Boy Named Sue Lyrics
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Well, 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 was 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
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 fist 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 that 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 you 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 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 know I wouldn't be there to help ya along
So I give ya that name and I said good-bye
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'"
Yeah, but what could I do, what could I do
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 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'm gonna name him...
Bill or George, any damn thing but 'Sue'! I still hate that name
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User Comments
21 comment(s) posted
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zackman
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09/02/2009
03:56:29
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My all-time favorite Johnny Cash song. I'm surprised that there isn't a major motion picure based on it. That would make a hell of a movie, don't you think?
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i<3pennywise
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23/06/2008
01:35:17
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this song is pretty sweeeeeet its old school
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Zonker
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17/02/2007
04:29:35
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"My name is SUE.. How do you DO... now you gonna DIE" = Best lyrics ever.
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kayla bear 101
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06/12/2006
22:06:27
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hey yall this is my all time favorite song!!!!
from:kayla bear 101
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SugarMag
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23/02/2006
21:13:25
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Actually, Shel Silverstein actually wrote this song too. He wrote "Father of a Boy Named Sue" as a follow-up saying: "Okay...now years ago, I wrote a song named "A Boy Named Sue," and that was okay and everything, except then I started to think about it, and I thought, "It is unfair. I am looking at the whole thing from the poor kid¿s point of view." And as I get more older and more fatherly, I begin to look at things from an old man¿s point of view. So... I decided to give the old man equal time. Okay. Here we go."
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koenie
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08/12/2005
20:21:14
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Hehe really cool song, i've done some searching, en found a song that Shel Silverstein wrote it's called "Father of a Boy named Sue"
It's a real laugh!
grtz koen
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shmooogan
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25/10/2005
22:05:58
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great song
i always laugh when i listen to it
i heard it in camp for the first time
it took me four years to find it
*blushes*
~!!~
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no 1
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30/07/2005
18:41:48
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YEHA!!!!!!!!
this is a brilliant song
plus me real names SUE jks
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grtrinks
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08/06/2005
20:53:17
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I learned this song word for word just from hearing it on the radio years ago. I have no idea why I committed it to memory, just fun I guess. I attended a March of Dimes fund raising event a few years ago. The event was held at a local football stadium. One of the activities was a karaoke session. The audience was seated on one side of the field and the stage was on the 50 yard line. I got up and did the whole song without looking at the prompter. It was really fun1
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qrius
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06/04/2005
15:08:06
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yeah, i know, shel silverstein wrote it. it's drivvle...
but when i listen to cash sing the song on his san quentin album, and listen close, i hear the inmates, where they cheer, where they laugh, and there's pain, disappointment, of absent fathers, abusive fathers. then i think about my old man and our struggles...a man's life is a mess until he somehow makes peace with his father.
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Sundance_Kid
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24/03/2005
16:29:42
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When I first listened to this song, I burst out laughing. It's amazing! There is no hidden depth really. It's just a joke of a song, like Blink 182's - I Wanna Fk A Dog In The Ass.
Great Song!
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An Idiot7
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29/01/2004
16:30:54
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This song makes me think. In an ironic way, we have a lot to thank the fascists, dictators and corporations that have ruled our world.If it were'nt for them,and as a response to them,many great forms of art would,nt be. No?
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Death And Bob
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16/01/2004
03:35:25
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oh yeah, but i killed my dad.
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Death And Bob
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16/01/2004
03:33:50
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I feel his pain... im a boy named sue too...
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super*sly*
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25/11/2003
18:41:47
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Shel Silverstein wrote this song... it's nonsense... which is what makes it so good. There is no hidden deeper message other than what is here...
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tlbyakytlmhfsuy
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06/11/2003
12:37:14
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I'm not one for secular music but I must say I rather like the message in the song. It tells the story of children who've been abused by parents who didn't realize they were being abusive, (or not just children, really) and how the abuse can make the children become aggressive but then sometimes they realize in the end that God allowed that to happen to make them stronger because life just isn't easy. So the hate they once had for the person that hurt them turns to love because they realize that without it they just might not have been that tough.
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seema_p
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04/10/2003
05:00:58
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This has been a song/short story I've grown up with. The best ever.
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sarcastro
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14/09/2003
04:38:41
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the great sean dillon is a complete moron... a boy named sue is a classic, johnny cash is one of the great story tellers of a generation, and 'sue' is among the great songs ever recorded. in my humble opinion of course.
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TheGreatSeanDillon
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24/06/2003
10:07:28
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This song is one of the worst I have ever heard....I can't believe it was Johnny Cash who did it!
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Anonymous
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05/03/2003
18:19:37
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Anonymous
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16/02/2003
18:11:27
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HEHE my name is sue and I love this song
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All times are in Greenwich Mean Time.
The time is now 19:13:07.
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