Оригинален текст
Along about eighteen and twenty-five
i left tennessee very much alive
i never would have got through the arkansas mud
if i hadn't been a-ridin on the tennessee stud
I had some trouble with my sweetheart's pa
one of her brothers was a bad outlaw
i sent her a letter by my uncle fud
and i rode away on the tennessee stud
Chorus:
the tennessee stud was long and lean
the color of the sun and his eyes were green
he had the nerve and he had the blood
and there never was a hoss like the tennessee stud
One day i was ridin' in the beautiful land
and ran smack into an indian band
they jerked their knives with a whoop and a yell
but i rode away like a bat out of hell
Well i circled their camp for a time or two
and showed what a tennessee hoss could do
and them redskin boys never got my blood
'cause i was a-ridin' on the tennessee stud
Chorus
We drifted on down into no man's land
we crossed the river called the rio grande
i raced my hoss with the spaniards bold
till i got me a skin full of silver and gold
Me and a gambler we couldn't agree
we got in a fight over tennessee
we jerked our guns, he fell with a thud
and i got away on the tennessee stud