C _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
_ Everyone considered him
F the coward
C of the county,.
_ Never stood one single time to prove the
G county wrong.
_ _
C His mama called him Tommy,
F the folks just
C called him Yellow,.
_ _ Something always told them
G they were reading
C Tommy wrong.
_ _ .
Now he was only ten years
F old 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
C said to Tommy,.
_ Son, my life is over,
G but yours has
C just begun.
_ _ _ .
Promise me, son, not
F to do the
C things I've done,.
F Walk
C away from trouble
G if 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
C be a man.
_ _ .
C# There's someone for everyone,
F# Tommy's
C# lover Becky, _ .
_ In her arms he didn't have to prove he was
G# a man.
_ _
C# One day while he was working,
F# the cattle and 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
G# face, I heard these
C# words again, _ _ _ .
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 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 cattle and boys just laughed at him
G when he walked into
D the bar room,.
_ One of them got up and hit him halfway across
A the floor.
_ _
D Tommy turned around and said,
G hey look, old
D yellow's leaving.
_ But you could have heard a pin drop,
A Tommy stomped and locked
D the door.
_ _ _ .
Twenty years of crawling
G was bottled up
D inside him,.
_ He wasn't holding nothing back, he let them have
A it all.
_
D Tommy left the bar room,
G not a cattle and boy
D was standing,.
_ He said this once for Becky,
A as he watched the last
D one fall,.
And 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
A I can.
_ _ .
D Now please don't think I'm weak, I
G couldn't turn the
D other cheek,.
Papa, I
G sure hope you
A understand, _ _ .
Sometimes you gotta fight to be
D a man.
_ _ _ .
Everyone considered him
G the coward of
D the county.
_ _ _ _ _ _ .