Chords for Coward of the County
Tempo:
87.95 bpm
Chords used:
G
D
C#
C
F
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
Everyone considered him [F] the coward of [C] the county,
Never stood one single time to prove the county [G] wrong.
[C] His mama called him Tommy, [F] but folks just [C] called him Yellow,
Something always told me [G] they were reading [C] Tommy wrong.
He was only ten years old [F] when his daddy [C] died in prison,
And I took care of Tommy, cause he was my [G] brother's son.
[C] I still recall the final [F] words my brother said [C] to Tommy,
Son, my life is over, [G] but yours has just [C] begun.
Promise me, son, not [F] to do the things [C] I've done,
[F] Walk [C] away from trouble if [G] you can.
[C] Now it don't mean you're weak if [F] you turn the [C] other cheek,
And I hope you're [F] old enough to [G] understand,
Son, you don't have to fight to be [C] a man.
[C#] There's someone for everyone, [F#] Tommy's love [C#] was Becky,
In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a [G#] man.
One [C#] day while he was working, [F#] the Gatlin boys [C#] came calling,
They took turns at Becky, [G#] and there were [C#] three of them.
Tommy opened up the door, [F#] saw his [C#] Becky crying,
Torn dress, the shattered look was more than he [G#] could stand.
[C#] He reached above the fireplace, [F#] took down his [C#] daddy's picture,
As the tears fell on his daddy's face, [G#] I heard these words [C#] again,
Promise me, son, not [F#] to do the things [C#] I've done,
[F#] Walk away [C#] from trouble if [G#] you can.
[C#] Now it don't mean you're weak if [F#] you turn the other [C#] cheek,
And I hope you're old [F#] enough to [G#] understand,
Son, you don't have to fight to be [C#] a man.
[D] The Gatlin boys just laughed at him [G] when he walked into [D] the bar room,
One of them got up and had him halfway across [A] the floor.
[D] Tommy turned around and said, [G] hey look, old [D] yellow's leaving.
She could have heard a pin drop, but [A] Tommy stopped and locked the [D] door.
Twenty years of crawling [G] was bottled up [D] inside him,
He wasn't holding nothing back, he let on have [A] it all.
[D] Tommy left the bar room, [G] not a Gatlin boy [D] was standing.
He said this once for Becky, [A] as he watched the last [D] one fall,
I heard him say, I promised you, dad, not [G] to do the things [D] you've done,
[G] I'll walk away [D] from trouble when I [A] can.
[D] Now please don't think I'm weak, I [G] couldn't turn the other [D] cheek,
Papa, I [G] sure hope you [A] understand,
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're [D] a man.
Everyone considered him [G] the coward of [D] the county.
[N]
Never stood one single time to prove the county [G] wrong.
[C] His mama called him Tommy, [F] but folks just [C] called him Yellow,
Something always told me [G] they were reading [C] Tommy wrong.
He was only ten years old [F] when his daddy [C] died in prison,
And I took care of Tommy, cause he was my [G] brother's son.
[C] I still recall the final [F] words my brother said [C] to Tommy,
Son, my life is over, [G] but yours has just [C] begun.
Promise me, son, not [F] to do the things [C] I've done,
[F] Walk [C] away from trouble if [G] you can.
[C] Now it don't mean you're weak if [F] you turn the [C] other cheek,
And I hope you're [F] old enough to [G] understand,
Son, you don't have to fight to be [C] a man.
[C#] There's someone for everyone, [F#] Tommy's love [C#] was Becky,
In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a [G#] man.
One [C#] day while he was working, [F#] the Gatlin boys [C#] came calling,
They took turns at Becky, [G#] and there were [C#] three of them.
Tommy opened up the door, [F#] saw his [C#] Becky crying,
Torn dress, the shattered look was more than he [G#] could stand.
[C#] He reached above the fireplace, [F#] took down his [C#] daddy's picture,
As the tears fell on his daddy's face, [G#] I heard these words [C#] again,
Promise me, son, not [F#] to do the things [C#] I've done,
[F#] Walk away [C#] from trouble if [G#] you can.
[C#] Now it don't mean you're weak if [F#] you turn the other [C#] cheek,
And I hope you're old [F#] enough to [G#] understand,
Son, you don't have to fight to be [C#] a man.
[D] The Gatlin boys just laughed at him [G] when he walked into [D] the bar room,
One of them got up and had him halfway across [A] the floor.
[D] Tommy turned around and said, [G] hey look, old [D] yellow's leaving.
She could have heard a pin drop, but [A] Tommy stopped and locked the [D] door.
Twenty years of crawling [G] was bottled up [D] inside him,
He wasn't holding nothing back, he let on have [A] it all.
[D] Tommy left the bar room, [G] not a Gatlin boy [D] was standing.
He said this once for Becky, [A] as he watched the last [D] one fall,
I heard him say, I promised you, dad, not [G] to do the things [D] you've done,
[G] I'll walk away [D] from trouble when I [A] can.
[D] Now please don't think I'm weak, I [G] couldn't turn the other [D] cheek,
Papa, I [G] sure hope you [A] understand,
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're [D] a man.
Everyone considered him [G] the coward of [D] the county.
[N]
Key:
G
D
C#
C
F
G
D
C#
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Everyone considered him [F] the coward of [C] the county,
_ Never stood one single time to prove the county [G] wrong.
_ _ [C] His mama called him Tommy, [F] but folks just [C] called him Yellow,
_ _ Something always told me [G] they were reading [C] Tommy wrong. _ _
He was only ten years old [F] when his daddy [C] died in prison,
And I took care of Tommy, cause he was my [G] brother's son.
_ [C] I still recall the final [F] words my brother said [C] to Tommy,
_ _ Son, my life is over, [G] but yours has just [C] begun. _ _ _
Promise me, son, not [F] to do the things [C] I've done,
[F] Walk [C] away from trouble if [G] you can. _ _
[C] Now it don't mean you're weak if [F] you turn the [C] other cheek,
And I hope you're [F] old enough to [G] understand, _
Son, you don't have to fight to be [C] a man. _
[C#] There's someone for everyone, [F#] Tommy's love [C#] was Becky, _
_ In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a [G#] man.
One [C#] day while he was working, [F#] the Gatlin boys [C#] came calling,
_ They took turns at Becky, _ [G#] and there were [C#] three of them. _ _
Tommy opened up the door, [F#] saw his [C#] Becky crying,
_ _ Torn dress, the shattered look was more than he [G#] could stand.
_ [C#] He reached above the fireplace, [F#] took down his [C#] daddy's picture,
As the tears fell on his daddy's face, [G#] I heard these words [C#] again, _ _ _
Promise me, son, not [F#] to do the things [C#] I've done,
[F#] Walk away [C#] from trouble if [G#] you can. _ _
[C#] Now it don't mean you're weak if [F#] you turn the other [C#] cheek,
And I hope you're old [F#] enough to [G#] understand, _ _
Son, you don't have to fight to be [C#] a man. _ _
[D] The Gatlin boys just laughed at him [G] when he walked into [D] the bar room,
_ One of them got up and had him halfway across [A] the floor.
_ _ [D] Tommy turned around and said, [G] hey look, old [D] yellow's leaving.
_ She could have heard a pin drop, but [A] Tommy stopped and locked the [D] door. _ _
Twenty years of crawling [G] was bottled up [D] inside him,
_ He wasn't holding nothing back, he let on have [A] it all.
_ _ [D] Tommy left the bar room, [G] not a Gatlin boy [D] was standing.
_ _ He said this once for Becky, [A] as he watched the last [D] one fall,
I heard him say, I promised you, dad, not [G] to do the things [D] you've done,
[G] I'll walk away [D] from trouble when I [A] can. _ _
[D] Now please don't think I'm weak, I [G] couldn't turn the other [D] cheek,
Papa, I [G] sure hope you [A] understand, _ _
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're [D] a man. _ _ _
Everyone considered him [G] the coward of [D] the county. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Everyone considered him [F] the coward of [C] the county,
_ Never stood one single time to prove the county [G] wrong.
_ _ [C] His mama called him Tommy, [F] but folks just [C] called him Yellow,
_ _ Something always told me [G] they were reading [C] Tommy wrong. _ _
He was only ten years old [F] when his daddy [C] died in prison,
And I took care of Tommy, cause he was my [G] brother's son.
_ [C] I still recall the final [F] words my brother said [C] to Tommy,
_ _ Son, my life is over, [G] but yours has just [C] begun. _ _ _
Promise me, son, not [F] to do the things [C] I've done,
[F] Walk [C] away from trouble if [G] you can. _ _
[C] Now it don't mean you're weak if [F] you turn the [C] other cheek,
And I hope you're [F] old enough to [G] understand, _
Son, you don't have to fight to be [C] a man. _
[C#] There's someone for everyone, [F#] Tommy's love [C#] was Becky, _
_ In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a [G#] man.
One [C#] day while he was working, [F#] the Gatlin boys [C#] came calling,
_ They took turns at Becky, _ [G#] and there were [C#] three of them. _ _
Tommy opened up the door, [F#] saw his [C#] Becky crying,
_ _ Torn dress, the shattered look was more than he [G#] could stand.
_ [C#] He reached above the fireplace, [F#] took down his [C#] daddy's picture,
As the tears fell on his daddy's face, [G#] I heard these words [C#] again, _ _ _
Promise me, son, not [F#] to do the things [C#] I've done,
[F#] Walk away [C#] from trouble if [G#] you can. _ _
[C#] Now it don't mean you're weak if [F#] you turn the other [C#] cheek,
And I hope you're old [F#] enough to [G#] understand, _ _
Son, you don't have to fight to be [C#] a man. _ _
[D] The Gatlin boys just laughed at him [G] when he walked into [D] the bar room,
_ One of them got up and had him halfway across [A] the floor.
_ _ [D] Tommy turned around and said, [G] hey look, old [D] yellow's leaving.
_ She could have heard a pin drop, but [A] Tommy stopped and locked the [D] door. _ _
Twenty years of crawling [G] was bottled up [D] inside him,
_ He wasn't holding nothing back, he let on have [A] it all.
_ _ [D] Tommy left the bar room, [G] not a Gatlin boy [D] was standing.
_ _ He said this once for Becky, [A] as he watched the last [D] one fall,
I heard him say, I promised you, dad, not [G] to do the things [D] you've done,
[G] I'll walk away [D] from trouble when I [A] can. _ _
[D] Now please don't think I'm weak, I [G] couldn't turn the other [D] cheek,
Papa, I [G] sure hope you [A] understand, _ _
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're [D] a man. _ _ _
Everyone considered him [G] the coward of [D] the county. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _