Celebrate the Heart of Country, Americana, and Roots Music!

Do You Know The Weird Story Behind Blake Shelton’s “Ol’ Red”?

Blake Shelton's "Ol' Red"
Riley Johnson
by

Riley Johnson covers country music’s legends, tributes, and the stories behind the songs for Country Thang Daily. When a legend is honored, remembered, or back in the spotlight, Riley is usually the one writing it.

Get Country Thang Daily first on GoogleGet CTD first on GoogleAdd us as a preferred source in Top StoriesAdd us as a preferred sourceAdd

Blake Shelton’s “Ol’ Red” will take you for a distinct narrative spin in the most interesting place – the jail. No, this is not being sarcastic. It’s true; the song would drag you in the story about a prisoner and a dog which pokes our interest.

The song was not originally recorded by Shelton but was included on his self-titled debut album back in 2002. James “Bo” Bohan, Don Goodman, and Mark Sherrill were the writers, while George Jones was the original singer for “Ol’ Red” in 1990. 

Fairly enough, when Shelton released his version, it didn’t hit much on the charts. However, it became the most common request during his concerts to consider it his signature song.

“Ol’ Red” is like a short story piece starting with a man who is sentenced to 99 years or basically a lifetime jail time. He catches his wife with an affair with another man and decides to do the most brutal crime imaginable. This earned him a spot on the prison cell.

In prison, he befriends the warden, who has a dog called Ol’ Red, with uncanny ability in tracking down inmates who successfully escapes. The narrator thought of escaping the situation he’s in. His main target is the dog, and they planned to keep his attention somewhere else. So, they found a dog and tried to lure him into it.

His cousin brought a female dog in the nearby swampland near the prison for Ol’ Red. They want him to mate with the dog and expose him to her as often as possible. The narrator made the dog not see his newfound lover for three to four days to make him restless and aroused. 

The day came when he let the dog met his mate. As the dog got preoccupied with his lover, the narrator tried to escape and successfully does so. He then mocked his escape by the lyrics, “love got me here, and love got me out.”

Do You Know The Weird Story Behind Blake Shelton’s “Ol’ Red”?
Music

Shop Blake Shelton

As an Amazon Associate, Country Thang Daily earns from qualifying purchases.

Blake Shelton‘s “Ol’ Red” is one of that country music that takes you in with its story and not necessarily the melody. It would be best if you listened to it over and over again to really appreciate it. Maybe that’s why fans request it every time he has a concert.

If you want to hear it, click on the video below.

Do You Know The Weird Story Behind Blake Shelton’s “Ol’ Red”?

Know someone who loves Blake Shelton?

Pass this story along to your friends and family on Facebook.

Share on Facebook

Latest Stories

Yellowstone Baby Names Are Booming, and a Country Singer’s Character Cracked the Top 100

In 2022, for the first time ever, enough American parents named their baby boys Dutton to put the name in the national top 1,000. It came in at No. 836, ...

Tim McGraw’s Ex-Fiancee Was Standing Next to Him When He Met Faith Hill, and She Just Said So

In 1994, backstage at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Tim McGraw posed for a group photo and met a singer named Faith Hill. On the way out, the girlfriend ...

What Happened to Shania Twain? The Lost Years, Her Husband and the Voice She Made Her Own

For seven years, the woman behind Come On Over, which the Global Lyme Alliance calls the best-selling female album ever, could not yell out for her own dog. “There were ...

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood’s Love Story Began at a Demo Session and a Promise He Kept

In 1987, two singers still waiting on their big break were recording a demo for songwriter Kent Blazy, and both of them were married to other people. Garth Brooks had ...

Willie Nelson’s IRS Tapes Album Came From Something the Government Had Already Taken From Him

In 1990, the IRS took Willie Nelson’s homesteads in three states, padlocked his recording studio and arranged to auction off his gold records and the family piano, Grunge reported. His ...

Chris LeDoux Was Rodeo’s 1976 World Champion Before Garth Brooks Admitted He ‘Stole My Whole Act From Chris’

Chris LeDoux came into the 1976 National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City as the No. 14 qualifier and left as the world champion bareback rider. According to Sports Illustrated, he ...

John Anderson, ‘Seminole Wind’ Singer and Country Music Hall of Fame Member, Dies at 71

Country Music Hall of Fame member John Anderson died Wednesday at 71. Back in the summer of 1972, the young man from Apopka, Florida, moved to Nashville, where his older ...

Who Was the Real Jolene? Dolly Parton Revealed the Woman With a ‘Terrible Crush’ on Carl Dean and Got Her ‘Revenge’

In the early years of their marriage, Carl Dean spent a lot of time at the bank. He was trying to get a loan for his asphalt paving business, and ...

George Jones Called ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ Morbid, Reportedly Bet It Would Miss No. 1

George Jones heard the song Billy Sherrill was so sure about and wanted nothing to do with it. In his autobiography, I Lived To Tell It All, he remembered exactly ...

Ella Langley Toasts ‘365 Days of Madness’ for ‘Choosin’ Texas,’ the 45-Minute Song That Outran Mariah Carey

It took Ella Langley and three co-writers 45 minutes to write “Choosin’ Texas.” A year after the song came out, she is still trying to measure what those 45 minutes ...