A 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 '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've thought it was quite a joke

And it got a lot of laughs from a lot of folks

Seems I had to fight my whole life through

Some gal would giggle and I'd get red

Some guy'd 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 around from town to hide my shame

Well, I made my vow to the moon and stars

I'd search the honky-tonks and the bars

And I'd kill that man that gave me that awful name

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July

And I just hit town, and my throat was dry

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 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 run 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 surprise

He came up with a knife, cut off a piece of my ear

Well, I busted a chair right across his teeth

And he crashed through the wall and into the street

Kicking and a-gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer

I'll 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 laugh, and I heard him cuss

And 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 got to be tough

And I knew I wouldn't be there to help you along

So I gave you that name and I said goodbye

And I knew you'd have to get tough or die

And it's that name that's 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 kill me now, I wouldn't blame you if you do

But you oughta thank me before I die

For the gravel in your gut and the spit in your eye

For I'm the - that named you 'Sue'"

(Lester, what the hell did you say?)

Yeah, what could I do?

I got all choked up and threw down my gun

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'll name him

Well, I ain't a-gonna name him "Sue"

I'm gonna call him "Johnny Cash"