[Intro]
(Repeat 3 times)
[Verse 1]
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 Iâve 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 Olâ Red
Now Olâ Red heâs the damndest dog
That Iâve ever seen
Got a nose that can smell a two day trail
Heâs 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 I been here
Ainât nobody got past Red
[Chorus]
And the warden sang,
Come on somebody why donât you run
Olâ Redâs itchin to have a little fun
Get my lantern, get my gun
Redâll have you treed âfore the morning comes
[Verse 2]
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 the penned her up in the swampland
About a mile just south of the gate
And Iâd take Olâ Red for his evening run
Iâd just drop him off and wait
[Chorus]
And the warden sang,
Come on somebody why donât you run
Olâ Redâs itchin to have a little fun
Get my lantern, get my gun
Redâll have you treed âfore the morning comes
[Verse]
Now Olâ Red got real used to seeing
His lady every night
And so I kept him away for three or four days
And waited til the time got right
Well I made my run with the evening sun
And I smiled when I heard âem turn Red out
Cause I was headed north to Tennessee
And Olâ Red was headed south
[Chorus]
And the warden sang,
Come on somebody why donât you run
Olâ Redâs itchin to have a little fun
Get my lantern, get my gun
Redâll have you treed âfore the morning comes
[Outro]
Now thereâs red hair blue ticks all in the south
Love got me in here and love got me out