Kenny Rogers – Coward Of The County chords

|C            |               |F            |C       |Ev'ry one con-sidered him the coward of the county
   |               |              |                |G     |He never stood one single time to prove the county wrong
    |C              |         |F                    |C      |His momma named him Tommy the folks just called him yellow
|               |                 |G7           |C      |Something always told me they were readin' Tommy wrong

|           |                      |F            |C       |He was only ten years old when his daddy died in prison
|              |             |               |G      |I looked after Tommy 'cos he was my brothers son
  |C               |              |F              |C       |I still recall the final words my brother said to Tommy
|              |        |G7                |C        |Son my life is over but yours has just beg-un

|C            |        |F               |C     |Promise me son  not to do the things I've done
|F             |C             |G      |walk away from trouble if you can
    |C                   |          |F           |CNow it won't mean your weak if you turn the other cheek
                   |F           |GI hope your old enough to under-stand
|                  |G7         |C    |you don't have to fight to be a man

        |C          |             |F              |CThere's someone for every one and Tommys love was Becky
|              |              |              |G   |In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a man
    |C               |           |F               |C       |One day while he was workin' the Gatlin boys came callin'
|                  |       |G          |      |CThey took turns at Becky   There was three of them

|          |               |F            |C        |Tommy open up the door and saw his Becky cryin'
    |              |                 |                  |G     |The torn dress the shattered look was more than he could stand
   |C                |                   |F              |C      |He reached above the fire place and took down his daddys picture
       |                 |              |G                  |Cas the tears fell on his Daddys face he heard these words a-gain


|             |        |F               |C     |Promise me son  not to do the things I've done
|F             |C             |G      |walk away from trouble if you can
    |C                   |          |F           |CNow it won't mean your weak if you turn the other cheek
                   |F           |GI hope your old enough to under-stand
|                  |G7         |C    |you don't have to fight to be a man

    |D               |                      |G              |DThe Gatlin boys just laughed at him when he walked into the bar room
|                 |                |                     |A7     |one of them got up    and met him half  way 'cross the floor
     |D                |              |G               |D      |when Tommy turned around they said Hey look ol' Yellows leaving
    |                                       A7                     D   But you could-a heard a pin drop when Tommy stopped and locked the door

|D              |            |G            |D        |Twenty years of crawlin' was bottled up in-side him
   |              |                   |           |A7   |he wasn't holdin' nothin' back he let 'em have it all
     |D                 |          |G                  |D    |when Tommy left the Bar room not a Gatlin boy was standin'
   |                               |A7                  DHe said this one's for Becky as he watched the last one fall

And I heard him say.
  |D          |            |G                  |DI promised you Dad  not to do the things you done
  |G             |D             |A7I walk away from trouble when I can
    |D                    |A7             |G              |D |now please don't think I'm weak I did-n't turn the other cheek
    |               |G          |A       |A7                     |and Popa I sure hope you understand some-times you've gotta fight
            |D      |when your a man
|            |               |G            |DEvery one considered him the coward of the county