Although Uncle Tupelo broke up before it achieved commercial success, the band is renowned for its impact on the alternative country music scene. The group's first album, No Depression, became a byword for the genre and was widely influential. Uncle Tupelo's sound was unlike popular country music of the time, drawing inspiration from styles as diverse as the hardcore punk of The Minutemen and the country instrumentation and harmony of the Carter Family and Hank Williams. Farrar and Tweedy lyrics frequently referenced Middle America and the working class of Belleville.
Moon Shiner
Uncle Tupelo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For seventeen long years
And I spent all my money
On whisky and beer
And I go to some hollow
And set up my still
If whisky don't kill me
Lord, I don't know what will
And I go to some barroom
To drink with my friends
Where the women they can't follow
To see what I spend
God bless them pretty women
I wish they was mine
With breath as sweet as
The dew on the vine
Let me eat when I'm hungry
Let me drink when I'm dry
Two dollars when I'm hard up
Religion when I die
The whole world is a bottle
And life is but a dram
When the bottle gets empty
Lord, it sure ain't worth a damn
The lyrics to Uncle Tupelo's song "Moon Shiner" tells the tale of a man who has spent seventeen long years as a moonshiner, making his own whiskey and beer, and spending all of his money on it. He sets up his still in some hollow, hoping that the whiskey won't kill him. He then goes to a barroom to drink with his buddoies, where the women can't follow to see what he spends. He longs for the pretty women, and wishes they were his, with breath as sweet as the dew on the vine.
The second verse continues on with the man's desires: let him eat when he's hungry, drink when he's dry, and have some spare change when he's hard up. He wants religion when he dies, believing that life is just a dram, and the whole world is a bottle. However, when the bottle gets empty, life just isn't worth a damn.
Overall, the song seems to be a lamentation of a man who has been living his life on the edge, drinking and making his own whiskey. He knows that it's not a life that most would want, but he can't seem to shake the desire for it.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been a moonshiner
I have been making and selling illegal alcohol.
For seventeen long years
I have been involved in this trade for a long time.
And I spent all my money
All the money that I earned went into purchasing alcohol.
On whisky and beer
The two alcoholic beverages I drink and sell.
And I go to some hollow
I travel to some remote location in the woods.
And set up my still
I create my own equipment to manufacture illegal alcohol.
If whisky don't kill me
If drinking too much alcohol doesn't kill me.
Lord, I don't know what will
Then I don't know what else could harm me.
And I go to some barroom
I go to a nearby bar to socialize.
To drink with my friends
To enjoy a drink with my companions.
Where the women they can't follow
Where no women are allowed to enter.
To see what I spend
So they can't see how much money I spend on drinking.
God bless them pretty women
I praise attractive women.
I wish they was mine
I desire to be with them romantically.
With breath as sweet as
With a pleasant smell, like
The dew on the vine
The morning dew on grapevines.
Let me eat when I'm hungry
Allow me to consume food when I am hungry.
Let me drink when I'm dry
Permit me to consume alcohol when I am thirsty.
Two dollars when I'm hard up
Provide me with two dollars when I am broke.
Religion when I die
When I die, let religion guide my spirit.
The whole world is a bottle
The world we live in is like a bottle.
And life is but a dram
Our lifetime is like a small portion of alcohol.
When the bottle gets empty
When there is nothing left in the bottle.
Lord, it sure ain't worth a damn
It becomes worthless.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ana Souto
I've been a moonshiner
For seventeen long years
And I spent all my money
On whisky and beer
And I go to some hollow
And set up my still
If whisky don't kill me
Lord, I don't know what will
And I go to some barroom
To drink with my friends
Where the women they can't follow
To see what I spend
God bless them pretty women
I wish they was mine
With breath as sweet as
The dew on the vine
Let me eat when I'm hungry
Let me drink when I'm dry
Two dollars when I'm hard up
Religion when I die
The whole world is a bottle
And life is but a dram
When the bottle gets empty
Lord, it sure ain't worth a damn
GotLotsaFaith
Couple things....
1.) Peter Buck (R.E.M.) produced this LP... Just sayin' ... It may be one reason it sounds so fucking nice.. Whatever--who gives a fuck..
Two.) I have found, by and large, a great song usually has one particularly poignant lyric or phrase to draw wayward listeners into a blind alley and make a mugging that much more likely... For me, personally, it is held in the line:
"... Where the women, they can't follow... to see what I spend...etc... "
This has paralyzing effects; it comes off as devastatingly manly while holding beautifully humble, yet somehow, both these extremes occur at once; and it is upon this line that the entire experience hinges, however abstractly.
I'm sure Freud would have a field day with my case in point, but one cannot help the way a great song makes one feel. And, honestly, so few songs evoke a primal level of consternation and contemplation; thus, whenever one does, it needs to be acknowledged, completely. I tried to do that.
Thank you UT and PB.
rangers1919
This song has been around for a long, long time, and has unknown origins. People were performing it in the US and Ireland in the 1930's. This is my favorite version, even above Bob Dylan's version.
bernard mauge
Likewise
Shane Wilder
The harmonica in this song punches me right in the heart, in the best possible way.
J L
Ironically, the more country the sound, the less likely your chances are of hearing it on country radio. This is a great country song here, thanks for posting.
James Harleman
The pain in jay's voice combined with the harmonica makes this an incredible song
John Oberholtzer
There just isn't enough harmonica music in the world. Thank you, Uncle Tupelo!
Sooner in Texas.
John Oberholtzer gotta be my favorite instrument for sure... Can't beat a harp when it sounds like that!
Michael C Aoun
The first time I saw them was probably 1985 at a huge outdoor campus party called "Bid Day Bash" at Mizzou (The University of Missouri Columbia). This is the "three hour away town" that inspired much of the lyrics of Whiskey Bottle. You can still see the sign that plainly says "Liquor and Guns", although it actually says "Liquor, Guns & Ammo". It's inside Shakespeare's Pizza now. They were still mostly a cover band and the crowd wasn't really interested in the covers they were playing (I remember they did a Black Flag cover). When they covered Jump by Van Halen though, the people got excited because they heard something they knew (I have a feeling the band was doing it as a joke though). I got to see them many more times, mostly at Mississippi Nights and I got to see their final two shows there. I've searched long and hard for something that does the same thing for me that Uncle Tupelo did, but I haven't found it yet. Son Volt comes close. Uncle Tupelo's music is timeless and unsurpassed.
Michael Garrity
Still one incredibly powerful song after all these years!!
Michael Garrity
Unfreaking believable 57 fucking DISLIKES-
how in the fuck could anyone with any brain cells dislike this song?? I guess people that do not know or appreciate REAL MUSIC---raised up on a diet of that shit they call music that comes from out of Nashville that gets played on the big commercial stations that is music that is all nice and pretty and wrapped up in pretty bow---music that might taste good but only makes you sick, fat and hungry for more--this sort of music is music for the mind, heart and soul---