Day 453 - Day 088

“Well, my daddy left home when I was three, and he didn’t leave much to ma and me… but the meanest thing that he ever did was before he left he went and named me Sue”

Boy Named Sue: Johnny Cash, Live At Folsom Prison

 

When the movie “Walk the Line” came out, I was not one that ran to the theaters to see it. I was a Johnny Cash fan and played a lot of his music, but it wasn’t like I traded collectible cards with his picture on them. Cash wasn’t the strongest musician but he was an incredible story teller and carried this presence on and off stage. This song had been one of my favorites for many years.

 

I finally saw the movie at my sister’s house, and at the end my sister was an instant fan of Johnny Cash and wanted any and all recordings of Mr. Cash. She asked if I had any so I shared this and another that were not in the movie. My sister and I sat down and listened to this song over and over and over- and I still remember the smile on her face, her head cocked back laughing, and then of course us comparing the song’s father to our own.

 

When I hear this song, I remember my sister and these laugh we shared. I suppose I could say that this song was a musical influence in that I learned to tell stories in songs. I love that so many of Johnny’s songs are actually more talking than singing- he and Leonard Cohen are the masters!

 

*** Artist Notes ***

I wanted to capture simply that I hated my name Sue….

 

Lyrics:

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 ran and hid

but the meanest thing that he ever did

was before he left he went and named me Sue

 

 

Well he must a' thought that it 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 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 that give me that awful name

 

 

Well it was Gatlinburg in mid July

and I'd 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're 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 got to be tough

and I know I wouldn't be there to help you along

so I give you 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"

 

 

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 you oughtta thank me before I die

for the gravel in your guts and the spit in your eye

cause I'm the son of a bitch that named you Sue"

 

Yeah! well 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 am gonna name him

Bill or George any damn thing but Sue

 

Done