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 I'd 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 he's the damnedest dog that I've ever seen

Got a nose that can 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 beds

But all these years that I've been here

Ain't nobody got past red

[Chorus]

And the warden sang

Come on somebody

Why don't you run

Ol' red's itchin' to have a little fun

Get my lantern

Get my gun

Red'll 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 I'd take ol' red for his evening run

I'd 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 there's red haired blue ticks all in the south

Love got me in here and love got me out