This song is set in the Appalachian region, which was settled back in the 1700s and 1800s by the Scots-Irish people, so there is a lot of Celtic influence in the local culture.
Yep and they were a very insular people especially the further back in the hills you go. Everyone knows everybody for generations so you know who doesn't belong.
US Department of the Treasury . Just in case some of the younger people don't know who that was. Basically the same people that now handle counterfeiting cases (The Secret Service still handles ot but are now under Homeland Security).
@@kenkonwick6660 I live in the south with the hollers and mountains. I'm living now on the southern slope of a mountain, and it has been said that the mountain long ago looked like Christmas lights at night. People making moon shine and wine. I do know what a revenue man is.
Most of the people in the mountains are descendants of the Irish-Scottish immigrants in early America. So big influence on the music,dance and culture.
Welcome to the mountains of east Tennessee. I live about 20 miles from Copperhead Rd. It's a real road in Johnson county and the name was changed because people kept stealing the sign. The state of Tennessee just declared it an official song 🐶😎🇺🇸
Lots of Scottish ancestory in Appalachia. Bluegrass was birthed out of that tradition. I consider this Southern Rock which was a mix of traditiomal Sourhern Music from Bluegrass to Jazz blended back into Rock.
Charlie was known for many kinds of traps used to kill and maim unsuspecting enemy soldiers (trip wire explosives, covered pits with bamboo pointed stakes in the bottom etc).
Definitely miss a lot of the nuances without i imagine. I am learning a lot by checking these out and the people sharing a bit of their knowledge in the comments. Great song. Thanks for watching.
A tour was one year that soldiers were asked to spend in country during Vietnam. To do two meant he asked to stay an extra year of his own choice. Some did their one year and got out and back to the States, some asked for extra duty and stayed longer.
He sings about his grandfather and his Father handing down there Bootlegging skills, to him, and when he returns from serving in Vietnam, he starts Planting seeds he brought back with him, and you can hear the Scot in him coming out, love this song.
Steve is a singer/songwriter legend, known for southern rock, country, Americana, blues and folk influences. He is all over the map sonically, in the best way. Check out the music of his so , the late, great Justin Townes Earle. Justin was an incredible talent in his own right. Line Pine Hill, Harlem River Blues, Mommas Eyes, Black Eyed Suzy. He didn’t have a bad song. Unfortunately he also inherited his dad’s addictions. Justin had very public falls off the wagon followed by stints of sobriety. He finally had been clean for a long time and fell off the wagon in 2020 during the lockdowns and got cocaine that unknowingly had fentanyl in it. Justin was too young, gone too early, and left a wife and young daughter, so any time I can I share his music, to keep his songs alive but also any money made off of them will help support his family. After the lockdowns Steve put together a concert in memory of Justin, there was family, friends, industry peers, fellow songwriters and singers. It’s sad and beautiful. Watching Steve song his late son’s music is powerful and heartbreaking, you can see and beat the emotion. It’s on RUclips as well.
Steve Earle has quite the backstory. He put out one of the top records ever (Guitar Town) in his debut, released another record (Exit 0), but was mostly shunned from the Country music industry. Then he dropped this diamond of a song on the album of the same name. There was a five-year gap between his fourth (1990) and fifth (1995) albums ... because he spent two months in prison in 1994 for cocaine and weapons possessions, and failing to show up for court. He's been married seven times, twice to the same woman. One of his wives was Allison Moorer, a Country artist (I saw her open for him in '05); they have a nonverbal autistic son together. Steve's first son, Justin Townes Earle, was a great songwriter and artist as well. Steve witnessed Justin die four-plus years ago from an overdose of fentanyl-laced cocaine. The guy's a warrior of life.
My first job I worked for a family business. The lady I worked for mom lived next door and she was in her 80's. She would tell me stories. Her husband made moonshine and she drove the blocker car. She would make the cops chase her so he could make the run. She never got caught and years later she finally told the sheriff she was the driver. He told her she was the best driver he ever chased. The music tells the Southern American story. It starts out with the bagpipes cause most Appalachian people came from the Scottish and Irish people. The English would first build a church when they came to a new place. The Scottish would build a still. This old lady told me so many ways they would move their moonshine right under the law man's nose. This was back in the 90's and I would go to high-school till lunch and then work till 9. I learned so much about life from this family and I worked there for 3 years. Sadly they have all passed away.
They would build fast cars to run the moonshine & as the moonshine trade phased out they started racing the cars & in a nutshell that is how NASCAR was born . 2) In the story he grows weed where the family made shine in the past .
My dad used to take me to bootleggers houses to get whiskey when I was a young boy lol. He didn’t drink much but I think He just liked the people there lol. This song kinda reminds me of some of my peeps in Harlan KY
My dad did the same in West Virginia! Out in rural areas it was also easier to go to a bootlegger than a liquor store, which were few and far between. Might as well stay local and drink the good stuff.
The moonshine tv show was made in Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains in a small town about 45 minutes south of me so most of the moonshine that people in my town get is from the people on that show! I have a friend here who has known one of the guys on the show for decades and we know that moonshine can be deadly if you get some that’s not made correctly so my friend only gets it from “Pickle” which is what they call Steve Tickle since childhood. So if I want some that’s what I get. I hate straight shine so I go the old fashioned way and make apple pie moonshine from it at home. It’s amazing that way!
You continue to impress me! I've joked about you rifling through my record collection, and now I'm convinced I had the great fortune to see Steve Earle on this tour. It was bliss.
His song “My Old Friend the Blues” is likely the saddest song I’ve ever heard. Another to add to your vast list! 😊He’s still touring. Saw him recently in Bellingham, Washington. He did this song and the one I mentioned, too. Popular songs. His son, Justin Towns Earle, unfortunately passed away from a drug OD, was really talented as well. “Who am I To Say” is hard hitting. Was hard for the kid growing up with a rock n roll out of control heroin addict dad always on the road. Addiction. 😢 Congrats on clean time anniversary, if I remember right. I celebrated 3 years this month. ❤
Charlie was what American soldiers called the Viet Cong. The singer said he learned 'a thing or two from Charlie'. implying that he knew ways to deal with the DEA when they came snooping around the pot growing up Copperhead Road.
@@SaeedReacts. A little added info, the Viet Cong were well known for setting dangerous traps like spike pits, swinging logs with spikes embedded in them, etc. So he's warning you he's got the area around his drug crops rigged up with traps so you better not come snooping around uninvited.
@@SaeedReacts. Victor Charlie was the NATO phonetic used for reporting on the Viet Cong (VC). Charlie became the slang for all the enemy: Viet Cong or North Vietnamese Army.
Interesting side note, the soda Mountain dew got its name from a whiskey, the original makers of mountain dew were distillers who had a local gentleman call their grain alcohol mountain dew, they later began making soft drinks and a lemon lime soda later was given the name, mountain dew.
I remember buying this as a 45 back in the day--not long before you couldn't buy 45s anymore. An amazing piece of story telling and great instruments. Cool.
If you ever watched the Wire, Steve Earle played the guy who ran the recovery program that Bubbles was in. Steve had his own real life struggles with heroin.
moonshine at its core. is corn, water, sugar and yeast. add water. let it ferment and then distilled. there are many variations on this . but that is the base
I'm so glad you enjoyed the song and that you were into the Justified series. This is the first time I have listened to your reaction and I can't tell from your accent where you are from. I'm an old southern belle very familiar with songs and stories like Copperhead Road. I like how you feel so much of a song and you are right about the Celtic sound present in this particular song. I'm going to have to listen to more of your reactions and maybe request that you listen to some of my favorites ❣️
Such a great song. Love the storytelling. Justified is one of my favorite series. I am from Belgium, so English is not my first language, but i grew up on American cinema and tv. So the accent is probably a mashup from all over the place 😅 Thanks so much for watching! Have a wonderful weekend !
This is East Tennessee that he is singing about. Johnson City, Tn. & Knoxville, Tn. North East,, Tn. Johnson City is about 35 mins. South of Bristol, Va. Drive S.W. of Johnson City, Tn., about an hour & forty mins. & you will be in Knoxville, Tn. Drive South on I40 about 2 hours & Cherokee, North Carolina is just East over the mountain. Gatlinburg, Tn., (Great Smokey Mountains), is N.W. between Cherokee, N.C., & Knoxville. The Appalachian Mountains run through there, extending all the way to Canada. East Tn., is beautiful. Irish influence runs deep. Their clogging (dance) was primarily developed from irish step dancing called, Sean-no¹s dance. Look up clogging & you will see the Irish influence upon it. Most people think it originated from a Bluegrass perspective. England, Wales & a few others have a form of clogging dance/folk, but Irish Appalachia is in it's own class!💯🔥 I've always heard Irish/Scottish/Celtics running prevalent! through this master! I lived in East Tn., when he released this. Moonshine, (🌽) Burley, Tobacco & some devil's lettuce, planted at the holler, amongst the tobacco=Cash Crops. 🤣😅🤣😅 A tour of duty in the Army lasts two or four years, dependant upon choice at/of enlistment or re-enlistment, (unless its' changed). I believe that a tour in Vietnam lasted one year for ground forces.So he did two tours. He may have done 2 years, 4 years or 8 years? Lastly, I believe the Tn. State congress had Steve Earle perform Copperhead Road on the house floor, during session, a few years ago. I think they have named it one of their state songs. Rocky Top is their other state song Enjoyed your reaction & my return to the memories of beautiful East Tennessee.🤍
My grand father was a bootlegger in the 1928-32 he ran moonshine from California to Montana there a lot to what these guys did especially back in old days with out pavement and the weather my grandfather did meet my grandmother on one of the runs to Montana brought her back to Oregon settled down after bad run were a lot went wrong.
Viet Cong = VC = Victor Charlie on radios Shortened in military speak to “Charlie” by veterans of that war. Quite the story in this song. I bought this album after this song was released on radio. A neat backstory is song was recorded on “one take”. Steve Earl on the recording can be heard, after the song was completed, saying “I knew there was a one taker on this album somewhere!” and everybody laughing.
Thank God for that last comment from Linda Pollock.I don't know how many Reviewers have reviewed this song and every one of them thinks when the revenue. I went up the Haller up copperhead road to get granddaddy. And everybody thinks granddaddy's the one that never comes back, but it's the revenue or who didn't come back. Granddaddy still drink and drive and you can swim the revenue. I went to get him up the Haller. And he never made it back out of the haller because granddaddy offed him. No more revenuer ! I can't tell you how many people have reviewed this supposed to be music reviewers. And they cannot figure it out. That Grandpa was not the one that didn't make it back off. Copper head road. It was the revenue. Thank God for that lady. In front of me with that. Comment, it Burns me up every time. Somebody says Grandpa never made it back. Sure he did. He's burning down copper head road right now.What a big mason jar full of white lightning ye haw papaw !!!!
I did over a 1500 reactions in 7 Months. If you watch them all you will see how many i get right. Cant get them all on first listen. Great song nonetheless!
Great song from a great artist. Very cool story about a multi-generational family trying to scratch out a living selling illegal substances. The grandfather made moonshine, likely in the Prohibition era, and the tax enforcer who went into the holler to bust him never came back. The father died in a car crash while running 'shine, probably trying to escape police. J.P. III came back from Vietnam and kept the family biz alive by switching their product line to weed. Such a cool song, love the bagpipes and mandolin. For more from Steve Earle, check out "GUITAR TOWN" ruclips.net/video/AINUPFbFpqg/видео.html. WARNING: This song tends to get stuck on repeat in your head.
I have a photo of my grandfather strapping wooden crates of his moonshine on wild elk he somehow captured in northeast Oregon in the thirties/forties. He had 8 children. He did what he had to do. Including poaching those elk and also deer. Evidently, He had some sort of understanding with the local law enforcement. He was kind of a scary dude. He and his brothers and sisters grew up in a dirt floor cabin in the woods. And we talk about how things are tough today. Cool song. Always makes me think of him.
If you're going to be a OHW it might as well be cool like this one Happy 4/20😎😁 My "sea story" in this regard is, when my ship pulled into Bangkok Thailand in the early 80's, my friend, who was about to get out when the ship returned home, took three shoeboxes and hallowed out two decorative candles and stuffed them with Thai-buds and mailed them to a classified mailbox. Then when he got home to a very happy ol'lady, mortgage caught up, bills paid and a shoebox.😈
My father bought Steve Earle's debut album Guitar Town when it came out in 1986. I was 11 and have been a huge fan ever since. He's one of the greatest songwriters ever. He transcends many genres. And regarding Justified - fantastic show and I'm currently re-watching it again. This is the best version of You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive - ruclips.net/video/20ikvoVO3uo/видео.html
Thats awesome! Definitely want to explore more of his music. Justified is one of my favorite shows. Also recently rewatched it. "We dug coal together."
Yeah, this is one of the stories of a "bad area" - basically these "poor" folk were into illegal stuff. The law does not do well going into some areas. And yeah as other said, "Charlie" was the slang in Vietnam for the Viet Cong - they fought guerrilla style lots of traps, surprises, and hiding so there is an implicit threat in that line.
so he did 2 years in Nam, i was lucky they stopped the draft a few months before my 18th birthday, and my Mother told me Later that i would have not gone any ways as i was my Fathers only Son at the time, and she said she would have stopped it as we already had a lot of Family over there.
One of my favorite Steve Earle tracks - I have a live version recorded here in Austin on KGSR radio. They used to release annual CDs of live music recorded in studio and that song is on one of them.
Thank you, Saeed!! It looks like my fellow commenters pretty much covered the back info., lol.."charlie used to use pungee sticks smeared with all kinds of bacteria laden stuff including feces and urine for the soldiers to step on and maim them horribly..the sticks were buried and hidden..they used all kinds of nasty booby traps..i.e. jungle warfare..the movie " The Green Beret " touches on the viet cong's antics. I used to see on television how many U.S. Soldiers were killed each night on the news. Anyway, when John Lee Pettimore the 3rd ( my name is John Lee Pettimore, same as my daddy and his daddy before) came back from Vietnam he decided to expand/ change the family business to growing pot. I have seen many former DEA agents comment on this song in other reactions, and what they say is " unless you are conducting some kind of business there, there are certain hollers you just don't venture into and certain roads you just do not go down. Yes this music has Irish, Celtic, Scottish, and Bluegrass roots from Appalachian areas..especially Tennessee, North Carolina, and West Virginia. It started as Boot-legging ( moonshine) during prohibition ( alcohol was illegal) to running moonshine from legal alcohol states to dry counties where it was still illegal. Moonshining was illegal because the government couldn't collect taxes..and the moonshiners did it as a way to feed their families. And yes, they were extremely protective of their stills, and later years, their Marijuana crops. You messed with these people, you "disappear " never to be heard from again. Thank you for your very intuitive reaction, Saeed.❤😊
@katrinaprescott5911 oops sorry, I was typing with 1 finger so fast, I'm sure I forgot quite a few..call it my brain cloud for the evening lol☺️..Thank you ✌️
Thanks so much for this request and for taking the time to share this info. Its definitely very interesting and these are the kinds of subjects i like to learn about.
@@dusty4835 15 years is still pretty fresh. An 20-year-old Vietnam vet when the troops pulled out would have been 35 when the song was written and would remember it like it was yesterday. While troops pulled out on March 29 of 1973, the war didn't end until two years later with the fall of Saigon. I remember it now like it was yesterday. 9/11 was 23 years ago and it seems like yesterday. So in relative terms, the war was still fresh in everybody's minds.
Grandaddy was probably running from the revenuers and Feds. Although back in those days, Feds and such didn't usually go up into those hills at least not without reinforcements. It wasn't good for their health.💀💀 Many of us born in the south came from these ancestors. As others have said, most of the early white settlers of the uplands of numerous southern states were Irish and Scots. The "southern" twang that most of us southerners have has its roots in Gaelic and Celtic languages. That all said, the moral is "Prohibition just doesn't work very well."
I've watched several reactions to this song, and you're the only one who caught on when he said" you could smell the whiskey burning... you take corn and add sugar let it ferment. what you end up with is Ethanol, or ....Moonshine
Wow I loved Justified, and the Show where he played the sheriff again in the town where Buffalo Bill was Killed, i always get a brain fart with the name of the show.
I've loved this song since it came out! It's always popping up in my playlists. Nice choice! For an epic storytelling song that I suspect you haven't ever heard, check out Loreena McKennitt's song "The Highwayman". She uses haunting instruments to take you on a journey! It's something really different and I think you'll enjoy it. Perfect late night driving music!
Great song! I have not. So many songs i want to check out. I wish i could clone myself 😅 Good news is im not stopping anytime soon 😄 Thanks for watching. Have a great weekend.
His circle of friends nearly got him killed. Towns Van Zandt and the others. Too much get high goin' on. Justified and Deadwood are the very best series' ever!
Tours were, I believe, a year. And Charlie was the enemy. Also, the thing or two he learned were booby traps! LOL! Better stay away from Copperhead road! LOL
Have you reacted to Tyler Childers yet ? "Nose to the grindstone" or " white house road " From his vinal sessions. These 2 songs you will really appreciate, I'm sure. Even if you dont make a video. You should hear these 2 songs.
I already recorded a reaction to a live version by Patty Loveless. Its not uploaded yet. But i definitely want to check out more versions. Thanks for the recommendation.
@@SaeedReacts. Absolutely. It is actually a personal story for Darrell Scott and he is an amazing song writer. I believe you will definitely enjoy his music.
The car didn't go up in flames, the smell of "whisky burning down Copperhead Road" is because when "him and my uncle tore that engine down" they rebuilt it to run on the same moonshine they were making, instead of having to have gas, hence the smell of it burning.
No he's talking about using it instead of gas. It's like rocket fuel makes you go faster. That's what he mams when he said hot coyly smell the whiskey burning down Copperhead Road.
What do you mean? I have the lyrics up on the screen, i just read a long. And half the people commenting say i got the meaning of the song wrong? Thanks for watching!
The moonshine tv show was made in Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains in a small town about 45 minutes south of me so most of the moonshine that people in my town get is from the people on that show! I have a friend here who has known one of the guys on the show for decades and we know that moonshine can be deadly if you get some that’s not made correctly so my friend only gets it from “Pickle” which is what they call Steve Tickle since childhood. So if I want some that’s what I get. I hate straight shine so I go the old fashioned way and make apple pie moonshine from it at home. It’s amazing that way!
![Stromae, Pomme - “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1F3OGIFnW1k/mqdefault.jpg)
This song is set in the Appalachian region, which was settled back in the 1700s and 1800s by the Scots-Irish people, so there is a lot of Celtic influence in the local culture.
Oh, i did not know that! Learned something new. Thanks!
Yep and they were a very insular people especially the further back in the hills you go. Everyone knows everybody for generations so you know who doesn't belong.
It was the Revenue Officer that didn't come back, He came for his grandfather.
grandpa was a bad ass-he took out the revenuers
US Department of the Treasury . Just in case some of the younger people don't know who that was. Basically the same people that now handle counterfeiting cases (The Secret Service still handles ot but are now under Homeland Security).
@@lindapockrus5660 a revenue man is a government tax collector. A big reason moonshine existed was to make money without paying taxes on it.
There is a strong tradition in country songs, folk stories, and country comedy of "revenuers" mysteriously disappearing. "Rocky Top" comes to mind.
@@kenkonwick6660 I live in the south with the hollers and mountains. I'm living now on the southern slope of a mountain, and it has been said that the mountain long ago looked like Christmas lights at night. People making moon shine and wine. I do know what a revenue man is.
The Taxman never came back from Copperhead Road.
Most of the people in the mountains are descendants of the Irish-Scottish immigrants in early America. So big influence on the music,dance and culture.
Moonshiners also started a small racing circuit that ended up growing into NASCAR
Welcome to the mountains of east Tennessee. I live about 20 miles from Copperhead Rd. It's a real road in Johnson county and the name was changed because people kept stealing the sign. The state of Tennessee just declared it an official song 🐶😎🇺🇸
Oh wow! Thats amazing! Thanks for sharing that.
Lots of Scottish ancestory in Appalachia. Bluegrass was birthed out of that tradition.
I consider this Southern Rock which was a mix of traditiomal Sourhern Music from Bluegrass to Jazz blended back into Rock.
"Charlie" was US military slang for the Viet Cong.
The Aussie Vietnam vets used it too.
It came from the NATO phonetic code for VC (Viet Cong) -- Victor Charlie.
Charlie was known for many kinds of traps used to kill and maim unsuspecting enemy soldiers (trip wire explosives, covered pits with bamboo pointed stakes in the bottom etc).
One needs a lot of cultural and historical context for this song... It's an incredible portrait of 20th century southern Appalachia.
Definitely miss a lot of the nuances without i imagine. I am learning a lot by checking these out and the people sharing a bit of their knowledge in the comments. Great song.
Thanks for watching.
One of the greatest songwriters of all-time. Period.
A tour was one year that soldiers were asked to spend in country during Vietnam. To do two meant he asked to stay an extra year of his own choice. Some did their one year and got out and back to the States, some asked for extra duty and stayed longer.
Wow. That is a long time.
Thanks for shedding some light on that.
"Asked" 😂
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SONG.
The Sassy Lassie.☘️☘️☘️
He sings about his grandfather and his Father handing down there Bootlegging skills, to him, and when he returns from serving in Vietnam, he starts Planting seeds he brought back with him, and you can hear the Scot in him coming out, love this song.
Great song!
Mary jane seeds
Steve is a singer/songwriter legend, known for southern rock, country, Americana, blues and folk influences. He is all over the map sonically, in the best way.
Check out the music of his so , the late, great Justin Townes Earle. Justin was an incredible talent in his own right. Line Pine Hill, Harlem River Blues, Mommas Eyes, Black Eyed Suzy. He didn’t have a bad song.
Unfortunately he also inherited his dad’s addictions. Justin had very public falls off the wagon followed by stints of sobriety. He finally had been clean for a long time and fell off the wagon in 2020 during the lockdowns and got cocaine that unknowingly had fentanyl in it. Justin was too young, gone too early, and left a wife and young daughter, so any time I can I share his music, to keep his songs alive but also any money made off of them will help support his family.
After the lockdowns Steve put together a concert in memory of Justin, there was family, friends, industry peers, fellow songwriters and singers. It’s sad and beautiful. Watching Steve song his late son’s music is powerful and heartbreaking, you can see and beat the emotion. It’s on RUclips as well.
Thats heartbreaking. Definitely want to get to some of his music as well at some point.
Steve Earle has quite the backstory. He put out one of the top records ever (Guitar Town) in his debut, released another record (Exit 0), but was mostly shunned from the Country music industry. Then he dropped this diamond of a song on the album of the same name. There was a five-year gap between his fourth (1990) and fifth (1995) albums ... because he spent two months in prison in 1994 for cocaine and weapons possessions, and failing to show up for court. He's been married seven times, twice to the same woman. One of his wives was Allison Moorer, a Country artist (I saw her open for him in '05); they have a nonverbal autistic son together. Steve's first son, Justin Townes Earle, was a great songwriter and artist as well. Steve witnessed Justin die four-plus years ago from an overdose of fentanyl-laced cocaine. The guy's a warrior of life.
My first job I worked for a family business. The lady I worked for mom lived next door and she was in her 80's. She would tell me stories. Her husband made moonshine and she drove the blocker car. She would make the cops chase her so he could make the run. She never got caught and years later she finally told the sheriff she was the driver. He told her she was the best driver he ever chased. The music tells the Southern American story. It starts out with the bagpipes cause most Appalachian people came from the Scottish and Irish people. The English would first build a church when they came to a new place. The Scottish would build a still.
This old lady told me so many ways they would move their moonshine right under the law man's nose. This was back in the 90's and I would go to high-school till lunch and then work till 9. I learned so much about life from this family and I worked there for 3 years. Sadly they have all passed away.
I bet you have many interesting stories! Thanks for sharing a bit of it!
Everybody gets it mixed up. The revenue officer never comes back from Copperhead Road.
Thanks for shedding some light on that!
Yea, poor guy didn't have enough for grandaddy
Isn't that a fantastic song?? I love the beat and instruments. Steve Erles voice is incredible. The 80's decade had alot of the best music. ❤Stay safe
Great song! Definitely all the elements coming together in this one. Awesome music, ama vocals and incredible writing.
They would build fast cars to run the moonshine & as the moonshine trade phased out they started racing the cars & in a nutshell that is how NASCAR was born . 2) In the story he grows weed where the family made shine in the past .
My dad used to take me to bootleggers houses to get whiskey when I was a young boy lol. He didn’t drink much but I think He just liked the people there lol. This song kinda reminds me of some of my peeps in Harlan KY
Gotta watch those Kentucky folks! Hahaha
My dad did the same in West Virginia! Out in rural areas it was also easier to go to a bootlegger than a liquor store, which were few and far between. Might as well stay local and drink the good stuff.
Love this song!!!
same as my Daddy and his Daddy before, GREAT!
The moonshine tv show was made in Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains in a small town about 45 minutes south of me so most of the moonshine that people in my town get is from the people on that show! I have a friend here who has known one of the guys on the show for decades and we know that moonshine can be deadly if you get some that’s not made correctly so my friend only gets it from “Pickle” which is what they call Steve Tickle since childhood. So if I want some that’s what I get. I hate straight shine so I go the old fashioned way and make apple pie moonshine from it at home. It’s amazing that way!
You continue to impress me! I've joked about you rifling through my record collection, and now I'm convinced I had the great fortune to see Steve Earle on this tour. It was bliss.
Awesome you saw him live.
And i just remembered him! He played Waylon in The Wire!
Worlds colliding here 😅
His song “My Old Friend the Blues” is likely the saddest song I’ve ever heard. Another to add to your vast list! 😊He’s still touring. Saw him recently in Bellingham, Washington. He did this song and the one I mentioned, too. Popular songs. His son, Justin Towns Earle, unfortunately passed away from a drug OD, was really talented as well. “Who am I To Say” is hard hitting. Was hard for the kid growing up with a rock n roll out of control heroin addict dad always on the road. Addiction. 😢 Congrats on clean time anniversary, if I remember right. I celebrated 3 years this month. ❤
I heard about his song. Heartbreaking 😞
Congratulations on your 3 years! ❤️
Charlie was what American soldiers called the Viet Cong. The singer said he learned 'a thing or two from Charlie'. implying that he knew ways to deal with the DEA when they came snooping around the pot growing up Copperhead Road.
Thanks for shedding some light on that!
@@SaeedReacts. A little added info, the Viet Cong were well known for setting dangerous traps like spike pits, swinging logs with spikes embedded in them, etc. So he's warning you he's got the area around his drug crops rigged up with traps so you better not come snooping around uninvited.
@@SaeedReacts. Victor Charlie was the NATO phonetic used for reporting on the Viet Cong (VC). Charlie became the slang for all the enemy: Viet Cong or North Vietnamese Army.
Interesting side note, the soda Mountain dew got its name from a whiskey, the original makers of mountain dew were distillers who had a local gentleman call their grain alcohol mountain dew, they later began making soft drinks and a lemon lime soda later was given the name, mountain dew.
That is very interesting! Never knew about that. Learned something new 😃
Thanks for sharing.
Another great story from Steve is Backs To The Wall off of this same album. Absolute Masterpiece.
Thanks for the recommendation!
I remember buying this as a 45 back in the day--not long before you couldn't buy 45s anymore. An amazing piece of story telling and great instruments. Cool.
If you ever watched the Wire, Steve Earle played the guy who ran the recovery program that Bubbles was in. Steve had his own real life struggles with heroin.
I did! I mentioned this in my next reaction where he sings Tecumseh Valley.
The Wire is one of my favorite shows of all time.
This is one of the handful of country singers i enjoy.
I'm just finding your reactions and so far I'm enjoying them. Thanks for the reactions.
Thank you so much for watching!
moonshine at its core. is corn, water, sugar and yeast. add water. let it ferment and then distilled. there are many variations on this . but that is the base
I love Justified~ Great show! They use different artists singing You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive.
Amazing show!
Oh, yes! I think i remember hearing different version. Thanks for reminding me 😃
There was a short time where songs of death or dying became quite popular. Wife dies, husband dies, even of a song where your dog dies.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the song and that you were into the Justified series. This is the first time I have listened to your reaction and I can't tell from your accent where you are from. I'm an old southern belle very familiar with songs and stories like Copperhead Road. I like how you feel so much of a song and you are right about the Celtic sound present in this particular song. I'm going to have to listen to more of your reactions and maybe request that you listen to some of my favorites ❣️
Such a great song. Love the storytelling. Justified is one of my favorite series.
I am from Belgium, so English is not my first language, but i grew up on American cinema and tv. So the accent is probably a mashup from all over the place 😅
Thanks so much for watching! Have a wonderful weekend !
Sounds a little like new York
This is East Tennessee that he is singing about. Johnson City, Tn. & Knoxville, Tn. North East,, Tn. Johnson City is about 35 mins. South of Bristol, Va. Drive S.W. of Johnson City, Tn., about an hour & forty mins. & you will be in Knoxville, Tn. Drive South on I40 about 2 hours & Cherokee, North Carolina is just East over the mountain. Gatlinburg, Tn., (Great Smokey Mountains), is N.W. between Cherokee, N.C., & Knoxville.
The Appalachian Mountains run through there, extending all the way to Canada. East Tn., is beautiful. Irish influence runs deep. Their clogging (dance) was primarily developed from irish step dancing called, Sean-no¹s dance. Look up clogging & you will see the Irish influence upon it.
Most people think it originated from a Bluegrass perspective. England, Wales & a few others have a form of clogging dance/folk, but Irish Appalachia is in it's own class!💯🔥 I've always heard Irish/Scottish/Celtics running prevalent! through this master! I lived in East Tn., when he released this. Moonshine, (🌽) Burley, Tobacco & some devil's lettuce, planted at the holler, amongst the tobacco=Cash Crops. 🤣😅🤣😅
A tour of duty in the Army lasts two or four years, dependant upon choice at/of enlistment or re-enlistment, (unless its' changed).
I believe that a tour in Vietnam lasted one year for ground forces.So he did two tours. He may have done 2 years, 4 years or 8 years?
Lastly, I believe the Tn. State congress had Steve Earle perform Copperhead Road on the house floor, during session, a few years ago. I think they have named it one of their state songs. Rocky Top is their other state song
Enjoyed your reaction & my return to the memories of beautiful East Tennessee.🤍
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this! That's amazing that they named it one of their state songs. Have a wonderful day!
The revenue man (US Treasury Agent) never came back from Copperhead Road. He went down there to bust the stills, but was never heard from again.
Thanks for shedding some light on that!
I love your analysis of these songs. Thank you for your reaction. I am on a binge right now and can't stop. Much love from Arkansas, US.
Thank you so much! Have a wonderful day! Much love from Belgium!
Another terrific Texas artist and storyteller. They should make a movie about him some day.
My grand father was a bootlegger in the 1928-32 he ran moonshine from California to Montana there a lot to what these guys did especially back in old days with out pavement and the weather my grandfather did meet my grandmother on one of the runs to Montana brought her back to Oregon settled down after bad run were a lot went wrong.
He must have had many interesting stories.
100 proof Moonshine blew up on copperhead road
This song is famous enough that the actual Copperhead Rd has been renamed to Copperhead Valley Rd just to try to stop people stealing the signs.
What? Damn!
Viet Cong = VC = Victor Charlie on radios
Shortened in military speak to “Charlie” by veterans of that war.
Quite the story in this song. I bought this album after this song was released on radio. A neat backstory is song was recorded on “one take”. Steve Earl on the recording can be heard, after the song was completed, saying “I knew there was a one taker on this album somewhere!” and everybody laughing.
Thanks for letting me know about that.
Must check out the backstory some time.
Thank God for that last comment from Linda Pollock.I don't know how many Reviewers have reviewed this song and every one of them thinks when the revenue. I went up the Haller up copperhead road to get granddaddy. And everybody thinks granddaddy's the one that never comes back, but it's the revenue or who didn't come back. Granddaddy still drink and drive and you can swim the revenue. I went to get him up the Haller. And he never made it back out of the haller because granddaddy offed him. No more revenuer ! I can't tell you how many people have reviewed this supposed to be music reviewers. And they cannot figure it out. That Grandpa was not the one that didn't make it back off. Copper head road. It was the revenue. Thank God for that lady. In front of me with that. Comment, it Burns me up every time. Somebody says Grandpa never made it back. Sure he did. He's burning down copper head road right now.What a big mason jar full of white lightning ye haw papaw !!!!
I did over a 1500 reactions in 7 Months. If you watch them all you will see how many i get right. Cant get them all on first listen.
Great song nonetheless!
Darrell Scott is the writer/singer of "You'll never leave Harlan alive" my favorite.
Thanks for letting me know! I only know it from Justified, but is so damn good!
@@SaeedReacts. other great artists from Justified are Gangstagrass and also Otis Taylor.
Yes the Moonshiners showed that way of life. It was a good show. Great reaction.
I have only caught a few episodes.
Thanks so much for watching.
A great song by a great artist.
Great song from a great artist. Very cool story about a multi-generational family trying to scratch out a living selling illegal substances. The grandfather made moonshine, likely in the Prohibition era, and the tax enforcer who went into the holler to bust him never came back. The father died in a car crash while running 'shine, probably trying to escape police. J.P. III came back from Vietnam and kept the family biz alive by switching their product line to weed. Such a cool song, love the bagpipes and mandolin. For more from Steve Earle, check out "GUITAR TOWN" ruclips.net/video/AINUPFbFpqg/видео.html. WARNING: This song tends to get stuck on repeat in your head.
Thanks for sharing this and the recommendation!
Such a great song. Have loved this for years 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
Im playing catchup of 60 years of music 😅
@@SaeedReacts. 🤣🤣🤣
I have a photo of my grandfather strapping wooden crates of his moonshine on wild elk he somehow captured in northeast Oregon in the thirties/forties. He had 8 children. He did what he had to do. Including poaching those elk and also deer. Evidently, He had some sort of understanding with the local law enforcement. He was kind of a scary dude. He and his brothers and sisters grew up in a dirt floor cabin in the woods. And we talk about how things are tough today. Cool song. Always makes me think of him.
Thanks for sharing that! Definitely sounds like he did what he had to do to take care of his family.
Sounds a lot like my father in law
If you're going to be a OHW it might as well be cool like this one
Happy 4/20😎😁
My "sea story" in this regard is, when my ship pulled into Bangkok Thailand in the early 80's, my friend, who was about to get out when the ship returned home, took three shoeboxes and hallowed out two decorative candles and stuffed them with Thai-buds and mailed them to a classified mailbox. Then when he got home to a very happy ol'lady, mortgage caught up, bills paid and a shoebox.😈
Nice reaction sir, thank you!
Thank you!
I love Justified!
Awesome show!
My father bought Steve Earle's debut album Guitar Town when it came out in 1986. I was 11 and have been a huge fan ever since. He's one of the greatest songwriters ever. He transcends many genres. And regarding Justified - fantastic show and I'm currently re-watching it again. This is the best version of You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive - ruclips.net/video/20ikvoVO3uo/видео.html
Thats awesome! Definitely want to explore more of his music.
Justified is one of my favorite shows. Also recently rewatched it. "We dug coal together."
Yeah, this is one of the stories of a "bad area" - basically these "poor" folk were into illegal stuff. The law does not do well going into some areas. And yeah as other said, "Charlie" was the slang in Vietnam for the Viet Cong - they fought guerrilla style lots of traps, surprises, and hiding so there is an implicit threat in that line.
Thanks for sharing a bit of info! Appreciate that a lot!
so he did 2 years in Nam, i was lucky they stopped the draft a few months before my 18th birthday, and my Mother told me Later that i would have not gone any ways as i was my Fathers only Son at the time, and she said she would have stopped it as we already had a lot of Family over there.
Wow! I cant even imagine being that close to something like that.
I have about 15 moonshine jugs from the 40s and 50s that my Paw Paw used at his still.
Thats something to hold onto 😃
Charley is Charley Cong the nickname for the North Vietnamese soldiers in the South.
Thanks for letting me know!
Criminal that Home to Houston didn't make country radio play.
One of my favorite Steve Earle tracks - I have a live version recorded here in Austin on KGSR radio. They used to release annual CDs of live music recorded in studio and that song is on one of them.
Thank you, Saeed!! It looks like my fellow commenters pretty much covered the back info., lol.."charlie used to use pungee sticks smeared with all kinds of bacteria laden stuff including feces and urine for the soldiers to step on and maim them horribly..the sticks were buried and hidden..they used all kinds of nasty booby traps..i.e. jungle warfare..the movie " The Green Beret " touches on the viet cong's antics. I used to see on television how many U.S. Soldiers were killed each night on the news. Anyway, when John Lee Pettimore the 3rd ( my name is John Lee Pettimore, same as my daddy and his daddy before) came back from Vietnam he decided to expand/ change the family business to growing pot. I have seen many former DEA agents comment on this song in other reactions, and what they say is " unless you are conducting some kind of business there, there are certain hollers you just don't venture into and certain roads you just do not go down. Yes this music has Irish, Celtic, Scottish, and Bluegrass roots from Appalachian areas..especially Tennessee, North Carolina, and West Virginia. It started as Boot-legging ( moonshine) during prohibition ( alcohol was illegal) to running moonshine from legal alcohol states to dry counties where it was still illegal. Moonshining was illegal because the government couldn't collect taxes..and the moonshiners did it as a way to feed their families. And yes, they were extremely protective of their stills, and later years, their Marijuana crops. You messed with these people, you "disappear " never to be heard from again. Thank you for your very intuitive reaction, Saeed.❤😊
Don't forget Eastern Kentucky!
@katrinaprescott5911 oops sorry, I was typing with 1 finger so fast, I'm sure I forgot quite a few..call it my brain cloud for the evening lol☺️..Thank you ✌️
Thanks so much for this request and for taking the time to share this info.
Its definitely very interesting and these are the kinds of subjects i like to learn about.
Pretty good reaction. A tour was two years. Remember, this was written while the Vietnam war was still fresh. And Charlie only means the Viet Com.
Actually, Earle wrote this fifteen years after the last US soldiers left Vietnam.
@@dusty4835 15 years is still pretty fresh. An 20-year-old Vietnam vet when the troops pulled out would have been 35 when the song was written and would remember it like it was yesterday. While troops pulled out on March 29 of 1973, the war didn't end until two years later with the fall of Saigon. I remember it now like it was yesterday. 9/11 was 23 years ago and it seems like yesterday. So in relative terms, the war was still fresh in everybody's minds.
A tour was one year, not two. He did two years because he volunteed to do a secound. He did two tours.
@@robbherriman3302 I stand corrected. If your were a fighter pilot a tour could be 100 missions.
Grandaddy was probably running from the revenuers and Feds. Although back in those days, Feds and such didn't usually go up into those hills at least not without reinforcements. It wasn't good for their health.💀💀 Many of us born in the south came from these ancestors.
As others have said, most of the early white settlers of the uplands of numerous southern states were Irish and Scots. The "southern" twang that most of us southerners have has its roots in Gaelic and Celtic languages.
That all said, the moral is "Prohibition just doesn't work very well."
Thanks for taking the time to share this!
There are still places in those hills the police don't go alone
He's playing here tonight in Calgary.
Thats awesome!
Whiskey smell is from pouring whiskey into tank.
I sold moonshine in the 80's
Mountain music graduated from Scottish folk to bluegrass. If you want to hear some good bluegrass, check out Billy Strings.
I checked out 2 Billy Strings songs on the channel. Definitely need to check out more.
I watched him on Theo Von's podcast a while ago.
I've watched several reactions to this song, and you're the only one who caught on when he said" you could smell the whiskey burning... you take corn and add sugar let it ferment. what you end up with is Ethanol, or ....Moonshine
So moonshine is basically pure ethanol? That must be some strong stuff!
the ethanol is distilled further bring the alcohol content down to 100- 150 proof
Wow I loved Justified, and the Show where he played the sheriff again in the town where Buffalo Bill was Killed, i always get a brain fart with the name of the show.
Deadwood! That one is in my top 3 shows ever. So good!
@@SaeedReacts. Mine too
Charlie is a nickname for the north Vietnamese soldiers
Thanks for letting me know!
I've loved this song since it came out! It's always popping up in my playlists. Nice choice!
For an epic storytelling song that I suspect you haven't ever heard, check out Loreena McKennitt's song "The Highwayman". She uses haunting instruments to take you on a journey! It's something really different and I think you'll enjoy it. Perfect late night driving music!
Great song!
I have not. So many songs i want to check out. I wish i could clone myself 😅
Good news is im not stopping anytime soon 😄
Thanks for watching. Have a great weekend.
@@SaeedReacts. thanks, you too mate.
His circle of friends nearly got him killed. Towns Van Zandt and the others. Too much get high goin' on.
Justified and Deadwood are the very best series' ever!
Definitely want to learn more about him and his music.
Amongst my favorite shows ever!
Tours were, I believe, a year. And Charlie was the enemy. Also, the thing or two he learned were booby traps! LOL! Better stay away from Copperhead road! LOL
Check out Galway Girl by Steve Earle..
Thanks for the recommendation!
I love justified ❤ boardwalk empire was about prohibition just the other side of it.
Both great shows!
Patty Loveless - You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive ruclips.net/video/1n57WBtvtC4/видео.htmlsi=9S3VzzNulXGm8Ivy 😎😎
Thanks for sharing will check that one out!
Love Justified but the spinoff was just ok
Agreed. The End did get me a bit excited for a possible reunion in the future.
"We dug coal together"
Have you reacted to Tyler Childers yet ?
"Nose to the grindstone"
or
" white house road "
From his vinal sessions.
These 2 songs you will really appreciate, I'm sure. Even if you dont make a video. You should hear these 2 songs.
Not yet. Will add these to my list. Thanks so much!
If you are going to check out You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive, please do yourself a favor and listen to the man that wrote it Darrell Scott.
I already recorded a reaction to a live version by Patty Loveless. Its not uploaded yet. But i definitely want to check out more versions. Thanks for the recommendation.
@@SaeedReacts. Absolutely. It is actually a personal story for Darrell Scott and he is an amazing song writer. I believe you will definitely enjoy his music.
No Patty
Steve Earl has a song, which, in my opinion, is a better song and story than this. It's called The Devils Right Hand. I think you'll enjoy it as well.
Thanks for the recommendation! Will add it to my list!
The car didn't go up in flames, the smell of "whisky burning down Copperhead Road" is because when "him and my uncle tore that engine down" they rebuilt it to run on the same moonshine they were making, instead of having to have gas, hence the smell of it burning.
The "whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road" was the DEA destroying/burning grandpa's still.............
It was the whiskey his dad was hauling the weekly load to Knoxville when he crashed the car they had bought at the Mason's Lodge auction.
No, I think daddy the rumrunner crashed his car and it and the load caught fire.
@@katrinaprescott5911 Hmmm...could be, never considered that.
No he's talking about using it instead of gas. It's like rocket fuel makes you go faster. That's what he mams when he said hot coyly smell the whiskey burning down Copperhead Road.
Thanks for shedding some light on that.
Calling BS on you. . You heard this before. No one hears it one time and knows he says Johnson County Sherriff. I like reviews but do not BS us.
What do you mean? I have the lyrics up on the screen, i just read a long.
And half the people commenting say i got the meaning of the song wrong?
Thanks for watching!
The moonshine tv show was made in Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains in a small town about 45 minutes south of me so most of the moonshine that people in my town get is from the people on that show! I have a friend here who has known one of the guys on the show for decades and we know that moonshine can be deadly if you get some that’s not made correctly so my friend only gets it from “Pickle” which is what they call Steve Tickle since childhood. So if I want some that’s what I get. I hate straight shine so I go the old fashioned way and make apple pie moonshine from it at home. It’s amazing that way!