The Coward of the County
Kenny Rogers

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.

Everyone considered him the coward of the county.


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Lyrics by Kenny Rogers

  'Merica   'Til I Can Make It On My Own   'Til I Can Make It On My Own + Dottie West   'til The Season Comes 'round Again   (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebod...   (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done So...   (Something Inside) So Strong   727 East Magnolia Avenue   9 to 5   A Christmas To Remember   A Different Kind Of Christmas   A Little More Like Me (the Crucifixion)   A Love Song   A Poem for My Little Girl   A Poem for My Little Lady   A Poem I Wrote For Your Hair   A Soldier's King   A Soldier's King   A Stranger In My Place   Abraham, Martin, And John   After All (I Live My Life)   After All This Time   All God's Lovely Children   All God's Lovely Children   All I Ever Need Is You   All I Need Is One   All I Need Is You   All My Life   All That You Could Be   Always   Always And Forever   Always Leaving, Always Gone   Am I Too Late   Amazing Grace   Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight   Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight   As God Is My Witness   As Time Goes By   Away in a Manger   Baby I'm A Want You   Baby I'm A-Want You - With Dottie West   Baby, I'm A Want You   Baby, I'm A Want You   Back To Bethlehem   Back To The Well   Bed Of Rose   Bed of Roses   Blaze Of Glory   Blue Train   Blue Train (with Steve Wariner)   Born To Love Me   Buried Treasure   But You Know I Love You   Butterfly Kisses   Buy Me A Rose   Call Me Up ( The Phone Is In The Cradle )   Call Me Up (The Phone Is in the Cradle)   Calling Me   Carol Of The Bells   Carol of the Bells [DVD]   Children, Go Where I Send Thee   Children, Go Where I Send Thee (feat. Home Free)   Christmas Everyday   Christmas Is My Favorite Time Of The Year   Christmas Is My Favorite Time Of Year   Christmas Without You   Circle Of Friends   Coat Of Many Colors   Coconut   Conditions (Just Dropped in)   Coward Of The Country   Coward Of The County   Crazy   Crazy In Love   Crazy Me   Daytime Friends   Desperado   Didn't We   Didn't We?   Didn't We?   Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer   Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer (With Kim Carnes...   Don't Leave Me In The Night Time   Don't Look In My Eyes   Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer   Don't Look In My Eyes   Dream Dancin'   Dream Dancing   Dreams Of The San Joaquin   Elvira   Endless Love   Evening Star   Evergreen   Every Time Two Fools Collide   Every Time Two Fools Collide [With Dottie West]   Every Time Two Fools Collide + Dottie West   Everytime Two Fools Collide   Eyes That See In The Dark   Farther I Go   Fightin' Fire With Fire   Fighting Fire With Fire   Find a Little Grace   Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)   For The Good Times   For The Love Of God   For You Alone   Ghost Of Another Man   Gideon Tanner   Goin' Home To Rock   Goin' Home To The Rock - Reprise   Goin' Home To Rock   Going Back To Alabama   Good Life   Good Vibrations   Goodbye Marie   Grace   Green Green Grass Of Home   Green, Green Grass of Home   Greybeard   Half A Man   Hand Prints On The Wall   Handprints On The Wall   Hard Candy Christmas   Harder Cards   Have A Little Faith In Me   Have A Told You Lately That I Love You   Have I Told You Lately   Have I Told You Lately That I Love You   Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas   He Showed Me Love   He Will, She Knows   He Will, She Knows (with Diamond Rio & Collin Raye...   Heart of the Matter   Heart To Heart   Heavenly Sunshine   Heed The Call   Here It Is Christmas / Baby, It's Cold Outside (fe...   Here You Come Again   Here's That Rainy Day   Heroes   Hold Me   Home-Made Love   Homeland   How Do I Break It To My Heart   How Long   How Long?   How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)   I Am The Greatest   I Believe in Music   I Can Feel You Drifting   I Can't Believe Your Eyes   I Can't Help Falling In Love   I Can't Make You Love   I Can't Make You Love Me   I Can't Unlove You   I Can't Believe Your Eyes   I Can't Make You Love Me   I Can't Unlove You   I Cant Unlove You   I Could Be So Good for You   I Do It For Your Love   I Don't Call Him Daddy   I Don't Need You   I Don't Wanna Know Why   I Don't Want To Know Why (with Cindy Fee)   I Don't Call Him Daddy   I Don't Need You   I Don't Wanna Know Why   I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometime...   I Just Dropped In   I Only Have Eyes For You   I Prefer The Moonlight   I Remember You   I Swear   I Trust You   I Want A Son   I Want To Make You Smile   I Will Always Love You   I Will Remember You   I Wish I Could Hurt That Way Again   I Wish I Could Say That   I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again   I Won't Forget   I Won't Forget (with Duane Eddy)   I Won't Forget   I Would Like To See You Again   I'll Be Home For Christmas   I'll Be There For You   I'll Fly Away   I'll Take Care Of You   I'm Going To Sing You A Sad Song, Suzy   I'm Gonna Sing You A Sad Song   I'm Missing You   I'll Be There For You   I'll Take Care Of You   I'm Gonna Sing You A Sad Song   I'm Missing You   If I Could Hold On To Love   If I Could Only Change Your Mind   If I Ever Fall In Love Again   If I Knew Then What I Know Now   If I Knew What I Know Now   If I Were A Painting   If I Were You   If I Were You (Duet With Travis Tritt)   If You Can Lie A Little Bit   If You Want To Find Love   If You Were the Friend   In and Out of Your Heart   In Our Old Age   In the Sweet By and By   In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning   Island In The Stream   Islands In The Stream   Islands in the Stream (Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton...   Islands in the Stream [DVD]   Islands In the Stream + Dolly Parton   It Had To Be You   It Turns Me Inside Out   It's A Beautiful Life   It's Gonna Be Easy Now   It's The Messiah   It's A Beautiful Life   It's The Messiah   Joy to the World   Just Dropped In   Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Conditio...   Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Conditio...   Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Conditio...   Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Conditon...   Just Love Me   Just Rmember You're My Sunshine   Just Rmember You're My Sunshine   Just the Thought of Losing You   Kentucky Homemade Christmas   Kids   King of Oak Street   Lady   Lady [DVD]   Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)   Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)   Lay Down Beside Me   Lay It Down   Lay My Body Down   Leaning On The Everlasting Arms   Let It Be Me   Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow   Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!   Life Is Good, Love Is Better   Listen To The Rain   Listen To The Rain ( From 1990 )   Little Boy, Baseball Bat   Little Drummer Boy   Living With You   Long Arm Of The Law   Look At You   Loser   Love Don't Live Here Anymore   Love Don't Live Here Anymore   Love Is A Many Splendored Thing   Love Is Here to Stay   Love Is Just Around the Corner   Love Is Just Around The Corner -(With Take 6)   Love Is Many Splendoured Thing   Love Is Strange   Love Is What We Make It   Love Lifted Me   Love Like This   Love Me Tender   Love Or Something Like It   Love Or Something Like It (93)   Love Song   Love The Way You Do   Love The World Away   Love will turn   Love Will Turn You Around   Love Will Turn You Around [From Six Pack]   Love, Love, Love   Loving Armes   Loving Arms   Lttle Boy, Basball Bat   Lucille   Make No Mistake, She's Mine   Make No Mistakes, She's Mine   Make No Mistakes, She's Mine   Makes Me Wonder If I Ever Said Goodbye   Making Music for Money   Mary Did You Know   Mary, Did You Know   Mary, Did You Know?   Mary, Did You Know? (Duet With Wynonna Judd)   Maybe   Maybe In The End   Maybe You Should Know   Me & Bobby McGee   Me & Bobby McGee   Me And Bobby McGee   Me and Bobby McGhee   Medley: Winter Wonderland   Merica   Midsummer Nights   Missing You   Misty   Molly   Morning Desire   Morning Has Broken   My Favorite Things   My Favorite Things - CD Only   My Funny Valentine   my life is over   My Petition   My Washington Woman   My World Begins And Ends With You   My World Is Over   My World Is Over (featuring Whitney Duncan)   My World Is Over Without You   No Dreams   No Good Texas Rounder   Now And Forever   O Come All Ye Faithful   O Come, All Ye Faithful   O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste fidelis)   O Holy Night   O Little Town of Bethlehem   Ol' Red   Once Again It's Christmas   Once Upon a Christmas   One Life   One Man's Woman   One Man's Woman   One More Day   One Night   One Place In The Night   Only Once In A Lifetime   Owe Them More Than That   Peace   People In Love   Planet Texas   Poem For My Little Lady   Prairie Wedding   Pretty Little Baby Child   Puttin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 In Overtime At Home   Puttinâ?? In Overtime At Home   Real Love   Real Love (With Dolly Parton)   Reuben James   Ruben James   Ruby   Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town   Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To   Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town   Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town   Rueben James   Runaway Girl   Sail Away   San Francisco Mabel Joy   Sayin' Goodbye   Saying Goodbye   Scarlet Fever   School Teacher   See Me Through   Share Your Love With Me   She Believes In Me   She Believes in Me [*]   She Believes Me   She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye   She Rides Wild Horses   She Thinks I Still Care   She's Ready For Someone To Love Her   She's Ready For Someone To Love Her   Shine On Ruby Mountain   Silent Night   Silent Night [DVD]   Silver Bells   Sing Me your Love Song   Sleep Tight, Goodnight Man   Slow Dance More   So In Love With You   So Little Love In The World   Soldier Of Love   Some Children See Him (feat. Alison Krauss)   Some Prisons Don't Have Walls   Some Prisons Don't Have Walls   Somebody Help Me   Somebody Took My Love   Someone Is Me   Someone Must Feel Like A Fool Tonight   Someone Somewhere Tonight   Someone Who Cares   SOMETHING INSIDE SO STRONG   Something Is Burning   Something's Burning   Somewhere Between Lovers And Friends   Somewhere my love   Somewhere, My Love   Son Of Hickory Hollers Tramp   Stardust   Starting Again   Starting Today, Starting Over   Still Hold On   Stranger in My Place   Sunshine   Sweet Little Jesus Boy   Sweet Music Man   Take This Heart   Tears In God's Eyes   Tell It All Brother   That Crazy Feeling   That Silent Night (feat. Jim Brickman)   That's The Way It Could Have Been   The Best Of Me   The Buckaroos   The Christmas Song   The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open ...   The Factory   The First Noel   The Fool in Me   The Fool in Me   The Fool Inl Me   The Gambler   The Ghost Of Another Man   The Good Life   The Greatest   The greatest gift of all   The Heart Of The Matter   The Hoodooin' Of Miss Fannie Deberry   The Kind Of Fool Love Makes   The King of Oak Street   The Last Ten Years   The Last Ten Years   The Last Ten Years (Superman)   The Light   The Long Arm of the Law   The Loving Gift   The My Funny Valentine   The Nearness Of You   The Night Goes On   The Only Way I Know   The Pride Is Back - Kenny Rogers With Nickie Ryder   The Rock Of Your Love   The Son Of Hickory Holler's Tramp   The Stranger   THE VOWS GO UNBROKEN   The Vows Go Unbroken (Always True to You)   The Wayward Wind   The Wind Beneath My Wings   The World Needs a Melody   There Lies The Difference   There You Go Again   There You Go Again (with Suzy Bogguss & Billy Dean...   There's A New Kid In Town (feat. Winfield's Locket...   THERE´S AN OLD MAN IN OUR TOWN   These Chains   They Don't Make 'em Like You Anymore   They Don't Make Them Like They Used To   They Just Don't Make 'Em Like You Anymore   This Woman   Three Times a Lady   Through The Years   Ticket to Nowhere   Till I Can Make It On My Own   Time For Love   To Me   Today I Started Lovin' You Again   Today I Started Loving You Again   Together Again   Tomb of the Unknown Love   Tulsa Turn Around   Tulsa Turnaround   Turn This World Around   Twentieth Century Fool   Twenty Years Ago   Two Good Reasons   Two Heart, One Love   Unchained Melody   Undercover   Unforgettable   Until Forever's Gone   Vows Go Unbroken (Always True to You)   Walk Away   Water & Bridges   Water And Bridges   We All Got To Help Each Other   We Are the Same   We Don't Make Love Anymore   We Feel In Love Anyway   We Fell In Love Anyway   We Love Each Other   We're Doin' Alright   We're Doing Alright   We've Got It All   We've Got Tonight   What a Friend We Have in Jesus   What A Wonderful Beginning   What About Me   What About Me?   What About Me? (with Kim Carnes & James Ingram)   What Are We Doin' In Love   What Child Is This?   What I Did for Love   What I Learned From Loving You   What that Means   What That Means (with Brad Paisly)   When A Child Is Born   When a Man Loves a Woman   When I Fall in Love   When We Made Love   When We Made Love (with Linda Davis)   When You Love Someone   WHEN YOU PUT YOUR HEART IN IT   When You Were Loving Me   Where or When   Where Or When (With David Foster)   While The Feeling Good   While The Feeling's Good   WHILE THE FEELING´S GOOD   White Christmas   Why Don't We Go Somewhere And Love   Will The Circle Be Unbroken   Wind Beneath My Wings   Winter Wonderland   Winter Wonderland [*]   With Bells On   Without You in My Life   World Needs a Melody   Write Your Name (Across My Heart)   You And I   You And Me   YOU AND ME (WITH DOTTIE WEST)   You Are So Beautiful   You Are So Beautiful To Me   You Can't Make Old Friends   You can't say ( you don't love me anymore )   You Can't Say (You Don't Love Me Anymore)   You Decorated My Life   You Gotta Be Tired   You Had To Be There   You Light Up My Life   You Made Me Feel Love   You Needed Me   You Send Me   You were a good friend   You'll Know Love   You're my love   You're Not Asking Much   You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'   You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling

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