Copperhead Road
Steve Earle Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

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
He never come back from Copperhead Road

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

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road" tell the story of a family's involvement in the moonshining business over several generations. The song's protagonist, John Lee Pettimore, comes from a long line of moonshiners, and his grandfather was so notorious that even the revenue man couldn't catch him. However, John's father wasn't as lucky and was arrested by the sheriff, who also happened to be his cousin. John himself was drafted to fight in Vietnam and, upon returning home, decided to continue the family business but with a new twist. Instead of just making moonshine, he started growing marijuana and avoiding the DEA's surveillance by planting it up in the holler on Copperhead Road.


Line by Line Meaning

Well my name's John Lee Pettimore
Introducing the singer of the story.


Same as my daddy and his daddy before
He comes from a long line of men with the same name.


You hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here
His grandfather was rarely seen in town.


He only come to town about twice a year
He visited town very infrequently.


He'd buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper line
Grandaddy purchased ingredients to make moonshine.


Everybody knew that he made moonshine
Making moonshine was a well-known practice in the community.


Now the revenue man wanted Grandaddy bad
The government was trying to catch Grandaddy for moonshining.


Headed up the holler with everything he had
Grandaddy fled with his possessions to avoid getting caught.


'Fore my time but I've been told
The artist did not witness this event personally.


He never come back from Copperhead Road
Grandaddy never returned from his escape.


Now Daddy ran whiskey in a big block Dodge
The singer's father also made moonshine.


Bought it at an auction at the Mason's Lodge
Daddy bought his car from an auction.


Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side
Daddy painted the Sheriff's name on his car to avoid suspicion.


Just shot a coat of primer then he looked inside
He painted the car before inspecting it.


Well him and my uncle tore that engine down
The singer's father and uncle worked on the car's engine.


I still remember that rumblin' sound
The artist recalls the sound of the car.


When the Sheriff came around in the middle of the night
The Sheriff came to inspect the area at night.


Heard mama cryin', knew something wasn't right
The singer's mother reacted emotionally to the visit.


He was headed down to Knoxville with the weekly load
Daddy was transporting his moonshine to Knoxville.


You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road
The smell of moonshine filled Copperhead Road.


I volunteered for the Army on my birthday
The artist joined the Army on his birthday.


They draft the white trash first, 'round here anyway
He felt that poor white people were more likely to be drafted.


I done two tours of duty in Vietnam
The singer served in Vietnam twice.


I came home with a brand new plan
He returned from war with a new idea.


I take the seed from Columbia and Mexico
The singer began growing drugs.


I just plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road
He grows drugs in the hills of Copperhead Road.


And now the D.E.A.'s got a chopper in the air
The government is now trying to catch him for drug production.


I wake up screaming like I'm back over there
The artist suffers from PTSD.


I learned a thing or two from Charlie don't you know
He learned tactics from the Vietnamese military.


You'd better stay away from Copperhead Road
The singer warns others to avoid Copperhead Road.


Copperhead Road
A repeated refrain of the title of the song.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Steve Earle

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@_Pallaton

Anyone still listening to this in 2024? 🇺🇸💪🏻

@annehoward140

I was today years old ( I'm 66years old) when I heard this, I'm British, so that's my excuse. What an amazing song, what an amazing singer!

@pandora58

Yes. Love this song

@Maria-tm2eu

yes... and I like it.

@peterbuckmaster581

Another Brit here. Fantastic song! ​@@annehoward140

@jgromoll

Been in my favorites for about 5 years.

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@marythacker4802

My five times great grandfather, born in Scotland, moved to America in early 1770s. Lived in Philadelphia til after the War of Independence. He was in the Militiamen who fought the British. After America was free, he moved to Ross's Landing, now known as Chattanooga, TN. He died in 1831 and is buried in Blount County, TN. Of him it was said, even in his published obit, that he made the finest whiskey known to man. There were no laws at that time prohibiting folks from making their own. I imagine that this would have been some of the early beginnings of whiskey making in Tennessee. So the Moonshine heritage in Tennessee dates WAY back

@selsotello3334

History makes us

@robinivens7870

Interesting

@jacobrobinson175

That's awesome that your family knows their history that good. 🤙

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