Boy Named Sue      Well my daddy left home when I was three   And he didn't leave much for Ma and me   Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze   Now I don't blame him because 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 have thought it was quite a joke   And it got lots of laughs from a lot of folks   It seems I had to fight my whole life through   Some gal would giggle and I'd get red   Some guy would 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 roamed from town to town to hide my shame   Well I made my vows to the moon and stars   I'd search the honky tonks and the bars   And kill that man that gave me that awful name      Well it was Gatlinsburg in mid July   And I just hit town and my throat was dry   I'd 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 that dirty mangy dog that named me Sue      Well I knew that sneak was my own sweet dad   From a wornout picture that my mother 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're gonna die yeah that's what I told him      Well I hit him hard right between the eyes   And he went down but to my surprice   He came up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear   Well I busted a chair right across his teeth   And we crashed through the wall and into the street   Kickin' and a gougin' 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 bit like a crocodile   I heard him laug and I heard him cuss   He went for his gun and I pulled mine first   He stood there looking 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 know 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   And it's that name that helped to make you strong      He said you fought one heck of a fight   And I know you hate me and you've got the right   To kill me now I wouldn't blame you if you do   But you oughta thank me before I die   For the gravel in your guts and the spit in your eye   For I'm the son of a bitch that named you Sue   (Lester what the hell that you say)      Yeah what could I do   I got all choked up and I threw down the gun   Called him a Pa and he called me son   And I come 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'll name him   Well I ain't gonna name him Sue   I'm gonna call him Johnny Cash