Copperhead Road
Steve Earle (Earle & Tony Brown, 1988)


Intro Instrumental
| [D]   | [D]   | [D]   | [D]  
| [D]   | [D]   | [D]   | [D]  
| [G]   | [G]   | [D]   | [D]  
| [D]   | [D]  

Well | [D] my name's John Lee | Pettimore   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
| [D] Same as my daddy and his | daddy before | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
You | [D] hardly ever saw Grand- | daddy down here   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
He | [D] only came to town about | twice a year   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
He'd buy a | [D] hundred pounds of yeast and some | copper line   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
| [D] Everybody knew that he | made moonshine   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  

Now the | [G] revenue man wanted | Grandaddy bad  
He | [D] headed up the holler with | everything he had
It's | [G] before my time but | I've been told
He | [D↓] never came back from Copperhead Road

Instrumental
| [D]   | [D]   | [D]   | [D]  
| [D]   | [D]   | [D]   | [D]  
| [G]   | [G]   | [D]   | [D]  
| [D]   | [D]

Grand- | [D] Daddy ran the whiskey in a | big block Dodge | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
| [D] Bought it at an auction at the | Mason's Lodge | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
| [D] Johnson County Sheriff painted | on the side | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
Just | [D] shot a coat of primer then he | looked inside   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
Well | [D] him and my uncle tore that | engine down   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
I | [D] still remember that | rumblin' sound   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  

Well the | [G] sheriff came around in the | middle of the night
| [D] Heard mama cryin', knew | something wasn't right
He was | [G] headed down to Knoxville with the | weekly load
You could | [D↓] smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road

Instrumental
| [D↓↑↓↑↓]   | [D↓↑↓↑↓]   | [D↓↑↓↑↓]   | [D↓↑↓↑↓]
| [D] Hey↓ | [D]     | [D]     | [D]     |
| [D]       | [D]     | [D]     | [D]     |
| [G]       | [G]     | [D]     | [D]     |
| [G]       | [G]     | [D]     | [D]     |
| [D]       | [D]    

I volun- | [D] teered for the Army on | my birthday   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
They draft the | [D] white trash first, 'round | here anyway   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
I done | [D] two tours of duty in | Vietnam   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
| [D] I came home with a | brand new plan   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
I take the | [D] seed from Colombia and | Mexico   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  
I'd | [D] plant it up the holler down | Copperhead Road   | [D]   | [D] [Riff]  

Well the | [G] D.E.A.'s got a | chopper in the air
I | [D] wake up screaming like I'm | back over there
I | [G] learned a thing or two from ol' | Charlie don't you know
You | [D↓] better stay away from Copperhead Road

Instrumental Outro
| [D↓↑↓↑↓]   | [D↓↑↓↑↓]   | [D↓↑↓↑↓]   | [D↓↑↓↑↓]  Hey!
| [D] Whoa   | [D]     | [D]     | [D] Copperhead
| [D] Road   | [D]     | [D]     | [D] Copperhead
| [D] Road   | [D]     | [D]     | [D] Copperhead
| [D] Road   | [D]     | [D]     | [D↓]  


#Play along in this key.
#Last Updated 06/08/18 JJ
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