The song tells the story of a one-armed Cajun alligator poacher named Amos Moses, son of "Doc Milsap" and his wife Hannah, who lived "about 45 minutes southeast of Thibodaux, Louisiana."

The song tells the story of Amos's life, his upbringing, and his troubles with the law for illegally hunting alligators, including how a sheriff "snuck in the swamp [to] get the boy, but he never come out again."

The song appears in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on country radio station K-Rose.

A version of "Amos Moses" featured on The Sensational Alex Harvey Band's 1976 album SAHB Stories.

The character Amos Moses features as the trapper in Walter Hill's film Southern Comfort played by Brion James.