Coward of the county

Everyone considered him the coward of the county
He'd never stood one single time
To prove the county wrong

His mama named him Tommy
But folks just called him "Yellow"
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
"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
And Tommy's love was Becky
In her arms, he didn't have to prove he was a man

One day while he was working
The Gatlin boys came calling
They took turns at Becky
And there was three of them

Tommy opened up the door
And saw his Becky crying
The torn dress, the shattered look
Was more than he could stand

He reached above the fireplace
And took down his daddy's picture
As his 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
Now, 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"

The Gatlin boys just laughed at him
When he walked into the barroom
One of them got up
And met him half way 'cross the floor

When Tommy turned around they said
"Hey look! Old Yeller's leaving"
But you could've heard a pin drop
When Tommy stopped and locked the door

Twenty years of crawling
Was bottled up inside him
He wasn't holding nothing back
He let 'em have it all

When Tommy left the barroom
Not a Gatlin boy was standing
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 when 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