[00:08.610]Well, my daddy left home when I was three
[00:10.700]And he didn't leave much to ma and me
[00:13.140]Just this ole guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
[00:16.090]
[00:17.800]Now I don't blame him 'cause he run and hid
[00:19.960]But the meanest thing that he ever did
[00:22.190]Was before he left he went and named me Sue.
[00:26.000]
[00:27.580]Well, he musta thought that it was quite a joke
[00:30.580]An' it got a lot of laughs from lots a folks
[00:32.430]Seems I had to fight my whole life through.
[00:36.400]
[00:37.730]Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
[00:39.820]And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head
[00:42.560]I'll tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue.
[00:45.460]
[00:49.450]Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean
[00:51.800]My fist got hard and my wits got keen
[00:54.210]I roamed from town to town to hide my shame.
[00:58.880]
[00:59.250]But I made me a vow to the moon and stars
[01:01.230]I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
[01:03.620]And kill that man that gave me that awful name.
[01:06.870]
[01:08.350]Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
[01:09.980]And I'd just hit town and my throat was dry
[01:13.210]I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
[01:16.600]
[01:17.710]In an old saloon on a street of mud
[01:20.010]There at a table dealin' stud
[01:22.290]Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me Sue.
[01:25.310]
[01:26.980]Well I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
[01:29.440]From a worn out picture that my mother had
[01:31.760]And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
[01:35.780]
[01:36.400]He was big and bent and grey and old
[01:38.680]And I looked at him and my blood ran cold, and I said
[01:41.650]"My name is Sue! How do you do? Now you gonna die!"
[01:48.080]Yeah! That's what I told him.
[01:50.890]
[01:52.680]Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
[01:55.030]And he went down but to my surprise
[01:57.860]Came up with a knife an' cut off a piece o' my ear.
[02:01.040]
[02:02.180]I busted a chair right across his teeth
[02:04.340]And we crashed through the wall and into the street
[02:06.750]Kickin' and a gougin' in the mud and the blood and the beer.
[02:09.680]
[02:11.720]I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
[02:13.650]But I really can't remember when
[02:16.250]He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
[02:19.830]
[02:20.940]Well, I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss
[02:23.170]He went for his gun but I pulled mine first
[02:25.980]He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
[02:30.110]
[02:30.600]
[02:32.940]
[02:35.640]And I know I wouldn't be there to help you along.
[02:38.290]
[02:39.820]So I gave you that name and I said goodbye
[02:42.400]I knew you'd have to get tough or die
[02:44.830]And it's that name that helped to make you strong."
[02:49.200]Yeah! He said, "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
[02:53.120]And I know you hate me and ya got the right
[02:55.610]To kill me now and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
[03:00.140]But you oughta thank me before I die
[03:02.480]For the gravel in your gut and the spit in the eye
[03:05.030]'Cause I'm the son-of-a-***** that named you Sue."
[03:08.800]Yeah, what could I do? What COULD I do?
[03:12.490]I got all choked up and threw down my gun
[03:15.600]
[03:17.830]And I came away with a different point of view.
[03:22.450]And I think about him now and then
[03:24.680]Every time I try and every time I win
[03:27.650]And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
[03:32.530]Bill or George, anything but Sue! I still hate that name!