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A Boy Named Sue

Johnny Cash

Text File

Song: A Boy Named Sue
Artist: Johnny cash
Tuning: Standard (EADGBe)
Capo on 1st fret

NOTE: Both E and Em sound fine, so interchange them as you will. I personally use E

A
My daddy left home when I was three
D
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
E                                           A
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
A
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
D
But the meanest thing that he ever did
E                                         A
Was before he left, he went and named me "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                                     A
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
A
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
D
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
           E                                A
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."


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


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


A
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
D
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
E                                         A
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
A
He was big and bent and gray and old,
D
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
E                              A
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' 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                                     A
He come up with a knife and cut off 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                                                   A
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.


A
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
D
But I really can't remember when,
E                                       A
He kicked like a mule and he bit like 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                                          A
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him 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                                         A
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
A
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
D
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
E                                         A
And it's the name that helped to make you 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                                               A
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you 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                                            A
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "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                                         A
And I came away with a different point of 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
                A (keep strumming)
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!