A Boy Named Sue

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

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

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

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

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

Now you gonna die!!"

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

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

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

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

[A]I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
[D]And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
[E]And I came away with a different point of [A]view.
[A]And I think about him, now and then,
[D]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
Bill or George! [A]Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!