The Ballad Of Gator McKlusky
Composer(s): Jerry Reed
Performer(s): Jerry Reed



He was raised in the swamp
In the back of a slough
He grew up eatin' rattlesnake meat
And drinkin' homemade brew
Now folks here about call him Gator
And everybody knows him well
Meanest man ever to hit the swamp
Folks swear he come straight outta hell

Well Gator McKlusky sittin' on a stump
Hammer pulled back on a twelve gauge pump
Watchin' that swamp lookin' out for the law
While he make the best corn liquor you ever saw

(Rock gut whiskey...)

While he's makin' that mash he watches and he looks
Old Gator he knows that swamp like a book
Somethin' out there movin' Gator whaddaya see
Ain't nothin' but the snakes and the gators and me

Everything's okey-dokey in the Okefenokee
That sheriff ain't snoopin' around
So cook that moonshine down
'Til it's good and clear
Everything's okey-dokey in the Okefenokee
That sheriff he'd soon mess around with the devil
Than to get his self long messin' around in here

One day he was cookin' some mash he was almost done
When they spotted the law and they had to run
So he headed for the swamp and they followed him in
But the law might as well been a-chasin' the wind

(Look out for that snake, sheriff...)

Well they chased on back through the muck and the slime
To the back of that swamp where the sun don't shine
But the law won't never catch Gator my friend
'Cause he knows that swamp like the back of his hand

Watch out boys old smokey's in the Okefenokee
The sheriff's out there snoopin' around
So shut that business down
And let's disappear
Look out boys old smokey's in the Okefenokee
But that sheriff he's really gonna catch the devil
If he keeps on snoopin' around in here

(Gator's in the swamp, sheriff...)
(Go get him...)
(If you can...)

(Careful, sheriff...) (Don't let that gator bite you on your gonads...)