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


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


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


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


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

Now you gonna die!!"


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


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


G
And he said: "Son, this world is rough
C
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
D                                         G
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
xA#x
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
xD#x
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
D                                         G
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."


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


xA#x
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
C
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
D                                         G
And I came away with a different point of view.
G
And I think about him, now and then,
C
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
                Gb - keep strumming -
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!