^BbMy daddy left home when I was three ^EbAnd he didn't leave much to ma and me ^FJust this old guitar and an empty bottle of ^Bbbooze. ^BbNow, I don't blame him cause he run and hid ^EbBut the meanest thing that he ever did ^FWas before he left, he went and named me "^BbSue."

^BbWell, he must o' thought that is quite a joke ^EbAnd it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk, ^FIt seems I had to fight my whole life ^Bbthrough. ^BbSome gal would giggle and I'd get red ^EbAnd some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head, I tell ya, ^Flife ain't easy for a boy named "^BbSue."

^BbWell, I grew up quick and I grew up mean, ^EbMy fist got hard and my wits got keen, ^FI'd roam from town to town to hide my ^Bbshame. ^BbBut I made a vow to the moon and stars ^EbThat I'd search the honky-tonks and bars ^FAnd kill that man who gave me that awful ^Bbname.

^BbWell, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July ^EbAnd I just hit town and my throat was dry, ^FI thought I'd stop and have myself a ^Bbbrew. ^BbAt an old saloon on a street of mud, ^EbThere at a table, dealing stud, ^FSat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "^BbSue."

^BbWell, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad ^EbFrom a worn-out picture that my mother'd had, ^FAnd I knew that scar on his cheek and his ^Bbevil eye. ^BbHe was big and bent and gray and old, ^EbAnd I looked at him and my blood ran cold ^FAnd I said: "My name is 'Sue!' ^BbHow do you do!

^BbWell, I hit him hard right between the eyes ^EbAnd he went down, but to my surprise, ^FHe come up with a knife and cut off a ^Bbpiece of my ear. ^BbBut I busted a chair right across his teeth ^EbAnd we crashed through the wall and into the street ^FKicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and ^Bbthe beer.

^BbI tell ya, I've fought tougher men ^EbBut I really can't remember when, ^FHe kicked like a mule and he bit like a ^Bbcrocodile. ^BbI heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss, ^EbHe went for his gun and I pulled mine first, ^FHe stood there lookin' at me and I saw him ^Bbsmile.

^BbAnd he said: "Son, this world is rough ^EbAnd if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough ^FAnd I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya ^Bbalong. ^BbSo I give ya that name and I said goodbye ^EbI knew you'd have to get tough or die ^FAnd it's the name that helped to make you ^Bbstrong."

^BbHe said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight ^EbAnd I know you hate me, and you got the right ^FTo kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you ^Bbdo. ^BbBut ya ought to thank me, before I die, ^EbFor the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye ^FCause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "^BbSue.'"

^BbI got all choked up and I threw down my gun ^EbAnd I called him my pa, and he called me his son, ^FAnd I came away with a different point of ^Bbview. ^BbAnd I think about him, now and then, ^EbEvery time I try and every time I win, -No Chords- And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him A - keep strumming - Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!