♪♪♪ 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 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 from 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, Tommy's lover's Becky ♪♪ In her arms, he didn't have to prove he was a man ♪♪ One day while he was workin', the gang boys came callin' ♪♪ They took turns there at Becky, and there was three of them ♪♪ Tommy opened up the door and saw his Becky cryin' ♪♪ The torn dress, the shattered look was more than he could stand ♪♪ He reached above the fireplace, took down his daddy's picture ♪♪ And 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 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 ballroom ♪♪ One of them got up and met him halfway towards the door ♪♪ When Tommy turned around, they said, hey, look, old yellow's leavin' ♪♪ But you could've heard a pin drop when Tommy stopped and locked the door ♪♪ Twenty years of crawlin' was bottled up inside him ♪♪ He wasn't holdin' nothin' back, he let them have it all ♪♪ When Tommy left the ballroom, not a gatlin' boy was standin' ♪♪ He said, this one's for Becky, as he watched the last one fall, I heard him say ♪♪ I promised your dad not to do the things he'd 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 sure hope you understand, sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man ♪♪ Everyone considered him a coward of the county ♪