A Boy Named Sue Johnny Cash
[Verse 1]
[D]Well my daddy left home when I was three
[G]And he didn't leave much to ma and me
[A]Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of [D]booze.
[D]Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
[G]But the meanest thing that he ever did
[A]Was before he left, he went and named me "[G]Sue."
[Verse 2]
[D]Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
[G]And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
[A]It seems I had to fight my whole life [D]through.
[D]Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
[G]And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, [A]life ain't easy for a boy named "[D]Sue."
[Verse 3]
[D]Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
[G]My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
[A]I'd roam from town to town to hide my [D]shame.
[D]But I made a vow to the moon and stars
[G]That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
[A]And kill that man who gave me that awful [D]name.
[Verse 4]
[D]Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
[G]And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
[A]I thought I'd stop and have myself a [D]brew.
[D]At an old saloon on a street of mud,
[G]There at a table, dealing stud,
[A]Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "[D]Sue."
[Verse 5]
[D]Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
[G]From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
[A]And I knew that scar on his cheek and his [D]evil eye.
[D]He was big and bent and gray and old,
[G]And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
[A]And I said: "My name is 'Sue! ' [D]How do you do!
Now your gonna die!! "
[Verse 6]
[D]Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
[G]And he went down, but to my surprise,
[A]He come up with a knife and cut off a [D]piece of my ear.
[D]But I busted a chair right across his teeth
[G]And we crashed through the wall and into the street
[A]Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and [D]the beer.
[Verse 7]
[D]I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
[G]But I really can't remember when,
[A]He kicked like a mule and he bit like a [D]crocodile.
[D]I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
[G]He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
[A]He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him [D]smile.
[Verse 8]
[D]And he said: "Son, this world is rough
[G]And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
[A]And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya [D]along.
[D]So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
[G]I knew you'd have to get tough or die
[A]And it's the name that helped to make you [D]strong. "
[Verse 9]
[D]He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
[G]And I know you hate me, and you got the right
[A]To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you [D]do.
[D]But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
[G]For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
[A]Cause I'm the son-of-a-b**ch that named you "[D]Sue.'"
[Verse 10]
[D]I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
[G]And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
[A]And I came away with a different point of [D]view.
[D]And I think about him, now and then,
[G]Every time I try and every time I win,
N.C.
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! [D]Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
Important: The song above is NOT stored on the Chordie server. The original song is hosted at www.azchords.com. Chordie works as a search engine and provides on-the-fly formatting. Chordie does not index songs against artists'/composers' will. To remove this song please click here.
