Well I caught my wife with another man And it cost me ninety-nine On a prison farm in Georgia Up close to the Florida line Well I've been here for two long years I finally made the warden my friend So he sentenced me to a life of ease Taking care of Ol' Red Now Ol' Red, he's a damnedest dog That I've ever seen Got a nose that could smell a two-day trail He's a four-legged tracking machine You can consider yourself mighty lucky To get past the gators and the quicksand But all these years since I've been here Ain't nobody got past Red And the warden sang: Come on somebody, why don't you run? Ol' Red's itching to have a little fun Get my lantern, get my gun Red'll have you treed 'fore the morning comes Well I paid off the guards and I slipped out a letter To my cousin up in Tennessee Well and he brought down a bluetick hound She was pretty as she could be And they penned her up in the swampland 'Bout a mile just south of the pen And I'd take Ol' Red for his evening runs I'd just drop him off on his way And the warden sang: Come on somebody, why don't you run? Ol' Red's itching to have a little fun Get my lantern, get my gun Red'll have you treed 'fore the morning comes Now Ol' Red got real used to seeing His lady every night So I kept him away for three or four days Waited till the time got right Well I made my run with the evening Sun And I smiled when I heard 'em turn Red out 'Cause I was headed north to Tennessee And Ol' Red was headed south Yeah, and the warden sang: Come on somebody, why don't you run? Ol' Red's itching to have a little fun Get my lantern, get my gun Red'll have you treed 'fore the morning comes Now there's red-haired, blueticks all in the south Love got me in here And love got me out