Bad news travels like wildfire
Good news travels slow
They all call me, "Ole Wildfire,"
'Cause everybody knows that I'm bad news
Ev'rywhere I go
Always gettin' in trouble
And leaving little girls who hate to see me go

I've picked peaches down in Georgia
Lumberjacked up in Maine
I've been hired and jailed
In every state you can name
'Cause I'm bad news...

From north to south, from east to west
The story is the same
From one state to the other
I have to change my name
'Cause I'm bad news...

Now, they tried to hang me down in Oakland
And they did in San-Frisco
But I wouldn't choke and I broke their rope
And they had to let me go
'Cause I'm bad news...