SLS: Copperhead Road

Jim Adams continues his Song Lyric Sunday series today with the prompt of country music.

Well, my name’s John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before
You hardly ever saw grandaddy down here
He only came to town about twice a year
He’d buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper line
Everybody knew that he made moonshine

Steve Earle wrote “Copperhead Road” in 1988 for his album of the same name. The single reached No. 10 on Billboard and is one of my favorites due to the storytelling nature of the lyrics.

I volunteered for the Army on my birthday
They drafted the white trash first, around here anyway
I done two tours of duty in Vietnam
I came home with a brand new plan
I take the seed from Colombia and Mexico
I just plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road

Wikipedia says that the song’s blend of country and Southern rock influenced several other artists. Copperhead Road was an actual road in Tennessee that has since been renamed to Copperhead Hollow Road. Enjoy!

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