Well, my name's John Lee Pettimore The same as my daddy and his daddy beforeWell, hardly ever saw granddaddy down here He only come to town about twice a yearHe'd buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper limeEverybody knew it would make a man shineWell, I'm a revolutionary man on a granddaddy bed Headed up a holler, left a thing he hadBefore my time, well, I've been told He'd never come back from Copperhead RoadMy granddaddy ran a whiskey in a big black Dodge He bought it at an auction at the Mason's LodgeShots of can of sheriff painted on the side He just shot a coat of primer and looked insideWell, him and my uncle tore that engine down I still remember that rumbling soundThen the sheriff came around in the middle of the night Heard mama crying that something wasn't rightHe's headed down to Knoxville with a weekly load You can smell the whiskey burning down Copperhead RoadI volunteered for the Army on my birthday The draft of white trash first drafted awayI done two tours of duty in Vietnam I came home with a brand new planI'm taking a seat from Columbia, Mexico I just planted up a holler down Copperhead RoadNow the D.A.'s got a chopper in the air Wake up screaming like I'm back over thereI learned a thing or two from Charlie, don't you know You better stay away from Copperhead RoadCopperhead RoadCopperhead Road