While searching for ideas, Daniels remembered Woolie Swamp, an actual place in Bladen County, North Carolina where he used to night hunt as a youngster.

The second verse tells of Lucius Clay, who lived in Wooley Swamp, a darkened quagmire hidden “way back in Booger Woods”.

The third and longest verse introduces the Cable boys, three sinister white trash brothers who live in nearby Carver's Creek.

The brothers scream for help and futilely struggle to free themselves, and right before they meet their own deathly comeuppance, they hear Clay "laughin' in a voice as loud as thunder".

Billboard Magazine said that the song is a "rousing country /rock saga" which "builds up pressure with bold use of drums and guitar" and whose lyrics present an "irresistible, folklore tale.