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'