Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 33 minutes ago

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LYRICS:
Well my name's John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before
You hardly ever saw grand-daddy round 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

Now the revenue man wanted grand-daddy bad
He headed up the holler with everything he had
Before my time but I've been told
He never came back from Copperhead Road

Grand-daddy ran whiskey in a big black Dodge
Bought it at the auction at the Mason's Lodge
Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side
Just a shot coat of primer then he looked inside
Well he and my uncle tore that engine down
I can still remember that rumbling sound

Well the sheriff came around in the middle of the night
I heard momma crying knew something wasn't right
He was headed down to Knoxville with the weekly load
You could smell the whiskey burning down Copperhead Road

I volunteered for the army on my birthday
They draft the white trash first round here anyway
I did two tours of duty in Vietnam
I came home with a brand new plan
I take seeds from Colombia and Mexico
I plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road

Now the DEA'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

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#notautotuned #notpitchcorrected
Copperhead Road - written by Steve Earle. Performed by Robert Haigh