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 o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk'
It seems I had to fight my whole life through
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
I tell ya' 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'd roam from town to town to hide my shame
But I made 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 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 "
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 your 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
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 the 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-b**ch 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