A 
My daddy left home when I was three
D 
And he didn’t leave much to ma and me
E 
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of  
A 
booze.
A 
Now, I don’t blame him cause he run and hid
D 
But the meanest thing that he ever did
E 
Was before he left, he went and named me “
A 
Sue.”
 
A 
Well, he must o’ thought that is quite a joke
D 
And it got a lot of laughs from a’ lots of folk,
E 
It seems I had to fight my whole life  
A 
through.
A 
Some gal would giggle and I’d get red
D 
And some guy’d laugh and I’d bust his head,I tell ya,  
E 
life ain’t easy for a boy named “
A 
Sue.”
 
A 
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
D 
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
E 
I’d roam from town to town to hide my  
A 
shame.
A 
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
D 
That I’d search the honky-tonks and bars
E 
And kill that man who gave me that awful  
A 
name.
 
A 
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
D 
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
E 
I thought I’d stop and have myself a  
A 
brew.
A 
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
D 
There at a table, dealing stud,
E 
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me “
A 
Sue.”
 
A 
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
D 
From a worn-out picture that my mother’d had,
E 
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his  
A 
evil 
 
eye.
A 
He was big and bent and gray and old,
D 
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
E 
And I said: “My name is ‘Sue!’  
A 
How do you do!

Now you gonna die!!”

 
A 
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
D 
And he went down, but to my surprise,
E 
He come up with a knife and cut off a  
A 
piece of my ear.
A 
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
D 
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
E 
Kicking and a’ gouging in the mud and the blood and  
A 
the 
 
beer.
 
A 
I tell ya, I’ve fought tougher men
D 
But I really can’t remember when,
E 
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a  
A 
crocodile.
A 
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
D 
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
E 
He stood there lookin’ at me and I saw him  
A 
smile.
 
A 
And he said: “Son, this world is rough
D 
And if a man’s gonna make it, he’s gotta be tough
E 
And I knew I wouldn’t be there to help ya  
A 
along.
A 
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
D 
I knew you’d have to get tough or die
E 
And it’s the name that helped to make you  
A 
strong.”
 
A 
He said: “Now you just fought one hell of a fight
D 
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
E 
To kill me now, and I wouldn’t blame you if you  
A 
do.
A 
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
D 
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
E 
Cause I’m the son-of-a-bitch that named you “
A 
Sue.'”
 
A 
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
D 
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
E 
And I came away with a different point of  
A 
view.
A 
And I think about him, now and then,
D 
Every time I try and every time I win,


These known chords are used in this song.