Illuminating the untold stories that tend to get regulated to the margins of society. This is one of Patterson Hood's primary strengths as a songwriter. Finding inspiration from Gil Scott Heron, Patterson delivers an angst-filled diatribe aimed at the Reagan-led government. While the tale dates from the 1980's, the themes, unfortunately, still ring true today. The world of the character in Puttin' People on the Moon is turning to utter shit - lost his job, wife dying of cancer, no health insurance, can't find a respectable job in the face of double-digit unemployment, forced to turn to crime just to scrape by. Yet, while all this is taking place, the federal government continues to dump millions of dollars into NASA which (providing further evidence as to how bad times are) ultimately winds up shutting down its Huntsville operations. Rational or not, the dude is fucking furious with the government. And this is where the song succeeds. Patterson's singing on this track burns with rage, culminating with the chilling scream that leads into the final guitar explosion of the song. The guitars are loud, slightly out of tune, and screeching. EZB is just hammering away on the kit. In a live setting, this is a beast, never failing to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Hard to believe this missed the previous 28 cuts, but here it is in all its pissed off glory.


Mary Alice had a baby and he looked just like I did
We got married on a Monday and I been working ever since
Every week down at the Ford Plant but now they say they're shutting down
Goddamned Reagan in the White House and no one there gives a damn

Double Digit unemployment, TVA be shutting soon
While over there in Huntsville, They puttin' people on the moon

So I took to runnin' numbers for this man I used to know
And I sell a few narcotics and I sell a little blow
I ain't getting rich now but I'm gettin' more than by
It's really tough to make a living but a man just got to try

If I died in Colbert County, Would it make the evening news?
They too busy blowin' rockets, Puttin' people on the moon

Mary Alice quit askin' why I do the things I do
I ain't sayin' that she likes it, but what else I'm gonna do?
If I could solve the world's problems I'd probably start with hers and mine
But they can put a man on the moon
And I'm stuck in Muscle Shoals just barely scraping by

Mary Alice got cancer just like everybody here
Seems everyone I know is gettin' cancer every year
And we can't afford no insurance, I been 10 years unemployed
So she didn't get no chemo so our lives was destroyed
And nothin' ever changes, the cemetery gets more full
And now over there in Huntsville, even NASA's shut down too

Another Joker in the White House, said a change was comin' round
But I'm still workin' at The Wal Mart and Mary Alice, in the ground
And all them politicians, they all lyin' sacks of shit
They say better days upon us but I'm sucking left hind tit
And the preacher on the TV says it ain't too late for me
But I bet he drives a Cadillac and I'm broke with some hungry mouths to feed

I wish I'z still an outlaw, was a better way of life
I could clothe and feed my family still have time to love my pretty wife
And if you say I'm being punished. Ain't he got better things to do?
Turnin' mountains into oceans Puttin' people on the moon

Turnin' mountains into oceans Puttin' people on the moon

Patterson Hood / Drive-By Truckers (I-24E and I-75S Nashville to Atlanta - 11/19/2003) © Soul Dump Music (BMI)

This might just be my favorite DBT song.

One of my favorite Patterson songs. Never saw the video before. Thank you Cortez. Unfortunately, the song is even more appropriate now than in 2004.

One of my favorite PH songs, especially the message. I'm interested to see what some of the more "conservative" (health-care wise, anyway) members of the board have to say about it. I don't see how you can separate the politics from this song, as passionate as Patterson obviously is about it.

Social commentary of the highest order. The narrator isn't concerned with progress or politics, he wants his life to work, he wants his family to prosper and no matter what he tries, he can't make it happen. There's tragedy, there's anger and most of all there's a humanity in this song that hits like a thousand hammers. Maybe my second favorite Patterson song (after The Living Bubba).

great post. not much to add.

patterson nailed it....a man on the edge.

a beast live. they can tweak it up proper.

studio cut is all creepy. lots of great guitar shit happening. stressed out vocals.

ezb.

fantastic song.

dime in the gutter wrote:great post. not much to add.

patterson nailed it....a man on the edge.

a beast live. they can tweak it up proper.

studio cut is all creepy. lots of great guitar shit happening. stressed out vocals.

ezb.

fantastic song.

what he said

Sadly timeless

Some thoughts about this great song...

I love the guitar/drums intro on the live versions of this song. Kicks the rock show into overdrive every time.

I think of this song as a direct descendant of Copperhead Road.

Anyone want to elaborate on the line about turning mountains into oceans? I've always struggled with that one.

Clams wrote:Some thoughts about this great song...

I love the guitar/drums intro on the live versions of this song. Kicks the rock show into overdrive every time.

I think of this song as a direct descendant of Copperhead Road.

Anyone want to elaborate on the line about turning mountains into oceans? I've always struggled with that one.

I always took that line as a comment on global warming.

mountains into oceans....

i always took that as a reference to tva damning up the tn river and turning the valleys into "oceans"....or some shit like that.

all this power yet nothing can be done to help our old boy in the song.

fuck the man.

just my opinion.

Makes more sense in the context of the song than my interp.
I'll shut up now. Carry on.

killer song

the line about sucking left hind tit is an all-time DBT classic

dime in the gutter wrote:mountains into oceans....

i always took that as a reference to tva damning up the tn river and turning the valleys into "oceans"....or some shit like that.

all this power yet nothing can be done to help our old boy in the song.

fuck the man.

just my opinion.

Aw fuck! I thought it was some sort of heroin reference.

Clams wrote:I think of this song as a direct descendant of Copperhead Road.

Whitey on the Moon?

cortez the killer wrote:

dime in the gutter wrote:mountains into oceans....

i always took that as a reference to tva damning up the tn river and turning the valleys into "oceans"....or some shit like that.

all this power yet nothing can be done to help our old boy in the song.

fuck the man.

just my opinion.

Aw fuck! I thought it was some sort of heroin reference.

I just thought it was about a horse.

In all seriousness, what a great tune. TDS was my 2nd DBT album, and it's about impossible to not be bowled over by this tune. This song made several of my friends, who did not like DBT at first glance, big fans.

Clams wrote:Some thoughts about this great song...

I love the guitar/drums intro on the live versions of this song. Kicks the rock show into overdrive every time.

I think of this song as a direct descendant of Copperhead Road.

Anyone want to elaborate on the line about turning mountains into oceans? I've always struggled with that one.

Never really pondered that, just took it as a line about God's abilities, yet he can't just help him get on the right track

Smitty wrote:

Clams wrote:Some thoughts about this great song...

I love the guitar/drums intro on the live versions of this song. Kicks the rock show into overdrive every time.

I think of this song as a direct descendant of Copperhead Road.

Anyone want to elaborate on the line about turning mountains into oceans? I've always struggled with that one.

Never really pondered that, just took it as a line about God's abilities, yet he can't just help him get on the right track

Yeah, I think thats a pretty fair explanation. Honestly even though I also always wondered about this line I never really looked at it closely probably b/c by this point in the song I'm so caught up in the emotion of it that I'm just ready to decapitate some lame ass conservative pundit/politician...really speaks to the belligerent, politically incorrect, gun tot'in liberal in me.

For some reason the line about gett'in married on a Monday always seemed interesting to me....noth'in romantic 'bout getting married on Monday. Do'in it out of obligation rather than celebration though not without love.

One of the best mythology songs in the DBT canon. Just a great fuckin' song.

Anyoe know who is playing that killer guitar outro?

GuitarManUpstairs wrote:For some reason the line about gett'in married on a Monday always seemed interesting to me....noth'in romantic 'bout getting married on Monday. Do'in it out of obligation rather than celebration though not without love.

It's almost as romantic as the line that precedes it - "Mary Alice had a baby and he looked just like I did."

cortez the killer wrote:

GuitarManUpstairs wrote:For some reason the line about gett'in married on a Monday always seemed interesting to me....noth'in romantic 'bout getting married on Monday. Do'in it out of obligation rather than celebration though not without love.

It's almost as romantic as the line that precedes it - "Mary Alice had a baby and he looked just like I did."

That part of the song always reminded me of this...
(and they're both named Mary)

Then I got Mary pregnant
and man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
and the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No flowers no wedding dress

Clams wrote:

cortez the killer wrote:

GuitarManUpstairs wrote:For some reason the line about gett'in married on a Monday always seemed interesting to me....noth'in romantic 'bout getting married on Monday. Do'in it out of obligation rather than celebration though not without love.

It's almost as romantic as the line that precedes it - "Mary Alice had a baby and he looked just like I did."

That part of the song always reminded me of this...
(and they're both named Mary)

Then I got Mary pregnant
and man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
and the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No flowers no wedding dress

Great connection.

To correct the lyrics, what Patterson sings the end of the 3rd verse is definatly:

"And I'm stuck down here just scraping by"

Tyler wrote:To correct the lyrics, what Patterson sings the end of the 3rd verse is definatly:

"And I'm stuck down here just scraping by"

Copy and paste job directly from the DBT website. I'm assuming that is what Patterson originally intended the lyric to be. However, as you expertly point out, that's not what wound up on The Dirty South.

A for editing.
D for spelling.

=one of the best songs ever. from someone who spent too much time in huntsville.

My daughter just got back from Space Camp, and now I see that even NASA's shuttin' down:

I am visiting my parents’ house for the first time in over a year and a half. My parents built their house in the early 70’s on an old road that leads to a family cemetery. I walked to the cemetery today; it’s always been a peaceful place for me.

I looked at my great-great grandparents’ grave which I’d studied many, many times; each of their ten or so children are listed on the headstone. I was looking at the names today and realized that my great-great aunt was named Mary Alice.

Ppom has been in my head all evening!