Coward of the County
"Coward of the County" is a song written by Roger Bowling and Billy Ed Wheeler, and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. The song was released in November 1979 as the second single from Rogers' multi-platinum album Kenny. It became a major crossover hit, topping the Billboard Country chart and reaching #3 on the Hot 100 chart; it also topped the Cash Box singles chart and was a Top 10 hit in numerous other countries worldwide topping the chart in Canada, the UK, and also in Ireland where it stayed at #1 for six consecutive weeks.
| Artist |
 artist
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| Language |
language
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| English title |
english title
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| A-side |
a-side
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| B-side | "I Want to Make You Smile"
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| Written |
written
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| Published |
published
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| Released | November 12, 1979
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format
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| Recorded |
recorded
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studio
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venue
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| Length | 4:20
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| Composer |
composer
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| Lyricist |
lyricist
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Lyrics
He`d never stood one single time to prove the county wrong.
His mama called him Tommy, the 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 took care of 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.
Now it don`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 ev`ryone and Tommy`s love was Becky.
In her arms he didn`t have to prove he was a man.
One day while he was workin` the Gatlin boys came callin`.
They took turns at Becky.... n` there were 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 his tears fell on his daddy`s face, I heard these words again:
"Promise me, son, not to do the things I`ve done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
Now it don`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 met him halfway `cross the floor.
Tommy turned around they said, "Hey look! ol` yellow`s leavin`."
But you coulda 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 `em have it all.
When Tommy left the barroom 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`ve walked away from trouble when I can.
Now please don`t think I`m weak, I couldn`t turn the other cheek,
Papa, I sure hope you understand:
Sometimes you gotta fight when you`re a man."
Ev`ryone considered him the coward of the county.
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