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"