Well, ol' Catahoula Brown lived back in the swamp
With his dogs and a bunch of sons
One teenage daughter, her name was Sally 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 ol' Silas Green

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
'til 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 it wasn't no boy from Sunday school
That was sittin' on the other side
It was Silas Green's youngest son Bobby Joe
Sittin' under that steering wheel

(Chorus):
Alligator! Alligator! Swimming in the stream
Alligator! Alligator! What makes you so mean?
Alligator! Alligator! Wonder where you been

And did you swallow ol' Catahoula Brown?
I ain't never seen him again

Catahoula got up on Sunday morning
Made some coffee and 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
Hollered, "Get up! Somethin' ain't right
And I'm worried to death 'cause 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 the 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 they were getting married before the sun come up
And she wasn't NEVER coming home."

Catahoula grabbed the boy by the nape of his neck
And 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 dogs, and he grabbed his gun
And he was full of evil and fight
He went a-runnin' 'cross the woods hollering
"Silas Green and his bunch are gonna die tonight!"

Then a day went by and he didn't come back
And another went by, then a week
And when the boys went looking, all they found was his shotgun
Laying at 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 bad alligator, sitting on a log
Looking mighty proud of himself

It don't pay to hate somebody so bad you go
Stomping around in gator country
(Repeat Chorus)

Well, did you swallow ol' Catahoula Brown?
I ain't never seen him again..