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 o´ thought that is 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 fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I´d roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I´d search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me 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, dealing 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 gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is ´Sue!´ How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"

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
Kicking and a´ gouging 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,
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 knew I wouldn´t be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you´d have to get tough or die
And it´s the 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 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.´"

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 came 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!