Everyone considered him the coward of the country
Never stood one single time to prove the country wrong
His mama called 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"

"Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done; walk away for trouble if you can
Now it don'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 to Becky (there were three of them)

Tommy opened up the door and saw his 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 his tears fell on his daddy's face, he heard these words again

"Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done
Walk away for trouble if you can
Now it don'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"

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, ol' yellow's leaving!"
But you couldn't heard a pin drop, when Tommy stopped and locked the door

Twenty years of crawling was bottled up inside him
He wouldn't hold nothing back, he let 'em have it all
When Tommy left the barroom, 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 for 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.
Some times you've got to fight when you're a man

Everyone considered him the coward of the country