Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs - A Boy Named Sue lyrics

Boy Named Sue Well my daddy left home when I was three And he didn't leave much for Ma and me Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze Now I don't blame him because 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 have thought it was quite a joke And it got lots of laughs from a lot of folks It seems I had to fight my whole life through Some gal would giggle and I'd get red Some guy would laugh and I'd bust his head I tell you 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 roamed from town to town to hide my shame Well I made my vows to the moon and stars I'd search the honky tonks and the bars And k** that man that gave me that awful name Well it was Gatlinsburg in mid July And I just hit town and my throat was dry I'd 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 that dirty mangy dog that named me Sue Well I knew that sneak was my own sweet dad From a wornout picture that my mother 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 yeah that's what I told him Well I hit him hard right between the eyes And he went down but to my surprice He came up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear Well I busted a chair right across his teeth And we crashed through the wall and into the street Kickin' and a gougin' in 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 and bit like a crocodile I heard him laug and I heard him cuss He went for his gun and I pulled mine first He stood there looking 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 you that name and I said goodbye I knew you'd have to get tough or die And it's that name that helped to make you strong He said you fought one heck of a fight And I know you hate me and you've got the right To k** me now I wouldn't blame you if you do But you oughta thank me before I die For the gravel in your guts and the spit in your eye For I'm the son of a b**h that named you Sue (Lester what the hell that you say) Yeah what could I do I got all choked up and I threw down the gun Called him a Pa and he called me son And I come 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'll name him Well I ain't gonna name him Sue I'm gonna call him Johnny Cash