Kenny Rogers - Coward Of The Country

Everyone considered him the coward of the country
He'd never stood one single time
to prove the country wrong
His mama named him Tommy but the 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 for 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 to Becky (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 his daddy's pictures
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 for 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" 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
"he look ! Old yellow'sleaving
But you couldn't heard a pin drop
when Tommy stopped and locked the door

Twenty years of crawling was bottled up inside him
He wouldn't hold 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 falling
And I heard him say

"I promised you, dad,
not to do the things you've done
I walk away for trouble when I can
Now please don't think I'm weak
I didn't turn the other cheek
And papa, I should hope you understand
Some times you gotta fight when you're a man

Everyone considered him the coward
of the country