Johnny Cash, A Boy Named Sue (1969)
^{Key: :[Bb] (w: Shel Silverstein)}

VERSE 1:
Well my [Bb] daddy left home when I was three
And he [Eb] didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this [F] old guitar and an empty bottle of [Bb] booze
Now, [Bb] I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the [Eb] meanest thing that he ever did
Was be-[F]-fore he left, he went and named me [Bb] Sue

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

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

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

VERSE 5:
Well, [Bb] I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a [Eb] worn-out picture that my mother'd had
And I [F] knew that scar on his cheek and his [Bb] evil eye
He was [Bb] big and bent and gray and old
And I [Eb] looked at him and my blood ran cold
And [F] I said: My name is 'Sue' [Bb] How do you do, Now you gonna die

VERSE 6:
Well, I [Bb] hit him hard right between the eyes
And he [Eb] went down, but to my surprise
He come [F] up with a knife and cut off a piece of my [Bb] ear
But I [Bb] busted a chair right across his teeth
And we [Eb] crashed through the wall and into the street
[F] Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the [Bb] beer

VERSE 7:
[Bb] I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I [Eb] really can't remember when
He [F] kicked like a mule and he bit like a croco-[Bb]-dile
I [Bb] heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss
He [Eb] went for his gun and I pulled mine first
[F] He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him [Bb] smile

VERSE 8:
And he said: Son, [Bb] this world is rough
And if a [Eb] man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I [F] knew I wouldn't be there to help ya a-[Bb]-long
So I [Bb] give ya that name and I said goodbye
I [Eb] knew you'd have to get tough or die
[F] And it's the name that helped to make you [Bb] strong

VERSE 9:
[Bb] He said: Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I [Eb] know you hate me, and you got the right
To [F] kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you [Bb] do
But [Bb] ya ought to thank me, before I die
For the [Eb] gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause [F] I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you [Bb] Sue'

VERSE 10:
[Bb] I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
[Eb] And I called him my pa, and he called me his son
[F] And I came away with a different point of [Bb] view
And I [Bb] think about him, now and then
Every [Eb] time I try and every time I win [Eb open]
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
[Bb] Bill or George, anything but Sue