Notorious

Riding north on Interstate 75

With a nervous fading beauty sitting by his side

And the pistol that he used to pave the way

Down the long black stretches of a dark highway

Ray bought his future with a pound of lead

When he robbed a liquor store and left the clerk for dead

That kid should've put the money in the sack

But he didn't and now there ain't no turning back

He's a desperate rider, he's a Jesse James

The best that he could hope for is a household name

There ain't nobody that a man can trust

When all his headlines read 'Notorious'

There ain't nobody that a man can trust

When all his headlines read 'Notorious'

They pulled out of Soddy Daisy 'bout twelve o'clock

Took the heat stroke with the lights off to avoid the roadblock

Ray killed the motor at the county line

Changed his Tennessee plates to a 'lost tag' sign

She would never ask what the boy had done

But she said she'd be his hostage if he needed one

Her mama raised her to be loyal and true

And she figured that's the least that she could do

She was lost and lonely on a midnight ride

Reluctant Bonnie to a poor man's Clyde

It ain't too easy when the man you love

Has got a reputation that's notorious

It ain't too easy when the man you love

Has got a reputation that's notorious

They were just outside of Knoxville when the lights flashed on

And the sirens started howling like hell hound dogs

Ray popped that Firebird into overdrive

He swore he'd never let them take him alive

He was a desperate rider, he was Jesse James

The best he'd ever hoped for was a household name

The morning papers didn't say too much

But his obituary read, 'Notorious'

The caption by his picture didn't say too much

But his obituary read, 'Notorious'