[00:02.90]Coward Of The County - Kenny Rogers
[00:11.28]Everyone considered him the coward of the county
[00:18.15]He  d never stood one single time to prove the county wrong
[00:24.90]His mama named him Tommy, but folks just called him Yellow
[00:31.67]Something always told me, they were reading Tommy wrong
[00:38.54]He was only ten years old when his daddy died in prison
[00:45.42]I looked after Tommy,   cause he was my brother  s son
[00:51.87]I still recall the final words my brother said to Tommy
[00:58.93] Son, my life is over, but yours has just begun 
[01:05.81] Promise me, son, not to do the things I  ve done
[01:11.25]Walk away from trouble if you can
[01:16.51]It won  t mean you  re weak if you turn the other cheek
[01:21.88]I hope you  re old enough to understand
[01:27.20]Son, you don  t have to fight to be a man 
[01:32.82]There  s someone for everyone and Tommy  s love was Becky
[01:39.86]In her arms, he didn  t have to prove he was a man
[01:46.50]One day while he was working, the Gatlin boys came calling
[01:53.56]They took turns at Becky an   there was three of them
[02:00.37]Tommy opened up the door and saw his Becky crying
[02:07.14]The torn dress, the shattered look was more than he could stand
[02:14.07]He reached above the fireplace and took down his daddy  s picture
[02:20.51]As his tears fell on his daddy  s face, he heard these words again
[02:27.64] Promise me, Son, not to do the things I  ve done
[02:33.01]Walk away from trouble if you can
[02:38.30]It won  t mean you  re weak if you turn the other cheek
[02:43.68]I hope you  re old enough to understand
[02:48.99]Son, you don  t have to fight to be a man 
[02:54.74]The Gatlin boys just laughed at him when he walked into the bar room
[03:01.74]One of them got up and met him half way cross the floor
[03:08.43]When Tommy turned around they said,  Hey look! Old Yellow  s leaving 
[03:15.62]But you could  ve heard a pin drop
[03:17.95]When Tommy stopped and locked the door
[03:22.13]Twenty years of crawling were bottled up inside him
[03:28.93]He wasn  t holding nothing back, he let   em have it all
[03:35.81]When Tommy left the bar room, not a Gatlin boy was standing
[03:42.49]He said,  This one  s for Becky, as he watched the last one fall
[03:47.81]An I heard him say
[03:49.16] I promised you, Dad, not to do the things you  ve done
[03:54.46]I walk away from trouble when I can
[04:00.09]Now please don  t think I  m weak, I didn  t turn the other cheek
[04:05.71]And Papa, I should hope you understand
[04:10.84]Sometimes you gotta fight when you  re a man 
[04:16.65]Everyone considered him the coward of the county
[04:19.65]