Back about eighteen and twenty five
I left Tennessee very much alive
I never would've made it through the Arkansas mud
If I hadn't been riding on the Tennessee stud

Had some trouble with my sweetheart's Pa
One of her brothers was a bad outlaw
I wrote a letter to my uncle Spud
And I rode away on the Tennessee stud
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
There never was a horse like Tennessee stud

Drifted on down into no man's land
Across the river called the Rio Grande
Raced my horse with the Spaniard's foe
'Til I got me a skin full of silver and gold

Me and the gambler, we couldn't agree
We got in a fight over Tennessee
Pulled our guns and he fell with a thud
And I rode away on a Tennessee stud

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
There was never a horse like the Tennessee stud

I rode right back across Arkansas
I whipped her brother and I whipped her Pa
I found that girl with the golden hair
She was riding on a Tennessee mare

Pretty little baby on the cabin floor
Little horse colt playing round the door
I loved the girl with the golden hair
And the Tennessee stud loves the Tennessee mare

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
There was never a horse like the Tennessee stud