The Legend Of Wooley Swamp

(album: Tailgate Party - 1999)

Well, if you ever go back into Wooley Swamp, well, you better not go at night
There's things out there in the middle of them woods
That'd make a strong man die from fright
Things that crawl and things that fly
Things that creep around on the ground
And they say the ghost of Lucius Clay gets up and he walks around

[Chorus:]
But I couldn't believe it, (I) just had to find out for myself
And I couldn't conceive it, (I) never would listen to nobody else
And I couldn't believe it, (I) just had to find out for myself
There's some things in this world you just can't explain

The old man lived in the Wooley Swamp way back in Booger Woods
And he never did do a lot of harm in the world
He just never did do no good
People didn't think too much of him
They all thought he acted funny
The old man didn't care about people anyway
All he cared about was his money
He'd stuff it all down into Mason jars and bury it all around
But on certain nights if the moon was right
He'd dig it up out of the ground
Then he'd pour it all out on the floor of his shack
And he'd run his fingers through it
Yeah, Lucius Clay was a greedy old man
And that's all there ever was to it

But I couldn't believe it, (I) just had to find out for myself
And I couldn't conceive it, (I) never would listen to nobody else
And I couldn't believe it, (I) just had to find out for myself
There's some things in this world you just can't explain

The Cable boys were white trash, they lived over on Carver's Creek
They were mean as a snake and sneaky as a cat
And belligerent when they'd speak
One night the oldest brother said ya'll meet me in the Wooley Swamp later
We'll take old Lucius' money and we'll feed him to the alligators
They found the old man out in the back with a shovel in his hand
And thirteen rusty Mason jars he'd just dug up out of the sand
Then they all went crazy and they beat the old man
And they picked him up off the ground
Then they threw him in the swamp and they stood there and laughed
As the black water sucked him down
And then they turned around and went back to the shack
And they picked up the money and ran
Hadn't gone nowhere when they realized
That they were running in quicksand
And they struggled and they screamed but they couldn't get away
And just before they went under
They could hear that old man laughing
In a voice as loud as thunder

Now that's been fifty years ago an' if you go by there yet
There's a spot in the yard in the back of that shack
Where the ground is always wet
And on certain nights if the moon is right
Down by that dark footpath
You can hear three young men screaming
And you can hear one old man laugh

If you ever go back into Wooley Swamp, well, you better not go at night
There's things out there in the middle of them woods
That'd make a strong man die from fright
Things that crawl and things that fly
Things that creep around on the ground
And they say the ghost of Lucius Clay gets up and he walks around

But I couldn't believe it, (I) just had to find out for myself
And I couldn't conceive it, (I) never would listen to nobody else
And I couldn't believe it, (I) just had to find out for myself
There's some things in this world you just can't explain