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 have thought

that it was quite a joke

and it got a lot of laughs

from a-lots of folks

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 fists 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 who

gimme 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

dealin' 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 grey 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

Kickin' and a-gougin'

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

and 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 you along

So I give ya that name

and I said goodbye

I knew you'd have

to get tough or die

and it's that name that

helped to make you strong

Yeah, 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, 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

anything but Sue

I still hate that name!