Everyone considered him
the coward of the county.
He never stood one single time
to prove the county wrong.
His mama named him Tommy.
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 looked after Tommy
Cause he was my brother's son
I still recall the final words
My brother said to Tommy,
he said, son, my life is over
but yours has just begun.
Promise me, son,
not to do the things I've done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
It won'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
There's someone for everyone
Tommy's love was Becky
In her arms she didn't have
to prove he was a man
One day while he was workin'
the Gat lin boys came callin'
They took turns at Becky
and there was 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 tears fell on his daddy's face,
he heard these words again
Promise me, son,
not to do the things I've done
walk away from trouble if you can
it won'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
Gatlin boys just laughed at him
when he walked into the bar room
one of them got up and met him
halfway across the floor
When Tommy turned around,
he said, look, old Yella's leavin'
But you could have 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 him have it all
When Tommy left the bar room,
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, I promised you, Dad,
not to do the things you've done
I walk away from trouble if I can
Now please don't think I'm weak
I didn't turn the other cheek
And Papa, I sure hope you
understand
Sometimes you gotta fight
when you're a man
Everyone considered him
The coward of the county you