(spoken word)
An ugly mutt as there ever was, but he had a heart of gold
I named him “Griz, the huntin dog” when he was 3 days old
Black as coal and dumb as hell, but the dog had nerves of steel
He loved to hunt and loved to fight, and he never did learn to heel
(spoken word)
He’d give his all when I’d let him loose, huntin birds was his pride and joy
He loved the woods and he loved to run, but he mostly loved my boy
They grew up together, till they was 8 years old
They’d wrassle in the summer, fetch snowballs in the cold
(spoken word)
One day Matt was in the woods, old Griz was in his pen
And I was gone away to work while Ma was sleepin in
The boy heard a rustle in the brush and looked up into the eyes
Of a slobberin, rabid coyote, with killin on his mind
(spoken word)
Matthew screamed, the coyote sprang and Grizzly cleared the wall
The coyote nearly had the boy, his worst mistake of all
Griz met the beast in the air, his boy was on the ground
The battle raged forever, their blood was all around
(spoken word)
When it was through that old coyote was dead there was no doubt
Griz dragged his way back to the boy, his life was spillin out
He put his head on Matthew’s lap and looked into his eyes
Griz loved that boy more than life, Matt held him while he died
(chorus) (sing chorus)
   So how do you thank a friend who’s not around
   Some say that he was just a dog but I will always stand my ground
   He’ll never know the sacrifice he made for us that day
   The truest friend there ever was, he wanted it that way
  (spoken word)
    Of “Old Griz, the huntin dog,” his legend’s here to stay
(spoken word)
The debt that I owe to that old dog will always be too great
He gave his life to save my boy and now it’s just too late
There’ll never be another that could take his place you see
That dog was a true hero, and that he’ll always be
(chorus) (sing chorus)
   So how do you thank a friend who’s not around
   Some say that he was just a dog but I will always stand my ground
   He’ll never know the sacrifice he made for us that day
   The truest friend there ever was, he wanted it that way
  (spoken word)
   Of “Old Griz, the huntin dog,” his legend’s here to stay

   So how do you thank a friend who’s not around
   Some say that he was just a dog but I will always stand my ground
   He’ll never know the sacrifice he made for us that day
   The truest friend there ever was, he wanted it that way
   (spoken word)
   Of “Old Griz, the huntin dog,” his legend’s here to stay
                                                        
                                                                               
©   4/00  J. Michael Tracy   All Rights Reserved


The Legend of Griz (the huntin' dog)   (s)

My name is John Michael Tracy I write songs, jmtsongs.com , love photography, hunting, fishing and all of the outdoors. I was born on Jan. 11, 1957 in Elmira, NY.  I’m the oldest of six children, and my family lived, for most of my youth, in Athens, PA., which is right across the border from Upstate New York.   
	My parents had me take piano lessons when I was a kid, and when I was a teenager, I taught myself to play guitar.  Some friends and I had a country band, and we played local spots for a while.
	In my early twenties, I bought a 4-track recorder and enjoyed playing and recording songs that I liked from the Eagles, Jim Croce, Lobo, David Gates and Bread, Dan Fogelberg, etc.  I sent the recordings to my Grandfather, who had a band when he was young and performed all over upstate Pennsylvania and New York.  One day he asked me why I didn’t write my own songs.  The thought had never occurred to me, but once I’d considered it, it sounded like a great idea, and I told him that I bet I could do it.  
	After the first hundred songs or so, I called a few record companies to let them know that there was a new talent ready to take over the songwriting world, and they suggested I join NSAI first to help me hone my craft.  So I did.  In the mean time, I was sending quite a few of my songs to Washington to be copyrighted.
	A Publisher/Writer named Donn Hecht (most famous for co-writing Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight”) had someone working for him in Washington that noticed the number of songs I was copywriting.  Donn contacted me and asked me to send him some material. I did. He became my publisher, mentor and friend until his death in October 2002. He taught me more about songwriting and the business than anyone I’ve ever met.
	In the Spring of 2000, I wrote a song called “The South’ll Rise Again” and sent it to the nationally syndicated “The John Boy and Billy Big Show” as a gift, never imagining they’d ever do anything with it.  They were impressed enough to play it on the air, and it has been on their “Best Of” shows ever since.
	After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, I wrote a song called “Give’m Hell U.S.A.”  and  sent it to President George Bush and some of his staff.  Both President Bush and his Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, responded with really nice thank you notes. 
	I’m also a member of the local and National GTO clubs, own a 1970 Judge, and have written several “hot rod” songs that get regular play at many car shows and cruise-ins.
           My wife Kathy and I lived and worked in Nashville for a year and met many wonderful artists and songwriters who inspired and encouraged me.
	As the successful songwriter, friend and mentor, Jerry Vandiver says, “We write, because we have to”. The music needs to come out so we do what we love, and let it flow.

New tracks tagged #sad dog song