E       D  A


[Verse 1]

        E
Well, I caught my wife with another man
       D       A        E
And it cost me ninety-nine
     E
On a prison farm in Georgia
                     B7
Close to the Florida line
      E
Well, I’ve been here for two long years
  D                 A         E
I finally made the warden my friend
          E
And so he sentenced me to a life of ease
B7                 E
Taking care of Ol’ Red


[Verse 2]

        E
Now Ol’ Red he’s the damndest dog
D         A     E
That I’ve ever seen
      E
Got a nose that can smell a two day trail
                              B7
He’s a four legged tracking machine
           E
You can consider yourself mighty lucky to get past
    D              A         E
The gators and the quicksand beds
    E
But all these years that I been here
      B7              E
Ain’t nobody got past Red


[Chorus]

E
And the warden sang,
E7           E    E7             E
Come on somebody, why don’t you run
E7         E          D             E
Ol’ Red’s itchin’ to have a little fun
E7      E        E7     E
Get my lantern, get my gun
E7                E              D       E
Red’ll have you treed ‘fore the morning comes


[Instrumental]

E        D  A


[Verse 3]

        E
Well, I paid off the guard and I slipped out a letter
      D            A      E
To my cousin up in Tennessee
        E
Oh, and he brought down a blue tick hound
                            B7
She was pretty as she could be
           E
Well, they penned her up in the swampland
         D         A            E
About a mile just south of the gate
        E
And I’d take Ol’ Red for his evening run
        B7           E
I’d just drop him off and wait


[Chorus]

E
And the warden sang,
E7           E    E7             E
Come on somebody, why don’t you run
E7         E          D             E
Ol’ Red’s itchin’ to have a little fun
E7      E        E7     E
Get my lantern, get my gun
E7                E              D       E
Red’ll have you treed ‘fore the morning comes


[Instrumental]

E        D  A  x2


[Verse 4]

        E                               D    A        E
Now Ol’ Red got real used to seeing his lady every night
         E
And so I kept him away for three or four days
                             B7
And waited 'til the time got right
        E
Well, I made my run with the evening sun
        D                  A           E
And I smiled when I heard ‘em turn Red out
            E
Cause I was headed north to Tennessee
        B7              E
And Ol’ Red was headed south


[Chorus]

E
And the warden sang,
E7           E    E7             E
Come on somebody, why don’t you run
E7         E          D             E
Ol’ Red’s itchin’ to have a little fun
E7      E        E7     E
Get my lantern, get my gun
E7                E              D       E
Red’ll have you treed ‘fore the morning comes


[Outro]

            E
Now there’s red-haired blue ticks all in the south
E                        B7          E
Love got me in here and love got me out