He never stood, one single time,
to prove the county wrong
His mama named him Tommy,
but folks just called him Yella
But something always told me,
they were reading Tommy wrong
not to do the things I've done
Walk away from trouble if you can
It don't mean you're weak,
if you turn the other cheek
And Tommy, I sure hope you understand
Son, you don't have to fight
There's someone for everyone,
and Tommy's love was Becky
In her arms, he didn't have
One day, while he was working,
the Gatlin boys came calling
They took turns at Becky,
and there was three of them
Tommy opened up the door,
and saw his Becky cry ing
The torn dress, the shattered look,
was more than he could stand
He reached above the fireplace,
took down his daddy's picture
As the tears fell on his daddy's face,
he heard these words again
The Gatlin boys just laughed at him
when he walked into the barroom
One of them got up and met
him halfway across the floor
When Tommy turned around, they said,
"Hey look! Old Yella's leaving"
But you could've heard a pin drop,
when Tommy stopped, and locked the door
He wasn't holding nothing back,
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
not to do the things you've done
Now, please don't think I'm weak,
I didn't turn the other cheek
I sure hope you understand
Sometimes, you gotta fight,
