[00:05.78] |
My daddy left home when I was three |
[00:08.32] |
And he didn't leave much to ma and me |
[00:10.50] |
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze. |
[00:15.31] |
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid |
[00:17.68] |
But the meanest thing that he ever did |
[00:19.59] |
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue." |
[00:25.87] |
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke |
[00:27.92] |
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk, |
[00:30.41] |
It seems I had to fight my whole life through. |
[00:35.35] |
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red |
[00:37.36] |
|
[00:40.08] |
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue." |
[00:47.12] |
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean, |
[00:49.63] |
My fist got hard and my wits got keen, |
[00:52.21] |
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame. |
[00:56.51] |
But I made a vow to the moon and stars |
[00:59.00] |
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars |
[01:01.68] |
And kill that man who gave me that awful name. |
[01:06.09] |
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July |
[01:08.58] |
And I just hit town and my throat was dry, |
[01:11.37] |
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew. |
[01:16.23] |
At an old saloon on a street of mud, |
[01:17.75] |
There at a table, dealing stud, |
[01:20.21] |
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue." |
[01:26.44] |
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad |
[01:28.28] |
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had, |
[01:29.76] |
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye. |
[01:34.13] |
He was big and bent and gray and old, |
[01:36.48] |
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold |
[01:39.02] |
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do! |
[01:43.03] |
Now your gonna die!!" |
[01:51.50] |
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes |
[01:52.85] |
And he went down, but to my surprise, |
[01:55.43] |
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear. |
[01:59.79] |
But I busted a chair right across his teeth |
[02:02.17] |
And we crashed through the wall and into the street |
[02:04.73] |
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer. |
[02:09.33] |
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men |
[02:11.49] |
But I really can't remember when, |
[02:14.64] |
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile. |
[02:18.77] |
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss, |
[02:21.29] |
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first, |
[02:23.95] |
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile. |
[02:30.57] |
And he said: "Son, this world is rough |
[02:32.34] |
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough |
[02:34.08] |
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along. |
[02:37.81] |
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye |
[02:40.31] |
I knew you'd have to get tough or die |
[02:42.93] |
And it's the name that helped to make you strong." |
[02:47.37] |
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight |
[02:50.91] |
And I know you hate me, and you got the right |
[02:53.58] |
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do. |
[02:57.97] |
But ya ought to thank me, before I die, |
[03:00.41] |
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye |
[03:02.79] |
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'" |
[03:12.37] |
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun |
[03:13.88] |
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son, |
[03:16.35] |
And I came away with a different point of view. |
[03:20.52] |
And I think about him, now and then, |
[03:23.50] |
Every time I try and every time I win, |
[03:25.61] |
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him |