Old Catahoula Brown
lived back in the swamp
with his dogs and a bunch of sons.
One teenage daughter named Silas Sue,
she was as pretty as a newborn fawn.
And he didn't like sinners,
and he didn't like saints,
and he didn't like anything.
But as much as he disliked
everybody else,
he just hated old Silas Gray.
Sally Sue come in on a Saturday evening
as the sun was going down.
She said, Papa, if it's alright with you,
well, I think I'm gonna go to town.
He said, daughter,
you get on back in the house,
cause you ain't going no place
until you get them ribbons
out of your hair
and wash the makeup off of your face.
She said, Papa,
don't you be so hard on me,
cause I just got a date
With this boy I met in Sunday school
And we ain't gonna be out late
And then she walked on up
to the rural route
And she caught herself a ride
But you won't know,
from Sunday school
There was a -sittin' on the other side
It was Silas Green's youngest son
Bobby Joe sittin' under
that starin' wheel
Alligator, alligator
Swimmin' in the street
Alligator, alligator
What makes you so mean?
Alligator, alligator,
I wonder where you've been.
And did you swallow old
Catahoula Brown?
I ain't never seen him
again.
Catahoula got up on Sunday morning,
made some coffee,
and I had him a cup.
Then he walked on out
to the back of the house
to get his pretty daughter up.
He went running in the room
where the boys all slept, hollering,
get up, something ain't right.
And I'm worried to death
because your darling little sister
didn't even come home last night.
Johnny said, Papa, don't be mad at me.
I sure hate to tell you this.
But I seen her in town
with Bobby Joe Green,
and I even seen her give him a kiss.
And I tried to get her to come on back,
but she told me to leave her alone.
She said Dave was getting mad
before the sun come up
and she wasn't ever
coming home
Caterpillar grabbed the boy
by the nap of the neck
and he slapped him upside the head
He said before I see her
married to that trash
I'd rather see the little girl dead
And then he whistled up his dog
and he grabbed his gun,
he was full of evil and might
He went running across the woods,
hollering silas green,
his bunch are gonna die tonight
Then a day went by
and he didn't come back
And another went by in a week
And when the boys went looking
All they found was his shotgun
Laying on the bottom of the creek
And then they found his boots
And they found his cap
But they couldn't find anything else
Except a big fat alligator
Sitting on a log
Looking mighty proud of itself
It don't pay to hate somebody so bad
You go stomping around
in gator country
Alligator, alligator,
swimmin' in the stream
Alligator, alligator,
what makes you so mean?
Alligator, alligator,
I wonder where you've been
Did you squatter on Ca tahoula Brown?
I ain't never seen him again you