Well my daddy left home when I was 3
And he didn't leave much to 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 o' thought
that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs
from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight
my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh
and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, 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,
Roamed from town to town
to hide my shame.
But I made me a vow to the moon stars
That I'd search the honky tonks and bars
And kill that man who
gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid July
And I just hit town
and my throat was dry,
I 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'd 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 ran cold
And I said:
"My name is'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!"
Well, I hit him hard
right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and
cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair
right across his teeth
And we crashed through the
wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the
mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and
he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and
then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and
I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' 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 gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be
there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name
and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that
helped to make you strong."
He said: "Now you just
fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me,
and you got the right
To kill me now, and I
wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts
and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son of a b h
that named you "Sue.'"
Yeah, what could I do?
What could I do?
I got all choked up and
I threw down my gun
And 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'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Any damn thing but
Sue! I still hate that name!
