Rosalee

[Verse 1]

Off a no-name road on Chickasaw Bluff

Feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up

When you see those cypress roots that wind

'Round a marble stone that says "Bill O'Brian"

Legend lives, the old folks tell

The ghost of a lawman haunts these hills

Looking for the woman that shot him down

And the .44 that was never found

Under that Chickasaw ground

[Chorus]

Rosalee

You better run before they hunt you down in Tennessee

Damn that deputy

'Cause a jealous heart ain't worth the cost of hanging from the gallows tree

And what if they find out just who fired the gun?

Rosalee, you better run

[Verse 2]

More thorn than rose, how oft thеy'd say

Of the girl with the golden hair in braids

Ravеn eyes and her copper kettle

Charmed the hearts of the best bootleggers

Bill O'Brian moved in on the bluff

He laid the law down a little too rough

Busting every keg and still

'Til he fell in love with that whiskey gal

If I can't have her, no man will

[Chorus]

Rosalee

You better run before they hunt you down in Tennessee

Damn that deputy

'Cause a jealous heart ain't worth the cost of hanging from the gallows tree

And what if they find out just who fired the gun?

Rosalee, you better run

[Bridge]

What if they knew Miss Betty Lou had seen him at the dance that night?

What if they noticed Otis Johnson begging him not to fight?

What if they heard his final words layin' by the cypress tree?

Rosalee, Rosalee

[Verse 3]

Off a no-name road on Chickasaw Bluff

There's a wise old woman with a whiskey jug

Some say saint, some say killer

They never could prove who pulled that trigger

Beneath those cypress roots that wind

The secret died with Bill O'Brian

He'll follow her to the depths of hell

Mix love and whiskey, it won't end well

Sometimes you can hear him yell

[Chorus]

Rosalee

You'd better run before they hunt you down in Tennessee

Damn that deputy

'Cause a jealous heart ain't worth the cost of hanging from the gallows tree

And what if they find out just who fired the gun?

Rosalee, you better run

Rosalee, Rosalee