"Amos Moses" is a song written and recorded by American musician

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

. It was released in October 1970 as the fourth and final single from the album ''Georgia Sunshine'' and was his highest-charting single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, bowing at #97 on October 31, 1970, and peaking at #8 on February 27 and March 6, 1971. It has been used ever since as a line dance taught at

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

s. "Amos Moses" was certified gold for sales of 1 million units by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. It was #28 on Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1971 and also appeared on several other countries' charts.

Content

The song tells the story of a one-armed

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

poacher Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

named Amos Moses, son of "Doc Milsap" and his wife Hannah, who lived "about 45 minutes southeast of

Thibodaux, Louisiana Thibodaux ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 15,948 at the 2020 census. Thibodaux is a principal city ...

." The song tells the story of Amos's life, including his troubles with the law for illegally hunting alligators, including how a

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

"snuck in the swamp oget the boy, but he never come out again." It is not absolutely clear that Amos's father was named "Doc Milsap", as the lyric is difficult to interpret from the recording. However, live performance video contemporary to the original release date seems to support the “Doc Milsap” lyric. Various incantations have been assumed over the years, such as "Doc Mills South" and most commonly "Duckbill Sam". The latter is given credence from existing video of Reed in comedy sketches involving the song, where it appears he may in fact say "Duck Bill Sam", and also the assumption that a "doctor" (Doc) wouldn't fit the bill as a father throwing his son in the swamp as "alligator bait". Lyric sheets from CMT and other reputable sources cannot be relied upon: some fail to even spell "Thibodaux" correctly, billing it as "Tibido" or even "Tippietoe". It might also be that Reed had two separate sets of lyrics, and, unable to complete either, decided to put the two together, with the funnier version first, as a hook.

Appearances in other media

The song appears in the video game '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' on country radio station K-Rose. The song was featured in an episode of the TV show ''

My Name Is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Jaso ...

''. It was covered by

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the ro ...

twice: on Primus's ''

Rhinoplasty Rhinoplasty ( grc, ῥίς, rhī́s, nose + grc, πλάσσειν, plássein, to shape), commonly called nose job, medically called nasal reconstruction is a plastic surgery procedure for altering and reconstructing the nose. There are two typ ...

'' EP and on his 2014 Duo de Twang album. It's also been covered by

Alabama 3 Alabama 3 are a British/English musical group founded in Brixton, London in 1995. They are best known for their track "Woke Up This Morning", which was used for the opening credits of the TV series ''The Sopranos''. In the United States, the ...

on their album ''

M.O.R. "M.O.R." is a song by English rock music, rock band Blur (band), Blur from Blur (Blur album), their eponymous album. Released on 15 September 1997, "M.O.R." reached number 15 in the UK Singles Chart on its release as a single in September 1997 ...

'' and by the Pleasure Barons on their 1993 album ''Live in Las Vegas'', with

Mojo Nixon Mojo Nixon (born Neill Kirby McMillan, Jr.; August 2, 1957) is an American musician and actor best known for his humorous, irreverent Novelty song "Elvis Is Everywhere" which was an alternative staple on MTV. His style can generally be defined ...

on lead vocals.

Cross Canadian Ragweed Cross Canadian Ragweed was an American rock band formed in Yukon, Oklahoma in 1994. The band consisted of Cody Canada (lead guitar/vocals), Grady Cross (guitar), Randy Ragsdale (drums), and Jeremy Plato (bass guitar). The group released five st ...

covered the song on 1999's ''Live and Loud at the Wormy Dog Saloon''. Lou Reid also did
bluegrass cover
of Amos Moses in 2021. A version of "Amos Moses" featured on

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band The Sensational Alex Harvey Band were a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1972. Fronted by Alex Harvey accompanied by Zal Cleminson on guitar, bassist Chris Glen, keyboard player Hugh McKenna (1949–2019) and drummer Ted McKenna, their ...

's 1976 album ''

SAHB Stories ''SAHB Stories'' (pronounced "Sob Stories") is the sixth studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, released in 1976. It features their hit single "Boston Tea Party", as well as a cover of the Jerry Reed song, "Amos Moses". Harvey left th ...

''. The character Amos Moses features as the trapper in

Walter Hill Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

's film ''

Southern Comfort Southern Comfort (often abbreviated SoCo) is an American, naturally fruit-flavored, whiskey liqueur with fruit and spice accents. The brand was created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, using whiskey as the base spirit. W ...

'' played by

Brion James Brion Howard James (February 20, 1945 – August 7, 1999) was an American character actor. He portrayed Leon Kowalski in ''Blade Runner'' and appeared in ''Southern Comfort'', '' 48 Hrs.'', ''Another 48 Hrs.'', '' Silverado'', ''Tango & Cash'', ' ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1970 singles Jerry Reed songs Fictional Cajuns Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins Songs written by Jerry Reed 1970 songs RCA Records singles Novelty songs Swamp rock songs Primus (band) songs Songs about fictional male characters