Chords for Johnny Cash - A Boy Named Sue (Live at San Quentin, 1969)
Tempo:
85.65 bpm
Chords used:
Bb
F
Eb
Ebm
Ab
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[Bb] Well, my daddy left home when I was three and [Eb] he didn't leave much to ma and me, [F] just this old guitar and an empty [Bb] bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and [Eb] hid, but the meanest thing that he ever did [F] was before he left, [Bb] he went and named me Sue.
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up [Eb] mean, my fists got hard and my wits got keen, [F] roamed from town to town to [Bb] hide my shame.
But I made me a vow to the moon and stars, I'd [Eb] search the honky-tonks and [F] bars and kill that man that gave me [Bb] that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid [Ebm]-July and I'd just hit [Ab] town and my throat was dry, [F] I thought I'd stop and have [Bb] myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a [Eb] street of mud, there at a table dealing [F] stud sat the dirty manger dog [Bb] that named me Sue.
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet [Eb] dad from a [Ebm] worn-out picture that my mother [F] had had and I knew that scar on his cheek and [Bb] his evil eye.
He was big and bent and [Ebm] gray and old and I looked at him and my [Ab] blood ran [F] cold and I said, My name is [Bb] Sue!
Yeah, that's what I told him.
Well, I hit him hard right between the [Eb] eyes and he went down but to my [F] surprise, come up with a knife and cut off a [Bb] piece of my ear.
Well, I busted a chair right across [Eb] his teeth and we crashed through the wall and [Ebm] into the [F] street, kicking and a-gouging in the mud and [Bb] the blood and the beer.
I tell you, I fought tougher men but I [Ebm] really can't remember [F] when.
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a [Bb] crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard [Ebm] him cuss and he went [Eb] for his gun and I pulled mine [F] first.
He stood there looking at me [Bb] and I saw him smile.
He said, Son, this world is rough and if a man's gonna [Eb] make it, he's gotta be tough [F] and I know I wouldn't be [Bb] there to help you along.
So I give you that name and I said [Ebm] goodbye and I knew you'd have to get tough or [F] die and it's that name that [Bb] helped me make you strong.
He said, Now you just fought one hell of a [Bbm] fight and I [Eb] know you hate me and you got [F] the right to kill me now and I wouldn't blame you [Bb] if you do.
But you ought to thank me before I die [Eb] for the gravel in your guts and the spit in your [F] eye, cause I'm the son of a bitch [Bb] that named you Sue.
What could I do?
What could I do?
I got [Eb] all choked up [F] and I threw down my gun, [Eb] called him my [Bb] pa and he called me his son [F] and I come away with a different [Bb] point of view.
And I think about him now and then [Eb] every time I try and every time [F] I win and [Bb] if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him Bill or George, any damn thing but son.
[N]
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and [Eb] hid, but the meanest thing that he ever did [F] was before he left, [Bb] he went and named me Sue.
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up [Eb] mean, my fists got hard and my wits got keen, [F] roamed from town to town to [Bb] hide my shame.
But I made me a vow to the moon and stars, I'd [Eb] search the honky-tonks and [F] bars and kill that man that gave me [Bb] that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid [Ebm]-July and I'd just hit [Ab] town and my throat was dry, [F] I thought I'd stop and have [Bb] myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a [Eb] street of mud, there at a table dealing [F] stud sat the dirty manger dog [Bb] that named me Sue.
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet [Eb] dad from a [Ebm] worn-out picture that my mother [F] had had and I knew that scar on his cheek and [Bb] his evil eye.
He was big and bent and [Ebm] gray and old and I looked at him and my [Ab] blood ran [F] cold and I said, My name is [Bb] Sue!
Yeah, that's what I told him.
Well, I hit him hard right between the [Eb] eyes and he went down but to my [F] surprise, come up with a knife and cut off a [Bb] piece of my ear.
Well, I busted a chair right across [Eb] his teeth and we crashed through the wall and [Ebm] into the [F] street, kicking and a-gouging in the mud and [Bb] the blood and the beer.
I tell you, I fought tougher men but I [Ebm] really can't remember [F] when.
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a [Bb] crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard [Ebm] him cuss and he went [Eb] for his gun and I pulled mine [F] first.
He stood there looking at me [Bb] and I saw him smile.
He said, Son, this world is rough and if a man's gonna [Eb] make it, he's gotta be tough [F] and I know I wouldn't be [Bb] there to help you along.
So I give you that name and I said [Ebm] goodbye and I knew you'd have to get tough or [F] die and it's that name that [Bb] helped me make you strong.
He said, Now you just fought one hell of a [Bbm] fight and I [Eb] know you hate me and you got [F] the right to kill me now and I wouldn't blame you [Bb] if you do.
But you ought to thank me before I die [Eb] for the gravel in your guts and the spit in your [F] eye, cause I'm the son of a bitch [Bb] that named you Sue.
What could I do?
What could I do?
I got [Eb] all choked up [F] and I threw down my gun, [Eb] called him my [Bb] pa and he called me his son [F] and I come away with a different [Bb] point of view.
And I think about him now and then [Eb] every time I try and every time [F] I win and [Bb] if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him Bill or George, any damn thing but son.
[N]
Key:
Bb
F
Eb
Ebm
Ab
Bb
F
Eb
[Bb] _ _ _ _ _ Well, my daddy left home when I was three and [Eb] he didn't leave much to ma and me, [F] just this old guitar and an empty [Bb] bottle of booze.
_ Now, I don't blame him cause he run and [Eb] hid, but the meanest thing that he ever did [F] was before he left, [Bb] he went and named me Sue.
_ _ Well, I grew up quick and I grew up [Eb] mean, my fists got hard and my wits got keen, [F] roamed from town to town to [Bb] hide my shame.
But I made me a vow to the moon and stars, I'd [Eb] search the honky-tonks and [F] bars and kill that man that gave me [Bb] that awful name.
_ Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid [Ebm]-July and I'd just hit [Ab] town and my throat was dry, [F] I thought I'd stop and have [Bb] myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a [Eb] street of mud, there at a table dealing [F] stud sat the dirty manger dog [Bb] that named me Sue. _
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet [Eb] dad from a [Ebm] worn-out picture that my mother [F] had had and I knew that scar on his cheek and [Bb] his evil eye.
He was big and bent and [Ebm] gray and old and I looked at him and my [Ab] blood ran [F] cold and I said, My name is [Bb] Sue! _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Yeah, that's what I told him.
_ Well, I hit him hard right between the [Eb] eyes and he went down but to my [F] surprise, come up with a knife and cut off a [Bb] piece of my ear.
Well, I busted a chair right across [Eb] his teeth and we crashed through the wall and [Ebm] into the [F] street, kicking and a-gouging in the mud and [Bb] the blood and the beer. _
I tell you, I fought tougher men but I [Ebm] really can't remember [F] when.
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a [Bb] crocodile.
_ I heard him laugh and then I heard [Ebm] him cuss and he went [Eb] for his gun and I pulled mine [F] first.
He stood there looking at me [Bb] and I saw him smile.
He said, Son, _ this world is rough and if a man's gonna [Eb] make it, he's gotta be tough [F] and I know I wouldn't be [Bb] there to help you along.
So I give you that name and I said [Ebm] goodbye and I knew you'd have to get tough or [F] die and it's that name that [Bb] helped me make you strong. _ _ _
He said, Now you just fought one hell of a [Bbm] fight and I [Eb] know you hate me and you got [F] the right to kill me now and I wouldn't blame you [Bb] if you do.
But you ought to thank me before I die [Eb] for the gravel in your guts and the spit in your [F] eye, cause I'm the son of a bitch [Bb] that named you Sue.
_ What could I do?
What could I do?
I got [Eb] all choked up [F] and I threw down my gun, [Eb] called him my [Bb] pa and he called me his son [F] and I come away with a different [Bb] point of view.
And I think about him now and then [Eb] every time I try and every time [F] I win and [Bb] if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him Bill or George, any damn thing but son.
_ _ _ _ _ [N] _ _
_ Now, I don't blame him cause he run and [Eb] hid, but the meanest thing that he ever did [F] was before he left, [Bb] he went and named me Sue.
_ _ Well, I grew up quick and I grew up [Eb] mean, my fists got hard and my wits got keen, [F] roamed from town to town to [Bb] hide my shame.
But I made me a vow to the moon and stars, I'd [Eb] search the honky-tonks and [F] bars and kill that man that gave me [Bb] that awful name.
_ Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid [Ebm]-July and I'd just hit [Ab] town and my throat was dry, [F] I thought I'd stop and have [Bb] myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a [Eb] street of mud, there at a table dealing [F] stud sat the dirty manger dog [Bb] that named me Sue. _
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet [Eb] dad from a [Ebm] worn-out picture that my mother [F] had had and I knew that scar on his cheek and [Bb] his evil eye.
He was big and bent and [Ebm] gray and old and I looked at him and my [Ab] blood ran [F] cold and I said, My name is [Bb] Sue! _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Yeah, that's what I told him.
_ Well, I hit him hard right between the [Eb] eyes and he went down but to my [F] surprise, come up with a knife and cut off a [Bb] piece of my ear.
Well, I busted a chair right across [Eb] his teeth and we crashed through the wall and [Ebm] into the [F] street, kicking and a-gouging in the mud and [Bb] the blood and the beer. _
I tell you, I fought tougher men but I [Ebm] really can't remember [F] when.
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a [Bb] crocodile.
_ I heard him laugh and then I heard [Ebm] him cuss and he went [Eb] for his gun and I pulled mine [F] first.
He stood there looking at me [Bb] and I saw him smile.
He said, Son, _ this world is rough and if a man's gonna [Eb] make it, he's gotta be tough [F] and I know I wouldn't be [Bb] there to help you along.
So I give you that name and I said [Ebm] goodbye and I knew you'd have to get tough or [F] die and it's that name that [Bb] helped me make you strong. _ _ _
He said, Now you just fought one hell of a [Bbm] fight and I [Eb] know you hate me and you got [F] the right to kill me now and I wouldn't blame you [Bb] if you do.
But you ought to thank me before I die [Eb] for the gravel in your guts and the spit in your [F] eye, cause I'm the son of a bitch [Bb] that named you Sue.
_ What could I do?
What could I do?
I got [Eb] all choked up [F] and I threw down my gun, [Eb] called him my [Bb] pa and he called me his son [F] and I come away with a different [Bb] point of view.
And I think about him now and then [Eb] every time I try and every time [F] I win and [Bb] if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him Bill or George, any damn thing but son.
_ _ _ _ _ [N] _ _
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