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A Boy Named Sue

Johnny Cash (lyrics by Shel Silverstein)

 

Note:  Johnny Cash’s loose delivery in the At San Quentin recording meant that his band didn’t always know when to start a new chord progression.  Rather than try to re-create every quirk from that still-fantastic performance, I’ve charted the song the way I imagine it was intended to be played.  Deviate as you see fit.

 

Capo 4

 

Each chord is played for two measures unless otherwise noted.

 

Chord Guide
3    4 G:    3x0003	32 1 C:    x32010	132 D:    xx0232

 

B   D U B   D U     w/alternating bass Strum:  1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + Click Here to Watch Strum Video

 

 

Intro: / G - - - / - - - - / - - - - / - - - - /

 

       G

My daddy left home when I was three

            C
And he didn't leave much to ma and me

             D                                                        G
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.

        G
Now, I don't blame him ‘cause he run and hid

               C
But the meanest thing that he ever did

            D                                                   G
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."

                G
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke

            C
And it got a lot of laughs from a-lots of folk,

      D                                                        G
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.

          G
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red

                  C
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,

           D                                                      G
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."

             G
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,

      C
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,

       D                                                        G
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.

           G
But I made a vow to the moon and stars

               C
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars

       D                                                            G
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.

                     G
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July

          C
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,

D                                                         G
    I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.

         G
At an old saloon on a street of mud,

   C
There at a table, dealing stud,

D                                                            G
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."

             G
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad

            C
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,

            D                                                        G
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.

            G
He was big and bent and gray and old,

           C
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold

               D                          G (4)
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do! Now you’re gonna die!!"

     

           G
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes

     C
And he went down, but to my surprise,

       D                                                               G
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.

         G
But I busted a chair right across his teeth

               C
And we crashed through the wall and into the street

  D                                                                                 G
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

G
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men

           C
But I really can't remember when,

      D                                                        G
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.

    G
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss, and

C
   He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,

       D                                                          G
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.

       G
And he said: "Son, this world is rough

              C
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough

             D                                                        G
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.

        G
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye

     C
I knew you'd have to get tough or die

       D                                                          G
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."

                       G
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight

            C
And I know you hate me, and you got the right

     D                                                             G
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.

          G
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,

               C
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye

            D                                                          G
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"

        G
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun

           C
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,

           D                                                 G
And I came away with a different point of view.

         G
And I think about him, now and then,

           C
Every time I try and every time I win,

         D (hold)                                                       
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him

                                               G (hold)
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!

 

This file is the author's own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It's intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.