Name: Coward Of The County
Duration: 4 min 41 s
Channel: Roger Bowling & Billy Ed Wheeler
Description: "Coward Of The County" is a song by Don M Smythe. Cover - Written by Roger Bowling & Billy Ed Wheeler, Recorded by Kenny Rogers

Coward Of The County

Don M Smythe

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Cover - Written by Roger Bowling & Billy Ed Wheeler, Recorded by Kenny Rogers

indie country music world country rock traditional country cover songs country general

Don M Smythe

Country music singer, guitar musician, country promotions. A genuine true-blue Country advocate and supporter of New Zealand Country Music at all levels.

Country music singer, guitar musician, and country promotions. A genuine true-blue Country advocate and supporter of New Zealand Country Music at all levels.

Song Info

Genre

Country • Traditional Country

Charts

Peak #90

Peak in subgenre #13

Author

Roger Bowling & Billy Ed Wheeler

Uploaded

June 01, 2021

Track Files

MP3

MP3 10.7 MB • 320 kbps • 4:41

Lossless

WAV 47.2 MB

Story behind the song

My Cover version of Kenny Roger's song. written by Roger Bowling and Billy Ed Wheeler

Lyrics

"Coward of the County" 

2/2 Western Swing                               Tempo 90 BPM

KEY C
Verse.1
Ev'ryone considered him the coward of the county.
He'd never stood one single time to prove the county wrong.
His mama named him Tommy, the folks just called him yellow,
but something always told me they were reading Tommy wrong.

Verse.2
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 is just begun.

CHORUS:
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."  

KEY C#
Verse.3 
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'.
                              [Spoken] 
They took turns at Becky.... There was three of them!

Verse.4
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 and took down his daddy's picture.
As his tears fell on his daddy's face, he heard these words again:

CHORUS:
"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."

KEY D
Verse.5
The Gatlin boys just laughed at him when he walked into the barroom.
One of them got up and met him halfway 'cross the floor.
When 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.

Verse.6
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.
[Spoken]
And I heard him say,

CHORUS:
"I promised you, Dad, not to do the things you 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."

TAG
Ev'ryone considered him the coward of the county.

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