Lyrics
Alvin:
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
But 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
Theodore:
What'd he say?
Alvin:
"Son, my life is over, but yours is just begun"
Alvin & Male Singers:
"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
Alvin:
You don't have to fight to be a man"
The Gatlin boys were bullies and they beat up Tommy's best friend
The torn shirt, the shattered look was more than he could stand
He reached above the fireplace, took down his daddy's picture
As his tears fell on his daddy's face as he heard these words again
Alvin & Male Singers:
"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
Alvin:
You don't have to fight to be a man"
The Gatlin boys just laughed at him when he walked into the bar room
One of them got up and met him half way 'cross the floor
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 crawling was 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 my buddy," as he watched the last one fall
And I heard him say
Alvin & Male Singers:
"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 couldn't turn the other cheek
Papa, I should hope you understand
Alvin:
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man"
Everyone considered him
Alvin & Male Singers:
The coward of the county