A Boy Named Sue

xBbx
My daddy left home when I was three
Eb
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
F                                           xBbx
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
xBbx
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
Eb
But the meanest thing that he ever did
F                                         xBbx
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."


Bb                      
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
Eb
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
F                                     xBbx
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
xBbx
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
Eb
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
           F                                xBbx
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."


xBbx
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
xEbx
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
F                                     xBbx
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
Bb
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
xEbx
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
F                                        Bb
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.


xBbx
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
Eb
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
F                                    xBbx
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
Bb
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
xEbx
There at a table, dealing stud,
F                                       xBbx
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."


xBbx
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
Eb
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
F                                         Bb
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
xBbx
He was big and bent and gray and old,
Eb
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
F                              Bb
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!

Now you gonna die!!"


xBbx
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
Eb
And he went down, but to my surprise,
F                                     xBbx
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
Bb
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
Eb
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
F                                                   xBbx
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.


xBbx
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
Eb
But I really can't remember when,
F                                       xBbx
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
xBbx
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
xEbx
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
F                                          xBbx
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.


Bb
And he said: "Son, this world is rough
Eb
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
F                                         Bb
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
xBbx
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
xEbx
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
F                                         Bb
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."


xBbx
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
Eb
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
F                                               xBbx
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
Bb
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
Eb
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
F                                            Bb
Cause I'm the son-of-a-xxxxx that named you "Sue.'"


xBbx
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
Eb
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
F                                         Bb
And I came away with a different point of view.
Bb
And I think about him, now and then,
Eb
Every time I try and every time I win,
-No Chords-
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
                A - keep strumming -
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!