Coward Of The County

1. Evryone considered him the coward of the county
He'd never stood one single time to prove the county wrong
His mama called him Tommy, the folks just called him yellow
But something always told me they were reading Tommy wrong.

He was only ten years old when his daddy died in prison
I took care of Tommy 'cause he was my brother's son
I still recall the final words my brother said to Tommy
"Son, my life is over, but yours has just begun.

[Chorus:]
Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done
Walk away from trouble if you can
Now it don't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek
I hope you're old enough to understand
Son, you don't have to fight to be a man.

2. There's someone for ev'ryone and Tommy's love was Becky
In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a man
One day while he was workin' the Gatlin boys came callin'
They took turns at Becky.... n' there were three of them!

Tommy opened up the door and saw his Becky cryin
The torn dress, the shattered look was more than he could stand
He reached above the fireplace took down his daddy's picture
As his tears fell on his daddy's face, I heard these words again.

[Chorus]

3. The Gatlin boys just laughed at him when he walked into the barroom
One of them got up met him halfway 'cross the floor
Tommy turned around they said, "Hey look! ol' yellow's leavin'
But you coulda heard a pin drop when Tommy stopped and locked the door.

Twenty years of crawlin' was bottled up inside him
He wasn't holdin' nothin' back; he let 'em have it all
When Tommy left the barroom not a Gatlin boy was standin'
He said, "This one's for Becky," as he watched the last one fall.
And I heard him say.

[Chorus:]

Ev'ryone considered him the coward of the county.