Well, he must’ve
thought that is was quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from 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 you, 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.
I’d roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made me a vow to the moon and stars
That I’d search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man that 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 you gonna die!!”
Well, I hit
him hard right between the eyes,
And he went down but, to my surprise,
He came up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear!
So I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell you, 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 he cursed;
He went for his gun, but 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 you along.
So I gave you that name and I said goodbye;
I knew you’d have to get tough or die!
It’s that 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 you ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in your guts and the spit in your eye
Cause I’m the [bleep] that named you Sue!”
I got all
choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him Pa, and he called me 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! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!