"Amos Moses" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Jerry Reed. It was released in October 1970 as the fourth and final single from the albumGeorgia Sunshine and was his highest-charting single on the BillboardHot 100, bowing at #97 on October 31, 1970 and peaking at #8 on February 27 & March 6, 1971. It has been used ever since as a line dance taught at YMCAs. "Amos Moses" was certified gold for sales of 1 million units by the RIAA. 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 Cajunalligatorpoacher named Amos Moses, son of "Doc Milsap" and his wife Hannah, who lived "about 45 minutes southeast of Thibodaux, Louisiana." The song tells the story of Amos's life, including his troubles with the law for illegally hunting alligators, including how a sheriff "snuck in the swamp get 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. Different 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" 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. Whatever the case, it worked.
Appearances in other media
The song appears in the video game on country radio station. The song was featured in an episode of the TV showMy Name Is Earl. It was covered by Les Claypool twice: on Primus's Rhinoplasty EP and on his 2014 Duo de Twang album. It's also been covered by Alabama 3 on their album M.O.R. and by the Pleasure Barons on their 1993 album Live in Las Vegas, with Mojo Nixon on lead vocals. Cross Canadian Ragweed covered the song on 1999's Live and Loud at the Wormy Dog Saloon. A rock version of "Amos Moses" featured on The Sensational Alex Harvey Band's 1976 album SAHB Stories.
