A Boy Named Sue
Johnny Cash
BMy daddy left home when I was three
EbAnd he didn't leave much to ma and me
FJust this old guitar and an empty bottle of Bbooze.
BNow, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
EbBut the meanest thing that he ever did
FWas before he left, he went and named me "BSue."
BWell, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
EbAnd it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
FIt seems I had to fight my whole life Bthrough.
BSome gal would giggle and I'd get red
EbAnd some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, Flife ain't easy for a boy named "BSue."
BWell, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
EbMy fist got hard and my wits got keen,
FI'd roam from town to town to hide my Bshame.
BBut I made a vow to the moon and stars
EbThat I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
FAnd kill that man who gave me that awful Bname.
BWell, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
EbAnd I just hit town and my throat was dry,
FI thought I'd stop and have myself a Bbrew.
BAt an old saloon on a street of mud,
EbThere at a table, dealing stud,
FSat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "BSue."
BWell, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
EbFrom a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
FAnd I knew that scar on his cheek and his Bevil eye.
BHe was big and bent and gray and old,
EbAnd I looked at him and my blood ran cold
FAnd I said: "My name is 'Sue!' BHow do you do!
Now you gonna die!!"
BWell, I hit him hard right between the eyes
EbAnd he went down, but to my surprise,
FHe come up with a knife and cut off a Bpiece of my ear.
BBut I busted a chair right across his teeth
EbAnd we crashed through the wall and into the street
FKicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and Bthe beer.
BI tell ya, I've fought tougher men
EbBut I really can't remember when,
FHe kicked like a mule and he bit like a Bcrocodile.
BI heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
EbHe went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
FHe stood there lookin' at me and I saw him Bsmile.
BAnd he said: "Son, this world is rough
EbAnd if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
FAnd I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya Balong.
BSo I give ya that name and I said goodbye
EbI knew you'd have to get tough or die
FAnd it's the name that helped to make you Bstrong."
BHe said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
EbAnd I know you hate me, and you got the right
FTo kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you Bdo.
BBut ya ought to thank me, before I die,
EbFor the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
FCause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "BSue.'"
BI got all choked up and I threw down my gun
EbAnd I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
FAnd I came away with a different point of Bview.
BAnd I think about him, now and then,
EbEvery time I try and every time I win,
FAnd if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name Bhim
BBill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!