Everyone considered him a coward of the county
He 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 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, yours has just begun
Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done
Walk away from trouble if you can
Now 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 worry about me




You don't have to fight to be a man
Someone for everyone, Tommy's love was Becky
In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a man
One day while he was working, Kaplan boys came calling
They took turns with Becky, there was 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 from trouble if you can
Now 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
Kaplan boys just laughed at him when he walked into the ballroom
One of them got up
And met him halfway across the floor
When Tommy turned around they said
Hey, look, old yellow is leaving
But you could have heard a pin drop
When Tommy stopped and locked the door
Twenty years of crawling was bottled up inside him
He wasn't holding nothing back
He let them have it all
When Tommy left the ballroom
Not a Kaplan boy was standing
He said this once for Becky
As he watched the last one fall
And I heard him say
I promised your dad not to do the things you've done
I'll walk away in trouble when I can
Now please don't think I'm weak
I didn't turn the other cheek
And Papa asked your home since высокal


And you understand
Sometimes you gotta fight
When you're a man
Everyone considered him
Coward of the county