"Copper Kettle" (also known as "Get you a Copper Kettle", "In the pale moonlight") is a song composed by Albert Frank Beddoe and made popular by

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

's account dates the song to 1946, mentioning its probable folk origin,Pete Seeger, The Incompleat Folksinger, Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 1972, pp. 278-279; A
quoted
at Bob Dylan Roots website:

In 1946, a tall awkward man came upstairs to the offices of People's Songs and offered to help with the typing. The offer was gratefully accepted. Three days later, we asked his name.
"Frank."
But what's your last name?
"Frank."
Just Frank Frank? No middle initial?
"O."
So, Frank O. Frank came to help us, and invaluable help it was, too. A few months later, he said that in his home county, Bexar County, Texas, were some fine songs, and that he had mimeographed a collection of them. Later, it appeared that many were rewritten by him, and some were almost totally original songs, but in any case, they went from hand to hand, and some people sing them now as old folk songs, such as "Get You a Copper Kettle," "See Them Buzzards," and "Quantrell Side." Good songs, folk or Frank.

while in a 1962 ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' readers column A. F. Beddoe saysLetters to the editor
''

''. November 30, 1962; Quote:

Sir: I am extremely thrilled that you printed my song in your folk singing article. I love music and Joan Baez. Copper Kettle was written in 1953 as part of my opera Go Lightly Stranger. A. F. Beddoe, Staten Island, N.Y.

that the song was written by him in 1953 as part of the folk opera ''Go Lightly, Stranger''. The song praises the good aspects of

moonshining Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

as told to the listener by a man whose "daddy made

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ...

, and granddaddy did too". The line "We ain't paid no whiskey tax since 1792" alludes to an unpopular tax imposed in 1791 by the fledgling U.S. federal government. The levy provoked the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

and generally had a short life, barely lasting until 1803. Enjoyable lyrics and simple melody turned "Copper Kettle" into a popular folk song.

Performed by

, recorded in ''

Joan Baez in Concert ''Joan Baez in Concert'' (later reissued as ''Joan Baez in Concert, Part 1'') is a live album taken from Joan Baez's 1962 concert tours. It peaked at #10 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart. History It was Baez's version of " Babe, I'm Gonna L ...

'', 1962 * Two Tones (a duet including

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

), on the album ''Two Tones at the Village Corner'', 1962 *

The Country Gentlemen The Country Gentlemen was a progressive bluegrass band that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, D.C., United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller, one of the group's f ...

, recorded for

Starday Records Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

, 1963 *

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

, ''

Guitar Country ''Guitar Country'' is the twenty-fourth studio album by American guitarist Chet Atkins. It was nominated for the 1964 Best Country & Western Album Grammy award but did not win. It reached number 1 on the Country albums charts. Prior to 1964, the ...

'', 1964; and in various live settings. *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, on the album ''

Self Portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

'', 1970, and '' Another Self Portrait'', 2013. *

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit " Polk Salad Annie" and for " Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ...

, on the album ''

'', 1971 * Damnations TX on the album "Live Set" recorded in Austin, TX in 1996 * Devendra Banhart in live concert * Jump, Little Children, on the album '' Live At The Dock Street Theatre'', 2006 *

Gillian Welch Gillian Howard Welch (; born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, coun ...

and David Rawlings in live concert A quote:

..Much like Old Crow Medicine Show, Welch and Rawlings betray the influence rock and roll had in shaping their young lives; another incredible Dylan cover was "Copper Kettle", off his absurdly underappreciated album Self Portrait...

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

, live at Borders Books, 2004 * Kreuzberg Museum, on the album '' Ten American Classics'', 2006 * Jack Dallas, David Beddoe
live performance of the musical "Copper Kettle"
(formerly "Go Lightly, Stranger") at the NYC Music Marathon, Dramatists Guild, NYC April 16, 2012 *

Old Blind Dogs Old Blind Dogs is a Scottish musical group which plays traditional Scottish folk music and Celtic music, with influences from rock, reggae, jazz, blues, and Middle Eastern music rhythms. Background The three founding members of the band (Ia ...

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...

, recorded in '' Lookin' for a Love Again'', 1974 * Tommy Emmanuel with Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, 2021 * The A's ( Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and

Amelia Meath Amelia Randall Meath (born July 2, 1988) is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and dancer who is a member of the musical groups Sylvan Esso and Mountain Man. She is based in Durham, North Carolina. Career Mountain Man (2010–presen ...

), on the album ''Fruit'', 2022 *

Mary Black Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland. Background Mary Black was born into a m ...

, on the 30th anniversary reissue of her album ''By the Time It Gets Dark''

References

External links

* {{Authority control Joan Baez songs Bob Dylan songs Tony Joe White songs Folk opera Moonshine in popular culture

Performed by

See also

References

External links