Steve Earle : Copperhead Road

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Gsus4

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

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Now the revenue man wanted granddaddy bad

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He headed up the hollow with everything he had

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Before my time, but I've been told

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He never come back from Copperhead Road Granddaddy ran the whiskey in a big black Dodge Bought it at an auction at the Mason's Lodge Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side Just shot a coat of primer then he looked inside Well him and my uncle tore that engine down I can still remember that rumblin' sound When the sheriff came around in the middle of the night I heard momma crying, knew something wasn't right He was headed down to Knoxville with a weekly load You could smell the whiskey burning down Copperhead Road I volunteered for the army on my birthday They draft the white trash first, round here anyway I did two tours of duty in Vietnam I came home with a brand new plan I take seeds from Columbia and Mexico I just plant it up the hollow down Copperhead Road Now the DEA's got a chopper in the air I wake up screaming like I'm back over there I learned a thing or two from Charlie don't you know You better stay away from Copperhead Road Copperhead Road Copperhead Road Copperhead Road

Tuning: GDAE (Mandolin Standard)

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|------0-----0---|----0------0--|-----0-------0--|------0-----0-|

|-0h2--2--2--0h2-|-4--0-0h2--2--|-5-------4---0--|-0h2--2--2--2-|

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|-3---3---3---3--|-3-3-3--3-3-3-|-2---2---2--2-|-2-2-2--2-2-2-|

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|-3---3---3---3--|-3-3-3--3-3-3-|-2------------|

|-0h2-2---2---2--|-3-3-3--2-2-2-|-0------------|

|-0---0---0---0--|-0-0-0--0-0-0-|-0------------|

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During the verses play a

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chord, alternating with

this riff played between the sung lines:

|------2-----2----|----2-------2--|

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|-0h2--2--2--0h2--|-4--0--0h2--2--|

Then play the above

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riff at the change

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Ladies and gentlemen, attention please

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Come in close so everyone can see

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I got a tale to tell, a listen don't cost a dime

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And if you believe that we're gonna get along just fine Now I've been travelin' all around I heard trouble's come to your town I've got a little somethin' guaranteed to ease your mind It's call Snake Oil y'all, it's been around for a long, long time Say, your crops 'll burn if it don't rain soon Ain't seen a drop since the tenth of June Well I can open up the sky, people have no fear If you ain't impressed yet, just tell me what you wanna hear Well you lost your farm so you moved to town You get a job, they shut the factory down Now you sit around all day long feelin' sad and blue You need Snake Oil y'all, tell you what I'm gonna do

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I can heal the sick and I can mend the lame

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And the blind shall see again, it's all the same Well ain't your President good to you Knocked 'em dead in Libya, Grenada too Now he's taking his show a little further down the line 'Tween me and him people, you're gonna get along just fine

Capo:

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'Bout the time my daddy left to fight the big war

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I saw my first pistol in the general store

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In the general store, I was thirteen

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I thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen Asked if I could have it someday when I grew up Mama dropped a dozen eggs, she really blew up Yeah she really blew up, I didn't understand Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

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The devil's right hand

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The devil's right hand

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Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand My very first pistol was a cap and ball Colt Shoot as fast as lightnin' but she'd loads a-mighty slow Loads a-mighty slow, I soon found out It'll get you into trouble but it can't get you out So then I went and bought myself a Colt .45 It was called a Peacemaker, but I never knew why Never knew why, I didn't understand Mama says the pistol is the devil's right hand The devil's right hand The devil's right hand Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

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Well I got into a card game in a company town

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Caught a miner cheatin' and I shot the dog down

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I shot the dog down, I watched the man fall

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Never touched his holster, never had a chance to draw The trial was in the morning and they drug me outta bed Asked me how I pleaded, "not guilty," I said Not guilty I said, you got the wrong man Nothin' touched the trigger but the devil's right hand

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The devil's right hand

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The devil's right hand

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Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand The devil's right hand The devil's right hand Nothin' touched the trigger but the devil's right hand

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Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

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I'm an American, boys, and I've come a long way

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I was born and bred in the USA

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So listen up close, I've got something to say

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Boys, I'm buying this round Well it took a little while, but we're in this fight And we ain't going home till we've done what's right We're gonna drink Camden Town dry tonight If I have to spend my last pound When I first got to London it was pourin' down rain Met a little girl in the field canteen Painted her name on the nose of my plane Six more missions I'm gone Well I asked if I could stay and she said that I might Then the warden came around yelling "turn out the lights" Death rainin' down in the London night We made love till dawn

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But when Johnny Come Lately comes marching home

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With a chest full of medals and a GI loan

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They'll be waitin' at the station in San Antone

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When Johnny comes marching home My P-47 is a pretty good ship And she took a round comin' 'cross the channel last trip I was thinkin' 'bout my baby and letting her rip Always got me through so far Well they can ship me all over this great big world But I'll never find nothing like my North End girl I'm taking her home with me one day, sir Soon as we win this war But when Johnny Come Lately comes marching home With a chest full of medals and a GI loan They'll be waitin' at the station in San Antone When Johnny comes marching home Now my granddaddy sang me this song Told me about London when the blitz was on How he married Grandma and brought her back home A hero throughout his land Now I'm standin' on a runway in San Diego A couple purple hearts and I move a little slow There's nobody here, maybe nobody knows About a place called Vietnam But when Johnny Come Lately comes marching home With a chest full of medals and a GI loan They'll be waitin' at the station in San Antone When Johnny comes marching home

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I've always heard that love is blind

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But I know that there's another kind

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Dsus4/d

Shines like a beacon in the night

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And holds up in the morning light

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'Cause in my dreams she travels with me when I run

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Em

And in my dreams she takes my hand when I make my stand

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When the morning always comes

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And I know it's too good to be true

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She loves me even when I'm blue No one can say that I ain't tried I keep on searching far and wide 'Cause I know she's out there somewhere now And I'm gonna track her down somehow 'Cause in my dreams she travels with me when I run And in my dreams she takes my hand when I make my stand When the morning always comes And I know it's too good to be true She loves me even when I'm blue

Steve Earle : Copperhead Road
1988

Copperhead Road

Snake Oil

Devil's Right Hand

Johnny Come Lately

Even When I'm Blue

Steve Earle : Copperhead Road 1988

Copperhead Road

Snake Oil

Devil's Right Hand

Johnny Come Lately

Even When I'm Blue

Steve Earle : Copperhead Road
1988