Johnny Cash - Boy Names Sue lyrics

My daddy left home when I was three And he didn't leave much to ma and me Just this old 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 must o' thought that was quite a joke And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk It 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 tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue" Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean, My fist got hard and my wits got keen, I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame But I made me a vow to the moon and stars That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars And k** that man who give me that awful name Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July And I just hit town and my throat was dry I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew At an old saloon on a street of mud There at a table, dealing 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'd had And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye He was big and bent and gray 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're gonna die!!" Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes And he went down, but to my surprise He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear But I busted a chair right across his teeth And we crashed through the wall and into the street Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer I tell ya, I've fought tougher men But I really can't remember when, He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss He went for his gun and 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 knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along So I give ya that name when I said goodbye I knew you'd have to get tough or die And it's the name that helped to make you strong" "Now you just fought one hell of a fight And I know you hate me, and you got the right To k** me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do But ya ought to thank me, before I die For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye 'Cause I'm the son-of-a-b**h that named you "Sue" I got all choked up and I threw down my gun And I called him my pa, and he called me his son And I came away with a different point of view And 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