Johnny Cash - A Boy Named Sue Lyrics
Well, my daddy left home when I was three,and he didn't leave much to ma and me,Just this ole guitar and an empty bottle of booze.Now I don't blame him 'cause he run and hid,But the meanest thing that he ever did,Was before he left he went and named me Sue.Well, he musta thought that it was quite a joke,An' it got a lot of laughs from lots a folks,Seems I had to fight my whole life through.Some gal would giggle and I'd get red,And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,I'll tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue.I grew up fast and I grew up mean,My fist got hard and my wis got keen,I roamed from town to town to hid my shame.But I made me a vow to the moon and stars,I'd search the honky-tonks and bars,And kill that man that gave me that awful name.Well, it was Gatlandburg in mid-July,I'd just hit town and my throat was dry,thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.In and old saloon on a street of mud,There at a table dealin' stud,Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me Sue.Well I knew that snake was my own sweet dad,from a worn out picture that my mother had,& I knew that scar on his cheek & his evil eye.He was big and bent and grey and old,And I looked at him and my blood ran cold, and I said,"My name is Sue! how do you do! Now you gonna die!"Yeah that's what I told him.Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes,And he went down but to my surprise,Come up with a knife a cut off a piece o' my ear.I busted a chair right across his teeth,And we crashed through the wall and into the street,Kickin' and a gougin' in the the mud and the blood and the beer.I tell you I've fought tougher men,but I really can't remember when,he kicked like a mule & bit like a crocodile.Well I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,He went for his gun but I pulled mine first,He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.And he said, "Son, this world is rough,And if a man's gonna make it he's gotta be tough,And I know I wouldn't be there to help you along.So I gave that name and I said goodbye,I knew you'd have to get tough or die,And it's that name what helped to make you strong.Now you just fought one hell of a fight,And I know you hate me and ya got the right,To kill me now and I wouldn't blame you if you do.But you oughtta thank me before I die,For the gravel in your gut and the spit in your eye,'Cause I'm the ------- that named you Sue."Well, what could I do, what COULD I do?Well I got a choked up and threw down my gun,Called him a pa and he called me a son,And I come away with a different point of view.I think about him now and then,Every time I try and every time I win,And if I ever have a son,I think I'm gonna name him,Bill or George anything but Sue!I still hate that name
