Johnny Cash - A Boy Named Sue Chords

A#0
0My daddy left home when I was three
D#1
1And he didn't leave much to ma and me
F2                                           A#3
2Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
A#4
3Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
D#5
4But the meanest thing that he ever did
F6                                         A#7
5Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."
6
7
A#8
8Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
D#9
9And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
F10                                     A#11
10It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
A#12
11Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
D#13
12And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
           F14                                A#15
13I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."
14
15
A#16
16Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
D#17
17My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
F18                                     A#19
18I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
A#20
19But I made a vow to the moon and stars
D#21
20That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
F22                                        A#23
21And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
22
23
A#24
24Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
D#25
25And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
F26                                    A#27
26I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
A#28
27At an old saloon on a street of mud,
D#29
28There at a table, dealing stud,
F30                                       A#31
29Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."
30
31
A#32
32Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
D#33
33From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
F34                                         A#35
34And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
A#36
35He was big and bent and gray and old,
D#37
36And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
F38                              A#39
37And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
38
39Now you gonna die!!"
40
41
A#40
42Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
D#41
43And he went down, but to my surprise,
F42                                     A#43
44He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
A#44
45But I busted a chair right across his teeth
D#45
46And we crashed through the wall and into the street
F46                                                   A#47
47Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
48
49
A#48
50I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
D#49
51But I really can't remember when,
F50                                       A#51
52He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
A#52
53I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
D#53
54He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
F54                                          A#55
55He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
56
57
A#56
58And he said: "Son, this world is rough
D#57
59And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
F58                                         A#59
60And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
A#60
61So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
D#61
62I knew you'd have to get tough or die
F62                                         A#63
63And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
64
65
A#64
66He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
D#65
67And I know you hate me, and you got the right
F66                                               A#67
68To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
A#68
69But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
D#69
70For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
F70                                            A#71
71Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"
72
73
A#72
74I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
D#73
75And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
F74                                         A#75
76And I came away with a different point of view.
A#76
77And I think about him, now and then,
D#77
78Every time I try and every time I win,
79-No Chords-
80And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
                A78 - keep strumming -
81Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!