If I wouldn't get into trouble with the postal service, I would send you some good 'ol North Carolina moonshine and homemade peach brandy. I would also send you some of Doobie Dave's premium weed, but I know you don't smoke or drink much. 😁👍✌️
My Grandpa ran Shine for Al Capone back in the day . Did a few other things to . Fought in the Civil War , ( Union Soldier ) and was the oldest Reserverest in the Illinois Regulars during WWI .
Steve Earle (Earl) spans so many genre's of music.... Rock, Country, Americana, Irish Folk, just to name a few. Not sure if there are videos for these, but check out... The Galway Girl Hard Core Troubadour Feel Alright Old Friends (Guy Clark Cover) LA Highway (Guy Clark Cover) Just to name a few.... Also, he plays Walon on "The Wire"
Listen to Galway Girl. Steve Earle is a great story teller. You asked if anyone's ever had moonshine, in rural North Carolina it's still prevalent my favorite is apple pie shine or a mixed berry shine. Straight corn liquor has helped me overcome cold and flu many times.
I’m proud of my heritage. My ancestors were Scotch Irish, Welsh, and some German. Came from East TN, somewhere in the area around Jellico. Jacksboro is where they settled. I was born in Knoxville but moved away when I was 10. My daughter and her family happened to settle there a few years ago, so I still get to go back there frequently. Gotta love it! Lol The Scotch Irish were Scottish migrants to western Ireland, who then migrated to America, and became predominant in the south east, strangely by way of western PA in the early days. My ancestors migrated just a few years before those areas of UK became more civilized. Thus, the Scotch Irish migrants were unruly and lawless. They were isolationists who didn’t like outsiders, and took the law into their own hands. It’s not like that today. Mostly. East TN is beautiful country. If you get broke down in the back woods you have a far better chance of being helped by a local than if you broke down in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,… And people in the hills of TN don’t shit on public streets. 🤙
Outlaw country. The 'country music' community never embraced him because of his politics and brashness of his story telling. He's one of our greatest songwriters.
And also, you know, drugs. Steve got hung up on heroin and crack shortly after the success of this song. I read an article blasting the Nashville establishment for turning a blind eye to rampant alcohol and prescription drug abuse in country music, especially amphetamines, but somehow feeling Steve Earle was "bad" for being hooked on a different drug.
@@joeday4293 The entertainment industry is notorious for doing whatever it takes to make money. I’ve read where child actors Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney were given barbiturates and amphetamines to control their sleep/ wake hours to use them for making movies. I’ve been getting into some singers I didn’t know about until the last year or so. Steve Earle hung around with guys like Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, etc. Steve Earle’s Guitar Town album doesn’t have a bad song. Still love listening to that.👋
@Alex Zubia tribute to Jerry Jeff. Nice. But his voice now is shot, check out Ray Wyile Hubbard's new song 'Hellbent for Leather' being 'from' northwest ok, I love the lyrics but its a bit hard to listen to. Earl sings with him
Steve is a friend of mine, we met through his participation in the docu-play Coal Country. His latest release "Ghosts of West Virginia" contains many of the songs he wrote and performed in the play. He's one of the kindest and most generous men I've ever known, very humble as well. And loves to fish lol.
Tricia's husband here: Jamal the area in and around the hills of Tennessee was settled by people of Scottish/Irish descent. The music patterns and influences are from Scottish/Irish music. The most telling pattern is the music starting very slow while telling a story and as the story progresses the tempo and intensity speed up until they are going all out. Imagine the opening bars of this song being played on bagpipes. It would be right at home.
LOL, having lived in central TN for nearly 2 years and southeastern KY for 2 years and having had real current generation Scots and Irish for friends and roommates while working Germany those hillbillies are about as Scot or Irish as I am African because I had one ancestor 6 generations ago from there...This is far closer to Blue Grass than traditional Scot or Irish music... Jamel, I have had moonshine. I delivered to small restaurants, bar and grills, bars, gas station deli's all over northeastern TN, southeastern KY and even into the deep hills of the Blue Ridge mountains. I ran into scores of former shiners, current shiners, old cops, new cops... That mind set is not just about coming back from war like that, he was already a moonshiner, just upped the game to marijuana when he came back, much bigger profits for the same old game...
@@Wolverines77 I'm a "country" fiddler, mandolinist, and guitarist. I can play those traditional Scottish and Irish tunes, as they were played originally in the "old country," but the music I play in my bands is progressive bluegrass. The old-time fiddle tunes I play have these kinds of drones, based on pipe music from the "old countries" and the African drones of the banjo (which is an African instrument, originally made of gourds and sheep skin). Steve Earle's music takes from those traditions, but, as you pointed out, a lot of other influences are involved. The rhythms and drones of the banjo from African traditions that encountered fiddle and British Isles music, which had pipe drones, was precipitated through mixed race dance bands in the 19th century, and was one of those confluences that led to the more modern forms of country such as bluegrass (which contains blues and jazz as well, hence the name). Steve Earle is definitely closer to bluegrass, singer-songwriter, and alt-country. In fact, his album "The Mountain", which is a fantastic album, is backed up by the Del McCoury Band, one of the best bluegrass bands on the planet. As far as moonshine, you sound like you know the score. Well made 'Shine is one of the smoothest high proof drinks out there. That is why it's dangerous ;-). Not that I would know anything about that!
That makes me think of a Canadian song called Mari-Mac by Great Big Sea, from Newfoundland and very Celtic. The song also builds up and goes all out at the end.
Here’s a nice companion song for Copperhead Road: th-cam.com/video/YbbSo5fc4Tc/w-d-xo.html Mexican Trout by The Raphaels Apologies if this gets posted twice. It’s a YT glitch if it does.
For those of you who think this road is named after a snake, the top of a moonshine still is called a "head" and is usually made of copper. The "head" is where the vaporized alcohol is collected to run to the thump keg or just straight to the worm
Kinda reminds me of "two strangers climbed Ole Rocky top, looking for a moonshine still. They never came down from Rocky Top, and I reckon they never will"
When I was a kid in Western Kentucky, we had problems in the state parks where people would plant a patch and boobytrap the paths around it. A few hikers had legs blown out by IEDs along the paths or were blinded by fishhooks hanging from tree branches. This would have been roughly around the time this song came out. The DEA choppers would circle the area around my high school on the daily.
@@baycun grew up in WV along the Ohio River. Even when we were 5 or 6 years old we were told to be careful in the woods. Bear traps, foot spikes, treble hooks hanging from trees, and X buckets. We always knew what he meant by that line. Used to watch them fly the helicopters all the time. Some people would try and hang red Christmas bulbs on them to try and pass for tomato plants from above.
Jamel, what you thought was going to happen did happen... "The sheriff came around in the middle of the night.. Heard Mama cryin', knew something wasn't right.. Headed down to Knoxville with the weekly load, You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road.." The car did crash. Great thing about this song is it tells a three-generational story & the video illustrates it really well. Toward the end you even see a quick flash of each generation sitting on the porch..grandfather changes to father then to son. So quickly I didn't even notice it first time I saw the video. It's a shame they never made a movie out of this, would've been good. There was a 1958 film called "Thunder Road" about a family of moonshine runners. It starred Robert Mitchum. Very similar story. 💙☮💙
Thunder Road was loosely based on true events and the crash was on Kingston Pike around Knoxville. Of course, back then Kingston Pike was considered 'out in the sticks' until the mall was built in the early 70's it was just a few houses and farm land.
@@karnsfan Very interesting. I know that the song is not autobiographical so I wonder if Mr. Earle took his inspiration from "Thunder Road" and/or the true story that inspired it. Thanks for the info!💙☮
Lawless came close in terms of moonshine…great movie, great cast! About the Bondurants In 1931, the Bondurant brothers of Franklin County, Va., run a multipurpose backwoods establishment that hides their true business, bootlegging. Middle brother Forrest (Tom Hardy) is the brain of the operation; older Howard (Jason Clarke) is the brawn, and younger Jack (Shia LaBeouf), the lookout. Though the local police have taken bribes and left the brothers alone, a violent war erupts when a sadistic lawman (Guy Pearce) from Chicago arrives and tries to shut down the Bondurants operation.
This song has it's own following. Even has it's own dance moves. Moonshine was a way of life for my grandparents in western North Carolina. It also brought about the early birth of my second child one hot July when I , belly way out in front of me, mistook it for ice water. Whew!!!
LOL...back in the 70's, I worked at a small Mom and Dad country store when I was 18. Every Sunday, an elderly man would park across the street from the store, open the trunk of his car and sit or stand there. Men, young and old would stop by, spoke briefly to the man, money was exchanged for something in the man's trunk. I asked my employer what was going on when my curiosity became too much. He looked at me in surprise and said, you never saw moonshine before? I told him no. He said wait here and he took some money out of the cash register, walked across the road, spoke to the man and then returned. He then said come here and I followed him behind the meat counter. He always cut his own meats and made homemade sausage. He had in his hand a pint jar of clear liquid which he poured onto the butcher block. He told me to stand back and struck a match and threw it onto the butcher block. A huge flame shot up above our heads and then quickly went out. He told me, now that's moonshine. By the way, it was illegal to sell beer or liquor on Sundays in our county.
My grandfather used to still his own cornahol. He used to pour it in the gas tank of his truck. He would openly drink it and fuel the truck, " a little for the truck, a little for me". This was back in the 70s.
I just lost my dad April 1. Dad did 2 tours in Vietnam. He was never the same person as the kid that went. He was a good dad but part of him was lost in Nam. I wish I could have known the man he could have been without the war taking away part of him
May his memory be a blessing. I know exactly what you mean about family men who returned from Vietnam, many of them physically intact but emotionally scarred for life. My mom will tell you plainly that the fiance she sent off to war is not the man she married. To his credit, he has finally sought counseling, taking advantage of his VA benefits, and joined a military reunion group in the last several years. He is finally reckoning with his war experience over 50 years later.
Sorry for your pain. I was a young teenager during Nam. I assure you it had an enormous impact on me. Everyday on the news they showed boys being carried on stretchers, I had such sadness. They really were just boys ☹️. It left an indelible mark etched in my heart. God Bless you and keep you till you see your , Dad again.🙏
This entire album is fantastic. Along with just about everything else Steve Earle has ever recorded. He’s a brilliant songwriter, story teller and musician who is very versatile. I highly recommend checking out more of his music
Steve Earle said that when he was starting out he’d go see Townes Van Zandt play and study him. He’d try to talk to him, but Townes wasn’t interested. Earle had a gig one night and Van Zandt was in the audience, heckling him. So he played Van Zandt’s “Mr Mudd and Mr Gold”, a very complicated, tongue-twisting song about a card game that Townes refused to play. The heckling stopped, and next time he saw him Van Zandt asked him “What is it you want to know?” Earle named his son after him. th-cam.com/video/MhVHE5V49oA/w-d-xo.html
Steve Earle is one of the great Country-Rock songwriters of his generation. Check out Guitartown, My Old Friend The Blues, Johnny Come Lately (which he recorded with the Irish folk-punk band The Pogues) and a hundred other tracks.
This is such a fantastic song. Great story-telling by Earle, much like Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald", it's the perfect mesh of lyric & music...it's enough to give you goosebumps. You can see the song playing out like a movie in your head.
In 1986 Steve Earle released the guitar town album. Radio didn’t play it because it wasn’t “country” but the album went straight to #1. In 1988 he was moved to UNI records to release the “rock album” copperhead road.
I was at a concert in Indianapolis years ago. Before the show started they were playing music over the PA. When Copperhead Road started playing you would have thought it was the headliner act. The crowd went nuts! What a great song.
I mentioned this on another reaction of this song, but the music instrumentation in the verses mirrors the eras he's talking about, with the Scottish and folk roots of Appalachia in the beginning and then the adding of more 'bluegrass' sound for the dad's story and coming into full blown 70s country rock for the parts about Vietnam. Great song. Thanks for this one!
I saw Steve Earle last summer. Fourth song in, he says "Here's Copperhead Road for all of you on paper so you can get home before curfew. The rest of us are gonna be here a while".
This song is so dark, it's overlooked pretty easily because of the bouncy, rockin' sound. His granddad was a moonshiner that either ran off the road or was killed by the revenue man. His dad was running whiskey and crashed, killed when the car caught fire ("You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road"). He went to Vietnam and when he came back, he planted either coca for cocaine or pot. And when the DEA started to come looking for him, he said he "learned a thing or two from Charlie, don'tcha know?" Meaning he set booby traps that will kill anyone that gets to close. Three generations cursed through their connection to Copperhead Road.
never thought of it that way thought the you could smell the whiskey burning was that the site was raided and they destroyed it while he was making his delivery to Knoxville
I think you are right with the coca because those plants didn't like any marijuana plants i have seen. And yes, he is a third generation 'shiner uping the ante with his experiences in 'Nam. Not just 'learned a thing or two....' but also 'you'd better stay away from Copperhead Road'. He had the whole place trapped up the wazoo, I would imagine.
All I'm going to say Jamel is find your local Honky Tonk and take a visit there for a night. This song tends to be the life of the party. It's the "It Takes Two" of the country night club.
This is my favorite story song.. its so true to the Appalachian hills where I live.. in NC near the Scottish highlands. the bagpipes are awesome! The mandolin and harmonica make such a true combination action for this area. There really is a Copperhead Road over in Mountain City, Tennessee. The verses are like poetry to me!
Steve Earle is one of America's great singer-songwriters. His songs tell incredible stories, some going back generations. An amazing artist! A lot of his songs deal with military men, their histories, and their families. Love his work!
Steve Earle is an amazing songwriter, and this is actually pretty much in the wheelhouse of the kind of music I play in my bands. I've actually even performed this song a few times, with myself taking the mandolin part. This type of music has a lot of names, like Americana or alt-country, etc. This was his only mainstream "hit" as unfortunately the record companies couldn't figure out whether he was rock or country, since they didn't have "alt-country" as a category then, and so didn't know how to market him. However he has a ton of great material and many successful albums, and is still touring today. His albums "The Mountain" and "Guitar Town" in particular are excellent.
This is a song that everyone I’ve showed it to even if they aren’t into the country outlaw country scene they can’t help but bob their head and get into. It’s just such a feel good song!
Now my Granddaddy ran moonshine back in the 1930’s and my Uncle did back in the 1960’s. My Granddaddy spent a year and a day in federal prison when he got caught once, my uncle did too. They never got caught again. I’m proud of my family heritage, born and raised in Southeastern Kentucky!
The Irish in me has to get up and do a jig! What I lack in talent I make up for with enthusiasm. Moonshine will make you howl at the Moon at HIGH noon. 😎
My band plays this song and it's always a crowd favorite. And I have indeed had Moonshine many times. I live in Southern West Virginia.....The heart of Appalachia. It is still made her by a few people.
Chris Pendleton! Where in Southern West Virginia? Huntington WV and points south of there is where my kin is from. My dad was a native of Logan. Logan, Wayne, Cabell, Lincoln, Mingo and Wyoming is where most of them are from. Eastern Kentucky is also where a lot of my kin come from
When this song came out in 1988 I had thought he was just Country which, at that time, I actively disliked. Heard this song once, went out & bought the album. Surprised myself by really liking every song on it. Realized he's a truly gifted songwriter. And I consider him something beyond Country. They call him "Outlaw Country". Pretty accurate. I just call him unique. "You Belong To Me"..."Back To The Wall"..."Snake Oil"...lots of songs worth hearing. 💙☮💙
I bought this when it came out. I loved every song. I took it to work and nobody liked it. About 6 months later someone said they just heard this awesome song on MTV. It sounded kinda country but the guy had long hair and a motorcycle tattoo. I brought the cassette back in and it played every day.
@Deborah Cornell. You may already know this. One of the original Outlaws, the great Waylon Jennings (RIP) recorded Steve Earle's song "Devil's Right Hand". Steve was really pleased that one Outlaw had recognised another! Stay safe and well.
@@joeday4293 Mandolinists don’t get a lot of requests for FMB. It’s more of a banjo tune. I have never had it requested, but I have played it when my group had a banjo. Now “Rawhide”…
Fun fact I live about 20 miles from Copperhead Road. It’s in Mountain City Tennessee. It’s the road that Steve Earls girlfriend lived on. It’s in Johnson County (hence the line about Johnson County Sherif) and the road does not have a sign. So many people kept steeling the sign so they renamed the road to Copperhead Hollow Rd but that still got stolen so now it’s an unmarked road.
I'm not gonna lie. I bought this when CDs first started coming out because I liked the cover. One of my best blind buys. I love this whole album and have listened to it for decades.
I had a coworker who grew up in Rural Georgia. She introduced me to moonshine and boiled peanuts. The boiled peanuts were a surprisingly good treat. The moonshine curled the hairs on my toes.
Jamel - Steve Earle may be one of those brothers you didn't know you knew. Mr. Earle played Walon on "The Wire" and the theme song from show, "Way Down in the Hole" was a Tom Waits cover sung by Steve Earle.
From the bottom of my heart you've got to check out as much of Steve Earles catalogue as possible. Easily one of America's greatest songwriters. A master of the English language in his lyrics and always touching melodies. I'm telling you, Steve Earle is a great storyteller. I'M THE OTHER KIND is one of my many favorites.
Steve Earl is one of America’s greatest songwriters. I was lucky enough to see him in concert in Calgary Alberta about ten years ago. Near the beginning of the concert, some guy in the audience yelled out “copperhead Rd. “. Earl’s deadpan, “ do you really think I’m not gonna do that song?” cracked everyone up. What a concert! He switched instruments at least 10 times. It was magical.
Mine is also Galloway Girl. For the longest time it was Guitar Town, which is still up there. I was lucky enough to see Steve Earle at a county fair a couple years ago and he put on a fantastic show.
This is one of my favorite songs. And yes I’ve had some stuff that doubles as paint remover and some stuff that tasted like grandma’s apple pie… both will make you time travel.
Love this song, bring me back to my Scots-Irish roots. My Grandparents and my Great Grandfather who was Charles/Charlie and yes, he did make Moonshine with his buddies. ❤😂
Great choice! Copper Kettle by Gillian Welch is a similar theme beautifully written and sung. Her Paper Wings and Orphan Girl are sublime. She and partner David Rawlins are stellar talents.
Jamel, you never cease to amaze me. Steve Earle is one of my favorites. I got into him by way of a band called The Pogues. A reaction to them would be great! The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn (pronounced like cu cullen). The record this song came from directly influenced Copperhead Road. I love your channel!
“Earle “ one syllable. He’s awesome. Great first tune of his. Check out “Guitar Town” his early stuff. He’s legend. If you want something serious try Amerika 6.0 or his song Jerusalem. He’s an American icon. His mentor was Townes Van Zander. Named his son after him. Townes sadly passed last year. Please check out more of him. So many songs. He will move you. Thanks
Townes Van Zandt, and he passed away in 1997. He lived hard and it killed him fairly quick- he was only 52 years old when he died. The list of artists who he influenced is long, and his music has been recorded by artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Counting Crows, Jason Isbell, Natalie Maines, and many others.
As @rjs2005 notes, Townes Van Zandt died in 1997. Steve's son, Justin Townes Earle, passed away in August 2020 from an overdose of fentanyl laced coke.
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If I wouldn't get into trouble with the postal service, I would send you some good 'ol North Carolina moonshine and homemade peach brandy. I would also send you some of Doobie Dave's premium weed, but I know you don't smoke or drink much. 😁👍✌️
My Grandpa ran Shine for Al Capone back in the day . Did a few other things to . Fought in the Civil War ,
( Union Soldier ) and was the oldest Reserverest in the Illinois Regulars during WWI .
Steve Earle (Earl) spans so many genre's of music.... Rock, Country, Americana, Irish Folk, just to name a few. Not sure if there are videos for these, but check out...
The Galway Girl
Hard Core Troubadour
Feel Alright
Old Friends (Guy Clark Cover)
LA Highway (Guy Clark Cover)
Just to name a few.... Also, he plays Walon on "The Wire"
@@sirloin1078 got to see him play with Lynyrd Skynyrd also .
Listen to Galway Girl. Steve Earle is a great story teller.
You asked if anyone's ever had moonshine, in rural North Carolina it's still prevalent my favorite is apple pie shine or a mixed berry shine. Straight corn liquor has helped me overcome cold and flu many times.
The distain of authority by the Scotch Irish decendents of Appalachia was well earned. Never Forget and be Proud of that Heritage.
I know people would be shocked that county came from the Irish.
I’m proud of my heritage. My ancestors were Scotch Irish, Welsh, and some German. Came from East TN, somewhere in the area around Jellico. Jacksboro is where they settled. I was born in Knoxville but moved away when I was 10. My daughter and her family happened to settle there a few years ago, so I still get to go back there frequently.
Gotta love it! Lol
The Scotch Irish were Scottish migrants to western Ireland, who then migrated to America, and became predominant in the south east, strangely by way of western PA in the early days.
My ancestors migrated just a few years before those areas of UK became more civilized. Thus, the Scotch Irish migrants were unruly and lawless. They were isolationists who didn’t like outsiders, and took the law into their own hands.
It’s not like that today. Mostly. East TN is beautiful country. If you get broke down in the back woods you have a far better chance of being helped by a local than if you broke down in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,…
And people in the hills of TN don’t shit on public streets.
🤙
That’s me,
Born and raised in Appalachia, we still don’t like authority 😂never will. M
Steve Earle's greatest hits are all killer no filler. That can't be said for most artists. He is an unbelievable story telling musician.
Outlaw country. The 'country music' community never embraced him because of his politics and brashness of his story telling. He's one of our greatest songwriters.
Steve was about 25 years ahead of what Country would become.
And also, you know, drugs. Steve got hung up on heroin and crack shortly after the success of this song. I read an article blasting the Nashville establishment for turning a blind eye to rampant alcohol and prescription drug abuse in country music, especially amphetamines, but somehow feeling Steve Earle was "bad" for being hooked on a different drug.
@@joeday4293 The entertainment industry is notorious for doing whatever it takes to make money. I’ve read where child actors Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney were given barbiturates and amphetamines to control their sleep/ wake hours to use them for making movies.
I’ve been getting into some singers I didn’t know about until the last year or so. Steve Earle hung around with guys like Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, etc.
Steve Earle’s Guitar Town album doesn’t have a bad song. Still love listening to that.👋
@Alex Zubia Thanks. Didn’t know that.
@Alex Zubia tribute to Jerry Jeff. Nice. But his voice now is shot, check out Ray Wyile Hubbard's new song 'Hellbent for Leather' being 'from' northwest ok, I love the lyrics but its a bit hard to listen to. Earl sings with him
Any rock song/country song that opens with bagpipes and a mandolin is going to rock your world.
I'm 71, but every time I hear this song, I'm 19 and back in Viet-nam then my mountains on Western N.C Blue Ridge Mountains. clp
Thank you for your service, ✌
Thank you, sir.
Steve is a friend of mine, we met through his participation in the docu-play Coal Country. His latest release "Ghosts of West Virginia" contains many of the songs he wrote and performed in the play. He's one of the kindest and most generous men I've ever known, very humble as well. And loves to fish lol.
True COUNTRY 🤙
I was saddened to hear ofthe passing of his son, also a musician
I have pics of him and my son on Steve's tour bus. My son was Little Feat's guitar tech for about 10 years and he ran into Steve on the road. ✌️🤘
GOT to look for that! Love me some West Virginians 😍
He’s great in The Wire.
Tricia's husband here: Jamal the area in and around the hills of Tennessee was settled by people of Scottish/Irish descent. The music patterns and influences are from Scottish/Irish music. The most telling pattern is the music starting very slow while telling a story and as the story progresses the tempo and intensity speed up until they are going all out. Imagine the opening bars of this song being played on bagpipes. It would be right at home.
LOL, having lived in central TN for nearly 2 years and southeastern KY for 2 years and having had real current generation Scots and Irish for friends and roommates while working Germany those hillbillies are about as Scot or Irish as I am African because I had one ancestor 6 generations ago from there...This is far closer to Blue Grass than traditional Scot or Irish music...
Jamel, I have had moonshine. I delivered to small restaurants, bar and grills, bars, gas station deli's all over northeastern TN, southeastern KY and even into the deep hills of the Blue Ridge mountains. I ran into scores of former shiners, current shiners, old cops, new cops... That mind set is not just about coming back from war like that, he was already a moonshiner, just upped the game to marijuana when he came back, much bigger profits for the same old game...
Copperhead Road is a real road. It's in Knoxville Tennessee, it was renamed Kingston Pike.
@@Wolverines77 I'm a "country" fiddler, mandolinist, and guitarist. I can play those traditional Scottish and Irish tunes, as they were played originally in the "old country," but the music I play in my bands is progressive bluegrass. The old-time fiddle tunes I play have these kinds of drones, based on pipe music from the "old countries" and the African drones of the banjo (which is an African instrument, originally made of gourds and sheep skin).
Steve Earle's music takes from those traditions, but, as you pointed out, a lot of other influences are involved. The rhythms and drones of the banjo from African traditions that encountered fiddle and British Isles music, which had pipe drones, was precipitated through mixed race dance bands in the 19th century, and was one of those confluences that led to the more modern forms of country such as bluegrass (which contains blues and jazz as well, hence the name). Steve Earle is definitely closer to bluegrass, singer-songwriter, and alt-country. In fact, his album "The Mountain", which is a fantastic album, is backed up by the Del McCoury Band, one of the best bluegrass bands on the planet.
As far as moonshine, you sound like you know the score. Well made 'Shine is one of the smoothest high proof drinks out there. That is why it's dangerous ;-). Not that I would know anything about that!
That makes me think of a Canadian song called Mari-Mac by Great Big Sea, from Newfoundland and very Celtic. The song also builds up and goes all out at the end.
Here’s a nice companion song for Copperhead Road: th-cam.com/video/YbbSo5fc4Tc/w-d-xo.html
Mexican Trout by The Raphaels
Apologies if this gets posted twice. It’s a YT glitch if it does.
This song... gives me chills every time i hear it.... also makes me remember much better days.
It's the best part of a night at the local country bar.
“Guitar Town” is another great song by Steve Earle. He is a legend. It’s Amazing that people don’t know who he is.
I love that song!
Yeee-ess....!
Guitar town is a great album!
"Got a two pack habit and a motel tan." love that song
@@eurofritz4617 Yep. Brilliant line!! Love his music.
That's called southern rock one of my favorite songs
Moonshine running is literally how NASCAR got started. A lot of those original drivers ran moonshine.
And yes, moonshine will warm you up FAST.
I think people forget that little fact of Nascar history..
It sure is!
@@mickie-fielden5629 Yes Sir!
Junior Johnson
@@robertm5601 I was to young to remember names, but I remember my Grandfather and my Papa Doc talking about it...
The country industry hate STEVE EARLE. he is a god in my eyes!
Pronounced “Earl” and he’s got some great tunes!!
For those of you who think this road is named after a snake, the top of a moonshine still is called a "head" and is usually made of copper. The "head" is where the vaporized alcohol is collected to run to the thump keg or just straight to the worm
Huh.
" I learned a thing or two from Charlie don't you know" may be the darkest lyric ever! Refers to the booby traps that our soldiers faced in the war
And some moonshiners, weed growers and others use to protect their facilities.
Very underappreciated lyric. This whole song really, the lyrics are dark when you understand the symbolism in them.
Unfortunately a lot of people don't understand that lyric
Punji stakes, tiger pits...
Kinda reminds me of "two strangers climbed Ole Rocky top, looking for a moonshine still. They never came down from Rocky Top, and I reckon they never will"
Steve Earle's masterpiece
I learned a thing or two from Charlie don't ya know. That line has some ominous implications. Great songwriting
When I was a kid in Western Kentucky, we had problems in the state parks where people would plant a patch and boobytrap the paths around it. A few hikers had legs blown out by IEDs along the paths or were blinded by fishhooks hanging from tree branches. This would have been roughly around the time this song came out. The DEA choppers would circle the area around my high school on the daily.
@@baycun grew up in WV along the Ohio River. Even when we were 5 or 6 years old we were told to be careful in the woods. Bear traps, foot spikes, treble hooks hanging from trees, and X buckets. We always knew what he meant by that line. Used to watch them fly the helicopters all the time. Some people would try and hang red Christmas bulbs on them to try and pass for tomato plants from above.
@@booker6394 Revenuer Man not coming back after having a whack of Punji sticks in his body.
Yep
Some skills are timeless. Might be needing them soon
I always update it to "...I learned a thing or two from HADJI, dont'cha know..." whenever I sing it somewhere.
I live close to where this song is about. My grandfather grew up near the Road in the song. The whole area was notorious for moonshining for decades.
Jamel, what you thought was going to happen did happen...
"The sheriff came around in the middle of the night..
Heard Mama cryin', knew something wasn't right..
Headed down to Knoxville with the weekly load,
You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road.."
The car did crash.
Great thing about this song is it tells a three-generational story & the video illustrates it really well.
Toward the end you even see a quick flash of each generation sitting on the porch..grandfather changes to father then to son. So quickly I didn't even notice it first time I saw the video.
It's a shame they never made a movie out of this, would've been good. There was a 1958 film called "Thunder Road" about a family of moonshine runners. It starred Robert Mitchum. Very similar story.
💙☮💙
Thunder Road was loosely based on true events and the crash was on Kingston Pike around Knoxville. Of course, back then Kingston Pike was considered 'out in the sticks' until the mall was built in the early 70's it was just a few houses and farm land.
@@karnsfan
Very interesting. I know that the song is not autobiographical so I wonder if Mr. Earle took his inspiration from "Thunder Road" and/or the true story that inspired it. Thanks for the info!💙☮
The movie wasn't shown very often. Think cause it showed the Fed's in a bad light
Lawless came close in terms of moonshine…great movie, great cast! About the Bondurants
In 1931, the Bondurant brothers of Franklin County, Va., run a multipurpose backwoods establishment that hides their true business, bootlegging. Middle brother Forrest (Tom Hardy) is the brain of the operation; older Howard (Jason Clarke) is the brawn, and younger Jack (Shia LaBeouf), the lookout. Though the local police have taken bribes and left the brothers alone, a violent war erupts when a sadistic lawman (Guy Pearce) from Chicago arrives and tries to shut down the Bondurants operation.
@@squeej4862
That's a great cast. I'll have to check it out, definitely!
Thanks for the info.☮
My dad made moonshine, back in the 70's, I had a sip or two long before I was 21, and drank my share during my twenties. Ahh...great times
This song has it's own following. Even has it's own dance moves. Moonshine was a way of life for my grandparents in western North Carolina. It also brought about the early birth of my second child one hot July when I , belly way out in front of me, mistook it for ice water. Whew!!!
If you go into any southern bar, you will hear this song and see everyone in the place get up and do the line dance. It's just a thing we do.
LOL...back in the 70's, I worked at a small Mom and Dad country store when I was 18. Every Sunday, an elderly man would park across the street from the store, open the trunk of his car and sit or stand there. Men, young and old would stop by, spoke briefly to the man, money was exchanged for something in the man's trunk. I asked my employer what was going on when my curiosity became too much. He looked at me in surprise and said, you never saw moonshine before? I told him no. He said wait here and he took some money out of the cash register, walked across the road, spoke to the man and then returned. He then said come here and I followed him behind the meat counter. He always cut his own meats and made homemade sausage. He had in his hand a pint jar of clear liquid which he poured onto the butcher block. He told me to stand back and struck a match and threw it onto the butcher block. A huge flame shot up above our heads and then quickly went out. He told me, now that's moonshine. By the way, it was illegal to sell beer or liquor on Sundays in our county.
My grandfather used to still his own cornahol. He used to pour it in the gas tank of his truck. He would openly drink it and fuel the truck, " a little for the truck, a little for me". This was back in the 70s.
I just lost my dad April 1. Dad did 2 tours in Vietnam. He was never the same person as the kid that went. He was a good dad but part of him was lost in Nam. I wish I could have known the man he could have been without the war taking away part of him
That war killed and wounded many young men. My condolences for your loss.
I'm sorry for your loss, and thank your Dad for his service
May his memory be a blessing. I know exactly what you mean about family men who returned from Vietnam, many of them physically intact but emotionally scarred for life. My mom will tell you plainly that the fiance she sent off to war is not the man she married. To his credit, he has finally sought counseling, taking advantage of his VA benefits, and joined a military reunion group in the last several years. He is finally reckoning with his war experience over 50 years later.
Sorry for your pain. I was a young teenager during Nam. I assure you it had an enormous impact on me. Everyday on the news they showed boys being carried on stretchers, I had such sadness. They really were just boys ☹️. It left an indelible mark etched in my heart. God Bless you and keep you till you see your , Dad again.🙏
I feel you brother. Military service did my dad a lot of good but Nam also took what it did, along with his brother
Steve Earle single-handedly kept outlaw country alive, and helped usher in alternative country after.
Great song, great songwriter, great recording. I've always considered this a sideways tribute to our Vietnam veterans.
Smelling it through the monitor screen that is epic that is freaking amazing
This entire album is fantastic.
Along with just about everything else Steve Earle has ever recorded.
He’s a brilliant songwriter, story teller and musician who is very versatile. I highly recommend checking out more of his music
One of my favorite songs ever. The story, when the drums come in hard, his story-teller sound...all with a country/rockabilly feel
Way, Way ahead of time and changed County music forever.
I listen to this song at least once a week. Love the music so much.
“I Ain’t Ever Satisfied” is another fantastic song by Steve Earle I think you’d dig.
Guitar Town is a personal favorite of mine.
That one, and this song, are my two favorites from Steve! He is a genius!
Steve Earle said that when he was starting out he’d go see Townes Van Zandt play and study him. He’d try to talk to him, but Townes wasn’t interested. Earle had a gig one night and Van Zandt was in the audience, heckling him. So he played Van Zandt’s “Mr Mudd and Mr Gold”, a very complicated, tongue-twisting song about a card game that Townes refused to play. The heckling stopped, and next time he saw him Van Zandt asked him “What is it you want to know?” Earle named his son after him. th-cam.com/video/MhVHE5V49oA/w-d-xo.html
Steve Earle is one of the great Country-Rock songwriters of his generation. Check out Guitartown, My Old Friend The Blues, Johnny Come Lately (which he recorded with the Irish folk-punk band The Pogues) and a hundred other tracks.
I’d like to add. The devils right hand as well.
Galway Girl is a great song.
@@mikebennett6421 'Devil's Right Hand' might be my favourite song of his. I have to many to list!
I really liked his version of Galway Girl.
Billy Austin I think is one of the greatest songs ever
Steve Earle’s “Johnny Come Lately” off of the album Copperhead Road is a big favorite.
This is such a fantastic song. Great story-telling by Earle, much like Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald", it's the perfect mesh of lyric & music...it's enough to give you goosebumps. You can see the song playing out like a movie in your head.
In 1986 Steve Earle released the guitar town album. Radio didn’t play it because it wasn’t “country” but the album went straight to #1. In 1988 he was moved to UNI records to release the “rock album” copperhead road.
I was at a concert in Indianapolis years ago. Before the show started they were playing music over the PA. When Copperhead Road started playing you would have thought it was the headliner act. The crowd went nuts! What a great song.
Every one around the world who enjoy a bit of weed loved Copperhead Rd as soon as we heard it.
I mentioned this on another reaction of this song, but the music instrumentation in the verses mirrors the eras he's talking about, with the Scottish and folk roots of Appalachia in the beginning and then the adding of more 'bluegrass' sound for the dad's story and coming into full blown 70s country rock for the parts about Vietnam. Great song. Thanks for this one!
Lol lots of people miss that about the music evolving and painting part of it.
A great observation I totally missed.
I saw Steve Earle last summer. Fourth song in, he says "Here's Copperhead Road for all of you on paper so you can get home before curfew. The rest of us are gonna be here a while".
This song is so dark, it's overlooked pretty easily because of the bouncy, rockin' sound.
His granddad was a moonshiner that either ran off the road or was killed by the revenue man.
His dad was running whiskey and crashed, killed when the car caught fire ("You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road").
He went to Vietnam and when he came back, he planted either coca for cocaine or pot. And when the DEA started to come looking for him, he said he "learned a thing or two from Charlie, don'tcha know?" Meaning he set booby traps that will kill anyone that gets to close.
Three generations cursed through their connection to Copperhead Road.
never thought of it that way thought the you could smell the whiskey burning was that the site was raided and they destroyed it while he was making his delivery to Knoxville
I think you are right with the coca because those plants didn't like any marijuana plants i have seen. And yes, he is a third generation 'shiner uping the ante with his experiences in 'Nam. Not just 'learned a thing or two....' but also 'you'd better stay away from Copperhead Road'. He had the whole place trapped up the wazoo, I would imagine.
Got me a backhoe...dang revenuers best stay of'n my propity.😆
Always interpreted the line as the 'revenue man' not comin back out. Went deep in that area and 'disappeared'.
I believe those were tobacco plants growing in the field where he was planting those seeds
All I'm going to say Jamel is find your local Honky Tonk and take a visit there for a night. This song tends to be the life of the party. It's the "It Takes Two" of the country night club.
This is my favorite story song.. its so true to the Appalachian hills where I live.. in NC near the Scottish highlands. the bagpipes are awesome! The mandolin and harmonica make such a true combination action for this area. There really is a Copperhead Road over in Mountain City, Tennessee. The verses are like poetry to me!
Steve Earle, Texas Music all the way.... great music
Steve Earle is one of America's great singer-songwriters. His songs tell incredible stories, some going back generations. An amazing artist! A lot of his songs deal with military men, their histories, and their families. Love his work!
Absolutely one of the best songs ever
Steve Earle is an amazing songwriter, and this is actually pretty much in the wheelhouse of the kind of music I play in my bands. I've actually even performed this song a few times, with myself taking the mandolin part. This type of music has a lot of names, like Americana or alt-country, etc. This was his only mainstream "hit" as unfortunately the record companies couldn't figure out whether he was rock or country, since they didn't have "alt-country" as a category then, and so didn't know how to market him. However he has a ton of great material and many successful albums, and is still touring today. His albums "The Mountain" and "Guitar Town" in particular are excellent.
And "Taney Town"
This music came from my neck of the woods, no better place than Tennessee ♥️
There's a whole dance that goes with this song. No it wasn't a movie. Those moonshiners should've gotten an award during Prohibition.
Steve Earle (pronounced Earl) was in The Wire... did an OUTSTANDING job.
This is a song that everyone I’ve showed it to even if they aren’t into the country outlaw country scene they can’t help but bob their head and get into. It’s just such a feel good song!
Balls to the walls music. Lyrics are golden.
Now my Granddaddy ran moonshine back in the 1930’s and my Uncle did back in the 1960’s. My Granddaddy spent a year and a day in federal prison when he got caught once, my uncle did too. They never got caught again. I’m proud of my family heritage, born and raised in Southeastern Kentucky!
To me Steve Earl is a God I even named my cat after him I am a bass player and this song is so much fun to play Thank You Jamel 🙂
The Irish in me has to get up and do a jig! What I lack in talent I make up for with enthusiasm. Moonshine will make you howl at the Moon at HIGH noon. 😎
The attention to detail is remarkable! There was actually 18 candles on the cake!
My band plays this song and it's always a crowd favorite. And I have indeed had Moonshine many times. I live in Southern West Virginia.....The heart of Appalachia. It is still made her by a few people.
Chris Pendleton! Where in Southern West Virginia? Huntington WV and points south of there is where my kin is from. My dad was a native of Logan. Logan, Wayne, Cabell, Lincoln, Mingo and Wyoming is where most of them are from. Eastern Kentucky is also where a lot of my kin come from
@@marybrowning5657 Mercer County
So in LOVE with this song and Steve Earle the last e is silent silly Willy
When this song came out in 1988 I had thought he was just Country which, at that time, I actively disliked. Heard this song once, went out & bought the album. Surprised myself by really liking every song on it. Realized he's a truly gifted songwriter. And I consider him something beyond Country.
They call him "Outlaw Country". Pretty accurate. I just call him unique.
"You Belong To Me"..."Back To The Wall"..."Snake Oil"...lots of songs worth hearing.
💙☮💙
Steve plays music. He can do blues, rock, country, bluegrass, traditional Irish. Huge talent.
Man I forgot Snake Oil. One of my favorites growing up.
I bought this when it came out. I loved every song. I took it to work and nobody liked it. About 6 months later someone said they just heard this awesome song on MTV. It sounded kinda country but the guy had long hair and a motorcycle tattoo. I brought the cassette back in and it played every day.
@Deborah Cornell. You may already know this. One of the original Outlaws, the great Waylon Jennings (RIP) recorded Steve Earle's song "Devil's Right Hand". Steve was really pleased that one Outlaw had recognised another! Stay safe and well.
Good music is good music, regardless of genre
Thank you for your support of veterans. God Bless
As a mandolinist there are two songs I can guarantee will be requested every time I play, “Copperhead Road” and “Losing My Religion”.
Ever heard of Heart's "Little Queen" album?
"Haven't any of y'all ever heard of 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown'?" LOL
@@joeday4293 Mandolinists don’t get a lot of requests for FMB. It’s more of a banjo tune. I have never had it requested, but I have played it when my group had a banjo. Now “Rawhide”…
Have you heard Rory Gallagher's 'Going To My Hometown'? th-cam.com/video/a2CyXGv5fEY/w-d-xo.html
Donald, How about John Hiatt's "Cry Love"?
Fun fact I live about 20 miles from Copperhead Road. It’s in Mountain City Tennessee. It’s the road that Steve Earls girlfriend lived on. It’s in Johnson County (hence the line about Johnson County Sherif) and the road does not have a sign. So many people kept steeling the sign so they renamed the road to Copperhead Hollow Rd but that still got stolen so now it’s an unmarked road.
I'm not gonna lie. I bought this when CDs first started coming out because I liked the cover. One of my best blind buys. I love this whole album and have listened to it for decades.
Galway Girl is another excellent song by Steve Earle.
Running moonshine from the cops is how NASCAR got started
Shine and homemade wine were a staple of my young adulthood.
In "Scarface" the saying was "Never get high on your own supply."
For moonshiners, its, "Never get drunk from what ya got in the trunk."
How many of you were watching when Steve debuted this on Letterman in late '88? You and me saw this great song!
I had a coworker who grew up in Rural Georgia. She introduced me to moonshine and boiled peanuts. The boiled peanuts were a surprisingly good treat. The moonshine curled the hairs on my toes.
This is one of those songs, as soon as it starts, you know exactly what song it is❤❤❤
Jamel - Steve Earle may be one of those brothers you didn't know you knew. Mr. Earle played Walon on "The Wire" and the theme song from show, "Way Down in the Hole" was a Tom Waits cover sung by Steve Earle.
Steve Played Bubble's rehab sponsor in "The Wire" he also played a street musician on "Treme". Awesome, genuine dude IRL.
Such a cool song and a sad, but exiting, story. Steve Earle is one of the best storytellers of our generation. Good stuff there.
Most people would be suprised to know that summer weather in Appalachia is a great place to grow it
From the bottom of my heart you've got to check out as much of Steve Earles catalogue as possible. Easily one of America's greatest songwriters. A master of the English language in his lyrics and always touching melodies. I'm telling you, Steve Earle is a great storyteller. I'M THE OTHER KIND is one of my many favorites.
Steve Earl is one of America’s greatest songwriters. I was lucky enough to see him in concert in Calgary Alberta about ten years ago. Near the beginning of the concert, some guy in the audience yelled out “copperhead Rd. “. Earl’s deadpan, “ do you really think I’m not gonna do that song?” cracked everyone up. What a concert! He switched instruments at least 10 times. It was magical.
Devil's Right Hand is another great hit from him. But my favorite is Galloway Girl.
Mine is also Galloway Girl. For the longest time it was Guitar Town, which is still up there. I was lucky enough to see Steve Earle at a county fair a couple years ago and he put on a fantastic show.
It's Galway Girl, to be pedantic, great song.
@@TheMhoram I thought it was, but I was too lazy to Google it lol
I have heard that song,Galloway Girl but didn't know he sang it !!! 👍❤️🎶🍀. LOVE THE GAELIC VIBE !! 👍🍀😁
@@caroljordan6130 he didn't just sing it, he wrote it.
This is one of my favorite songs. And yes I’ve had some stuff that doubles as paint remover and some stuff that tasted like grandma’s apple pie… both will make you time travel.
This song ALWAYS BRINGS TEARS TO MY EYES ❤
Love peace and harmony
JAMEL ROCK'S 🤩
IT IS EARL!!!!! STEVE EARL
"I wake up screaming like I'm back over there" is such an incredible line that so many people miss in this song.
The one that hits me hard is right before that: "They draft the white trash first, 'round here anyway."
@@joeday4293
That was absolutely true
i always thought the line was "they gotta strange row of tobacco over there"
My uncle was there 2 tours totally understand that line.
Love this song, bring me back to my Scots-Irish roots. My Grandparents and my Great Grandfather who was Charles/Charlie and yes, he did make Moonshine with his buddies. ❤😂
It's tough to start your career with such an awesome song. Hard to live up to this song.
Jamayl seems to hear and catch HIS REACTION IS THE BEST.
He recognized the " family business " Luv watching Jamayl giggy flying down Copperhead Road
I love Steve Earle.... I call his music, "Electric Hillbilly" and it's my favorite! I never get tired of his music!
This is one of the best songs ever. Such a great song.
I haven’t heard this in forever. Good tune!
This is a young Steve Earle,
Great choice! Copper Kettle by Gillian Welch is a similar theme beautifully written and sung. Her Paper Wings and Orphan Girl are sublime. She and partner David Rawlins are stellar talents.
Tear My Stillhouse Down is also a great Gillian Welch track on the moonshine theme.
Anything Gillian Welch puts out is worth listening to,
I was born and raised in a moonshining family from WV. He's playing an mandolin, my mom played that and piano for local bands with my dad in the 60's.
Jamel, you never cease to amaze me. Steve Earle is one of my favorites. I got into him by way of a band called The Pogues. A reaction to them would be great! The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn (pronounced like cu cullen). The record this song came from directly influenced Copperhead Road. I love your channel!
Really that’s very interesting the pogues are brilliant
Love this song.
And yes have had shine.
Straight from back woods, east Tennessee . It was a family thing.
I love this song and play it in my acoustic sets and with our outlaw country band.
Jamel, I’m an inveterate Metalhead BUT this crossover is still in my playlist to this day.
Steve ""Earl". Fabulous song!!! Great toe tapping! Love it.
“Earle “ one syllable. He’s awesome. Great first tune of his. Check out “Guitar Town” his early stuff. He’s legend. If you want something serious try Amerika 6.0 or his song Jerusalem. He’s an American icon. His mentor was Townes Van Zander. Named his son after him. Townes sadly passed last year. Please check out more of him. So many songs. He will move you. Thanks
Townes Van Zandt, and he passed away in 1997. He lived hard and it killed him fairly quick- he was only 52 years old when he died. The list of artists who he influenced is long, and his music has been recorded by artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Counting Crows, Jason Isbell, Natalie Maines, and many others.
As @rjs2005 notes, Townes Van Zandt died in 1997. Steve's son, Justin Townes Earle, passed away in August 2020 from an overdose of fentanyl laced coke.
as soon as he mentions Colombia you know it's about more than just mary jane