Amos Moses is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 artist Jerry Reed

Jerry Reed

Jerry Reed Hubbard , known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, innovative guitarist, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films...

. It was released in October 1970 as the fourth and final single from the album, Georgia Sunshine. This record was Reed's highest-charted single on Billboard Hot 100, peaking No. 8. "Amos Moses" was certified gold for sales of 1 million units by the Recording Industry Association of America. It also appeared on charts in several countries, and was No. 28 on Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1971.

Content

The song focuses on a one armed Cajun

Cajun

Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...

 alligator

Alligator

An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....

 hunter named Amos Moses, who lives "about 45 minutes southeast of Thibodaux, Louisiana

Thibodaux, Louisiana

Thibodaux is a small city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 14,431 at the 2000 census. Thibodaux is a principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux...

". The song deals with Amos's history, where his "daddy would use him for alligator bait" as well as his troubles with the law for illegal alligator hunting, including a description of how the town sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 "snuck in the swamp gonna get the boy but he never come out again".

Appearances in other media

The song appears in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...

video game soundtrack, on the fictitious country music radio station K-Rose.


The song was covered by Primus (band)

Primus (band)

Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...

on their album Rhinoplasty (EP) and also by Alabama 3

Alabama 3

Alabama 3 are a British band mixing rock, dance, blues, country, and gospel styles, founded in Brixton, London, in 1995. In the United States, they are known as A3, allegedly to avoid any possible legal conflict with the country music band Alabama...

  on their album M.O.R.

M.O.R. (album)

M.O.R. is the official 6th studio album by Alabama 3. It was released on September 9, 2007.-Track listing :# "Check In" - 1:21# "Fly" - 3:48#* featuring Devlin Love# "Lockdown" - 4:12# "Monday Don't Mean Anything" - 4:09#* featuring Errol T...

.

Chart performance

Chart (1970–1971)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Top Singles	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	8
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs	16
Australian Go-Set Chart	38

Year-End Chart

Chart (1971)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Top Singles	35
U.S. Cashbox Top 100	64
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	28