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A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash

Verse 1: [G] My daddy left home when I was three, [C] And he didn't leave much to ma and me
[D] Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of [G] booze.
[G] Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid, [C] But the meanest thing that he ever did
[D] Was before he left, he went and named me "[G] Sue."

Verse 2: [G] Well, he must of thought that is quite a joke, 
[C] And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
[D] It seems I had to fight my whole life [G] through.
[G] Some gal would giggle and I'd get red, [C] And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
[D] I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named [G] "Sue."

Verse 3: [G] Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean, [C] My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
[D] I'd roam from town to town to hide my [G] shame.
[G] But I made a vow to the moon and stars, [C] That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
[D] And kill that man who gave me that awful [G] name.

Verse 4: [G] Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July, [C] And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
[D] I thought I'd stop and have myself a [G] brew.
[G] At an old saloon on a street of mud, [C] There at a table, dealing stud,
[D] Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "[G] Sue."

Verse 5: [G] Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad, 
[C] From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
[D] And I knew that scar on his cheek and his [G] evil eye.
[G] He was big and bent and gray and old, [C] And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
[D] And I said "My name is 'Sue!' [G] How do you do!

Now you gonna die!!"

Verse 6: [G] Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes, [C] And he went down, but to my surprise,
[D] He come up with a knife and cut off a [G] 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] Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and [G] the beer.

Verse 7: [G] I tell ya, I've fought tougher men, [C] But I really can't remember when,
[D] He kicked like a mule and he bit like a [G] crocodile.
[G] I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss, [C] He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
[D] He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him [G] smile.

Verse 8: [G] And he said "Son, this world is rough, 
[C] And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
[D] And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya [G] along.
[G] So I give ya that name and I said goodbye, [C] I knew you'd have to get tough or die
[D] And it's the name that helped to make you [G] strong."

Verse 9: [G] He said "Now you just fought one hell of a fight, 
[C] And I know you hate me, and you got the right
[D] To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you [G] 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] Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "[G] Sue.'"

Verse 10: [G] 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] And I came away with a different point of [G] view.
[G] And I think about him, now and then, [C] Every time I try and every time I win,

[Outro (No Chords)]
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! [G] Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!

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