Text Box: A Boy Named Sue
By: Shel Silverstein
Recorded by J.R. Cash on 2/24/69
Number one - Country Charts; Number two - Pop Charts

Text Box: 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 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 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-bitch that named you ‘Sue.'" 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! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name! Text Box: 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’re 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.     My daddy left home when I was three
    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 ‘ve thought that 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 ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."

    Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
    My fists 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 who gave me that awful name.

    Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
    And I’d 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."