The Avett Brothers - Down with the Shine - Lyrics Meaning

Down with the Shine is a song from The Carpenter, a 2012 album from The Avett Brothers. Seth and Scott Avett are from Concord, North Carolina where they created a musical style that incorporates bluegrass, folk, country and pop along with many other genres of music. The song is simply about the joy of drinking moonshine, which is also known as corn liquor. It is illegal to distill spirits without a license in the United States and moonshiners and bootleggers have worked in tandem for well over 100 years to circumvent this law. Moonshine is a very potent spirit with high alcohol content. The Avetts sing about how moonshine "...poisons the well and ruins the mind" which is an indication of how it can cause indigestion and extreme inebriation by consuming even a small amount. Throughout the song it is described as, "that glistening shine", which describes its clear color.

The singers say, "its the most predictable story ever told" which means that there is only one reason for consuming this liquor - it is not a smooth drink for sipping, but rather a hard drink for hard men looking to get drunk. The Avetts go on to say that as you drink it, "things change and get strange" which is a testament to its potency. By the end of the song, the singers reflect on how drinking moonshine is always an adventure as the strength of the liquor usually leads to irrational and intoxicated behavior.