6 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Moonshiner (Traditional cover) Lyrics
I've been a moonshiner
For seventeen long years
And I spent all my money
On whiskey and beer
And I go to some hollow
And set up my still
If whiskey don't kill me
Lord, I don't know what will
And I go to some barroom
To drink with my friends
Where the women they can't follow
To see what I spend
God bless them pretty women
I wish they was mine
With breath as sweet as
The dew on the vine
Let me eat when I'm hungry
Let me drink when I'm dry
Two dollars when I'm hard up
Religion when I die
The whole world is a bottle
And life is but a dram
When the bottle gets empty
Lord, it sure ain't worth a damn
For seventeen long years
And I spent all my money
On whiskey and beer
And I go to some hollow
And set up my still
If whiskey don't kill me
Lord, I don't know what will
To drink with my friends
Where the women they can't follow
To see what I spend
God bless them pretty women
I wish they was mine
With breath as sweet as
The dew on the vine
Let me drink when I'm dry
Two dollars when I'm hard up
Religion when I die
The whole world is a bottle
And life is but a dram
When the bottle gets empty
Lord, it sure ain't worth a damn
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
self explanatory... great song
a simple, powerful song. What music is all about.
have yall heard chan marshall's cover? very different take, im at a loss to which i prefer. i think u ned to drink enough that its adversely affecting ur life before this song has power
Did Bob Dylan write this, or is it "traditional'? Uncle Tupelo's version is amazing.
I have commented on other drinking songs they've done. I think this is the most philosophical drinking song ever written.
"The whole world is a bottle And life is but a dram When the bottle gets empty Lord, it sure ain't worth a damn."
(And I don't even drink..........anymore.
This song is originally a traditional irish folk song often played as a waltz (3/4 time). Dylan has "redone" quite a few traditional irish folk songs and they usually don't resemble the "traditional" versions very much when he is done.
In the traditional version the song is more of a rowdy, pub song where the singer is proud of his moonshine and quite content with his drunken life-style.
The version Uncle Tupelo does is based of the Dylan version so the lyrics and music don't really resemble the traditional version much at all. In fact, only the first verse and a line from the second is recognizable.
That being said, I am a HUGE fan of Uncle Tupelo, Bob Dylan, and irish folk music. This particular version is my absolute favorite.
egad, i cud stab someone in the neck while hes blowin that harmonica