Cash liked the quirky story of the song but left it behind to record later when he got back from San Quentin.īut June Carter threw the lyrics onto a stack of material that Johnny was taking with him to the prison concert. Like with Folsom, maybe some lyrics from Silverstein could make another hit for the San Quentin concert?īut Cash didn't take the lyrics with him to San Quentin. This was "25 Minutes to Go," a Silverstein poem that became the lyrics for a highlight song on the At Folsom Prison album. Don felt the lyrics would make a great song for the upcoming San Quentin concert as Cash had had previous success using lyrics from a Silverstein poem at the prior Folsom prison concert.
A BOY NAMED SUE SONG WRITER TRIAL
If the song wasn't written by Cash or inspired by Cash's association with the Sue Hicks from the Scopes Monkey Trial how did Cash come across the song?Īccording to Robert Hilburn's recent biography, Cash was told about the song lyrics by Don Davis, a music producer and family friend (Davis was married to Anita Carter, sister of June Carter Cash). You know how it felt to grow up all of your life, with the name Jean? Spelled with a J? Listen, I fist-fought my way through every grade in school. In an interview in 1965 Jean Shepherd shared this about how this feminine-sounding name affected his development in life: Who inspired Shel Silverstein's poem? Eugene Bergmann argues that the song was inspired by humorist Jean Shepherd, who was a close friend of Silverstein's. "A Boy Named Sue" was a poem written by Shel Silverstein, and was also released in 1969 (the same year as Cash's At San Quentin) on Silverstein's album Boy Named Sue (and His Other Country Songs). However, "A Boy Named Sue" wasn't written by Johnny Cash. Sue Hicks was named after his mother who died after giving birth to him. Hicks, an attorney who was a friend of John Scopes and who agreed to be a prosecutor in the Scopes Monkey Trial. You can watch Cash performing the song at San Quentin here.ĭuring the show Ed said that "A Boy Named Sue" was written by Johnny Cash, and was inspired by his association with Sue K. I got all choked up and I threw down my gun,Īnd I came away with a different point of viewĮvery time I tried, every time I win and if IĮver have a son I think I am gonna name him In your eye because I'm the nut that named you Sue." Got the right to kill me now and I wouldn't blame youīefore I die for the gravel in your guts and the spit Helluva fight, and I know you hate me and you've Yeah, he said, "Now you have just fought one That name that helped to make you strong."
So I gave you that name and I said 'Goodbye'. He stood there looking at me and I saw him smile.Īnd he said, "Son, this world is rough and ifĪ man's gonna make it, he's gotta be toughĪnd I knew I wouldn't be there to help you along. He went for his gun and I pulled mine first. I heard him laughin' and then I heard him cussin', He kicked like a mule and bit like a crocodile. I tell you I've fought tougher men but I really can't remember when. The wall and into the street kicking and a-gouging
Well, I hit him right between the eyes and he went downīut to my surprise he came up with a knifeĪnd cut off a piece of my ear. Now you're gonna die." Yeah, that's what I told him. Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dadįrom a worn-out picture that my mother hadĪnd I knew the scar on his cheek and his evil eye.Īnd I looked at him and my blood ran cold,Īnd I said, "My name is Sue. I'd thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.Īnd at a table dealing stud sat the dirty, I'd search the honky-tonks and bars and killīut it was Gatlinburg in mid July and I had Roamed from town to town to hide my shame,īut I made me a vow to the moon and the stars, Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean. I tell you, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue. It seems I had to fight my whole life through.Īnd some guy would laugh and I'd bust his head, Well, he must have thought it was quite a joke,Īnd it got lots of laughs from a lot of folks, Now I don't blame him because he run and hid,īut the meanest thing that he ever did was
Just this old guitar and a bottle of booze. Well, my daddy left home when I was three, Here are the lyrics to the story-song "A Boy Named Sue": Now while it seems foolish for a psychologist to correct a Pulitzer-prize winning historian on a matter of history, I do want to comment on the history Ed gave about the song "A Boy Named Sue." I know a bit about Cash in light of the research I did for my recent The Theology of Johnny Cash series. The song in question is "A Boy Named Sue," popularized by Johnny Cash and first sung by Cash on the At San Quentin album. Following up on yesterday's post about the Tokens Show in Dayton just a historical note about a song Lee Camp sang during the show and Ed Larson's commentary about the origins of that song.
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