Well I caught my wife with another man
And it cost me ninety nine
On a prison farm in Georgia
Close to the Florida line
Well Id been here for two long years
I finally made the warden my friend
And so he sentenced me to a life of ease
Taking care of Ol Red
Now Ol Red hes the damnedest dog that Ive ever seen
Got a nose that can smell a two day trail
Hes a four legged tracking machine
You can consider yourself mighty lucky
To get past the gators and the quicksand beds
But all these years that Ive been here
Aint nobody got past Red
[chorus]
And the warden sang
Come on somebody
Why dont you run
Ol Reds itchin to have a little fun
Get my lantern
Get my gun
Redll have you treed before the mornin comes
Well I paid off the guard and I slipped out a letter
To my cousin up in Tennessee
Oh and he brought down a blue tick hound
She was pretty as she could be
Well they penned her up in the swampland
Bout a mile just south of the gate
And Id take Ol Red for his evening run
Id just drop him off and wait
[Repeat chorus]
Now Ol Red got real used to seeing
His lady every night
And so I kept him away for three or four days
And waited till the time got right
Well I made my run with the evenin sun
And I smiled when I heard em let Red out
Cause I was headed north to Tennessee
And Ol Red was headed south
[Repeat chorus]
Now theres red haired blue ticks all in the South
Love got me in here and love got me out