PunBB

The song Amos Moses by Jerry Reed?
I was sifting through my parents vinyl collection the other day and put on the song "Amos Moses". It was a classic southern rock tune that seemed to portray a story, similar to a rant that occurs during a Tragically Hip concert. Upon closely listening to the lyrics, I realized that these lyrics could have possibly influenced Gord Downie's Killerwhale Tank rant during a rendition of "New Orleans is Sinking". Here are the lyrics of Amos Moses, and a comparison to the Killerwhaletank Rant:

Amos Moses
Yeah here comes Amos
Now Amos Moses was a Cajun
He lived by
himself in the swamp
He hunted alligator for a living
He'd just knock
them in the head with a stump
The Louisiana law gonna get you Amos
It ain't legal hunting alligator down in the swamp boy

Now everyone blamed
his old man
For making him mean as a snake
When Amos Moses was a boy
His daddy would use him for alligator bait
Tie a rope around his neck
and throw him in the swamp
Alligator man in the Louisiana bayou
About forty-five minutes south of Tippitoe Louisiana
Lived a man called Dr. Mills
South and his pretty wife Hannah
They raised up a son who could eat his
weight in groceries
Named him after a man of the cloth
Called him Amos
Moses

Now the folks around south Louisiana
Said Amos was a hell of a man
He could trap the biggest meanest alligator
And he'd just use one hand
That's all he got left cause an alligator bit it
Left arm gone clear
up to the elbow
________________________________________
Comparisons between Amos Moses and Killerwhaletank
1. He hunted alligator for a living - Killerwhaletank also involves occupations: e.x. I had a job before this... I was a Clean and Scrub Man.
2. An alligator bit it, Left arm gone clear up to the elbow - Killerwhaletank sees Shamu take a chomp out of Gord. "he took my left arm off man. He took my left arm, my fucking left arm."
3. Amos Moses is from south Louisiana - The killerwhaletank rant is played during New Orleans is Sinking... New Orleans happens to be located in southern Louisiana.

So what are your thoughts? Pure coincidence or an absolute influence into the rant we all know and love?

Coincidence is too strong a word. How about the two are mutually exclusive, or to put it another way: they have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

That's pretty tenuous.

I mean, both songs involve occupations? Do you know how many songs "involve occupations?" The only real similarity here is that his left arm was bitten off, to which I'd point out that everyone has two arms, and that therefore there's probably a fifty-fifty chance that any accidental amputation will involve the left arm.

I always thought that whales came into it via the original Frogman rant, when Gord made whale noises in response to feedback. Maybe the left arm came from Jerry Reed, but it could equally have come from anywhere else.

i see nothing similar between the two

No correlation whatsoever, I've always believed Gord had/has an affinity with whales,if thats the right word, at some point in his travels he bonded with the creatures big time, you ever hear that version of Last of the unplucked gems where he makes his voice sound like whale speak, I've tried like hell numerous times to do that and I just end up hurting my vocal cords :lol:

not just whales....

dolphins, sharks, penguins, submarines, ships, oceans, lakes, rivers, lighthouses, islands, sea dog's salt, sailors...anything aquatic or having to do with water (born in?)...

also, look at the cover of IVL haha...


and just now it occurred to me perhaps, his reasoning is that, water covers most of the earth, and in a way everything's just floating around in the water ...wether it be above the water or not...still floatin' on or in it...


water plays an important role in many hip songs...from NOIS to Ocean...every single album has a lot of references to it.

Gord seems to have a diverse musical background and a penchant for story songs. I think he is familiar with the song.

I think we need The Hip Museum Curator to chime in on this one... Mr. Stephen Dame, your input could be the swing vote.