organ
John Barlow Jarvis – piano
Kelley Looney – bass
Kurt Custer – drums
Take care!
snapfinger1
Doesn’t matter what style of music you think this is. It’s the most brilliant storytelling you’ll ever hear.
Lisa Taylor
That's good old days i rise where they made shine sold it on Sunday morning There a copperhead Road in watuga Tenn Run back Then was making alot of Money great song
Bill Smith
@Brent Burns You could say the same for Springsteen's Born in the USA or I Was Only 19 (Australian band called Redgum). Both have an equally good narrative about the human condition.
Brent Burns
When one studies music in a formal institution, this song should be required study. Just as you have said great story telling and lyric structure.
Jack Russell
@JakeManDude Saved from what ? ? ?
JakeManDude
Jesus loves you and died on the cross for your sins and if you believe in Him and accept Him as your Lord and savior you are saved.
Rick Eckloff
Ain't no other song that connects three generations the way that this song does
Pure genius 👏
Rick Eckloff
@WalkerLane
Good one
You got me there!
WalkerLane
"I drink alone" connects three generations. "My whole family done give up on me, and it makes me feel oh so bad. The only one who will hang out with me is my dear old granddad and we drink alone, yeah with nobody else. Yeah, you know when I drink alone I prefer to be by myself."
E3ECO
Weird thing is I never heard of it until I saw it on "Top Gear."