A Boy Named Sue

G  G

[Verse 1]
        G
Well 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 
           G
bottle of 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 
          G
named me 'Sue'


[Verse 2]
        G
Well he must've thought that was 
quite a joke
       C
And it got a lot of laughs from 
a-lots of folks
   D                            
It seems I had to fight my whole 
      G
life 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 
        G
boy named 'Sue'


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


[Verse 4]
            G
Well it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
        C
And I'd just hit town and my throat 
was dry
  D                                
I thought I'd stop and have myself 
  G
a brew
Continues after the ad
      G
At an old saloon on a street of mud
C
There at a table, dealing stud
D                                 
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that 
     G
named me '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 
              G
and his evil eye
       G
He was big and bent and gray and old
      C
And I looked at him and my blood ran
 cold
      D                       G
And I said "My name is 'Sue!' How do
 you do?  Now you gonna die!"
G
(Yeah, that's what I told him)


[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
               G
 a 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 
                     G
and the blood and 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 
             G
like a 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 
        G
saw him 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 
           G
help you 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 
          G
make you strong"
G
(Yeah!)

[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 
             G
blame you if you do
        G
But you ought to thank me before I 
die
        C
For the gravel in yer guts and the 
spit in ya eye
      D                          
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that 
           G
named you 'Sue'"
G
(Yeah, what could I do?  What could 
I do?)


[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 come away with a different 
          G
point of view
      G
And I think about him, now and then
      C
Every time I try and every time I 
win
(*No guitar*)
And if I ever have a son, I think 
I'm gonna name him
(*No guitar*)
Bill or George, anything but Sue, I 
still hate that name!
G
(*No lyrics, just strumming out*)