Learned from Gerry Milnes in Elkins, West Virginia who learned it from Trace Ratcliff, a neighbor who lived two miles away and made moonshine.
The song mentions the National Prohibition Act, enacted in 1919 and informally known as the Volstead Act. It enforced the 18th amendment on the prohibition of the distillation of alcohol. Revenuers were the government officials who enforced these laws.
lyrics
Well, come all you booze fighters, if you want to hear
About the kind of booze that we sell around here.
It’s made out of buckwheat, rye, and corn,
And all bottled up in some old barn.
Well, we don’t give a damn for the Volstead law,
And for prohibition, we don’t care at all.
It’s made way back in the swamps and the hills,
Where there’s plenty of moonshine stills.
And the lamb will lay down with the lion,
After drinking this old moonshine.
Well, one drop will make a rabbit whip a bulldog
One drop will make a cat chase a wild hog.
Make a bullfrog spit in black snake’s face,
And make a hard-shelled creature fall from grace.
And the lamb will lay down with the lion,
After drinking this old moonshine.
Well, you tip up your hat, and you take a little drink,
And then for a week, you won’t be able to think.
And the next thing you know, you’ll be getting kind of tight
Out on the street, trying to raise a fight.
So you tip up your head and you take a little more,
And then for a month you’ll be feeling kind of sore.
And then you’ll swear you won’t drink it anymore,
But you’ve said that a thousand times before.
And the lamb will lay down with the lion
After drinking this old moonshine
credits
from Elk River Blues,
track released May 23, 2019
Recorded and mixed by Doris Veldman
Voice: Annick Odom, Clara San José Casajús & Anna Jane Lester
Sweet Joe Pye is
an old-time string band originally formed in The Netherlands (with members Anna Jane, Clara, and
Annick). Current members are now split between Paris, and Morgantown, WV (Annick, Henri Colombat, and Lucas Henri). Sweet Joe Pye shares a mix of original songs with ballads and fiddle tunes hailing from the Appalachian region....more
Our bassist, Annick Odom, has her own solo project! In her project, you can hear old-time ballads as well as newly commissioned works written by talented, young American composers. Sweet Joe Pye
Our bassist, Annick Odom, released a project with electronic musician Tiziano Teodori. In her project, you can hear old-time ballads and her own compositions. Sweet Joe Pye
Nora Brown continues to bring nuance and resonance to her modern interpretation of Appalachian folk and bluegrass on her latest LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 30, 2022
West Virginia country-folk singer-songwriter Trae Sheehan aims to find a balance between the traditional and the modern on his new LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 29, 2020
Old-fashioned fiddles harmonize with rippling synths on the Scottish singer-songwriter's latest collection of original folk songs. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2022
Bright and skipping songs that foreground the sound of the banjo and fingerstyle guitar in music that feels timeless. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 5, 2020