you may see me on the corner with a big old smile
that says "don't tread on me"
with my hand on a bottle like a weapon in my hand
that spells my liberty
well, there ain't no work on a hot summer's night
you know there ain't no work at all
and a dollar and a quarter gonna buy another bottle
help me make it to the fall

i was itchin' for a fight when my country come a-callin'
i was educated for that chore
i believed what they said about fightin' them reds
and i marched off to that war
well, the only red i saw was blood on the field
and my bank account when i got home
and the red in the bottle that i thought that i needed
'gainst the nightmares of being alone

well, out in california th'got some very fine wine
and they keep it in the bottle 'til it’s aged
and they know when they bottle that the rich gonna pay
so they place it in a wooden crate
but the poison that they bottle for a dollar and a quarter
you know it comes from the very same grapes
but they play the percentage that no one gonna notice
keep the poor man with nothing on his plate

well, this country it was founded on a flag with a snake
that said "don't tread on me"
and a flag with a chain with thirteen little circles
whose weakest link is me
when cannon fodder sells for a dollar and a quarter
how unlucky can one boy be
but i'm pledging my time when i break this bottle
and i say "don't tread on me"