The Momma 'n' Daddy Collection 90

Dolly it was yesterday. Dolly it is again today. She's telling the story of the family home, a standard theme for this series, but she's commenting on its problems. That's not unheard of either. All the same, you need the details - of 'Daddy's Moonshine Still'.

Folks say my daddy wasn't much of a man
For disobeying the laws of the land
Folks say that my daddy wasn't fit to kill
Oh, and I know it was true what the people said
Cause we'd all've been better off dead
Than to live a life of shame and strife
Cause of Daddy's moonshine still

My mama was always sweet and kind
But she grew old before her time
Worryin' about the way we had to live
Yeah, my daddy put the wrinkles in my mama's face
He drunk his share of all he made
And just one more reason I grew to hate
My daddy's moonshine still

Chorus
Daddy's moonshine still was good for nothin'
But to break Mama's heart
And to tear our home apart
Make our lives a livin' hell

Them old mason jars that Daddy made us wash
And set 'em out to sun on our back porch
'Til he got ready to take 'em up on the hill
And when Daddy got word of the revenue
He made us kids help hide his brew
Made us swear that we never knew
About Daddy's moonshine still

Yeah, two of my brothers drove across the state line
Once a week with a load of moonshine
And the wounds that came from that won't ever heal
Cause on a moonshine run one rainy night
My two brothers lost their lives
And, oh my god, how I despise
My daddy's moonshine still

Repeat chorus

Well, it broke Mama's heart but she understood
The day that I left home for good
But I had to find me another way to live
Well, I sent Mama money nearly every day
And how I made it, well I'd rather not say
But at least it took me far away
From Daddy's moonshine still

My bootlegging daddy was known quite well
And he made our home a livin' hell
And I ain't forgot it and I know that I never will
My mama finally died she just gave up
And Daddy finally died from drinkin' that stuff
And bad memories haunt the rest of us
From Daddy's moonshine still

Repeat chorus

As Tolstoy once wrote, '... each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way'.

[The Momma 'n' Daddy Archive, containing all the details of the series, is here.]