A few song lyrics that are about life
These 2 songs played a few times for me on my way home from Pittsburgh. Both will be weird to some.
But they "mean" something to me, and always make me think and smile and sometimes get a little tear that I make believe is the sun in my eyes!
The first is coward of the county by Kenny Rogers. When my parents got divorced, I often then sat in the front of my Dad's old pickup truck. Off to baseball practice as Dad was my coach. Off to football practice as Dad was my coach. Off to Pennsylvania to go camping, as that's just what we did a million times. And it was still only tape cassettes at the time. Dad loved Kenny. I heard this for the first time and instantly loved it. Dad would go nuts as I played this over and over and over and over and over.
So not only is this song about a father and son, but to me it brings back all the memories of when I was a kid playing sports and being active and being with my Dad who invested so much time with us.
(song at bottom in video)
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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 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".
[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."
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, n'there was three of them).
Tommy opened up the door, and saw 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 the tears fell on his daddy's face, he heard these words again:
[Chorus]
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 were bottled up inside him.
He wasn't holding nothing back he let 'em have it all.
When Tommy left the bar room, 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 should hope you understand
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man".
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