He'd never stood one single time
to prove the county wrong
His mama named him Tommy,
but folks just called him Yellow
that they were reading Tommy wrong
He was only ten years old
when his daddy died in prison
cause he was my brother's son
I still recall the final words
not to do the things I've done
Walk away from trouble if you can
Now we don't mean you're weak
when you turn the other cheek
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
and there was three of them
The torn dress, the shattered look,
was more than he could stand
He reached above the fireplace,
took down his daddy's pic ture
As his tears fell on his daddy's face,
not to do the things I've done
Walk away from trouble if you can
Now we don't mean you're weak
if you turn the other cheek
Son, you don't have to fight to be a man
The garden boys just laughed at him
When he walked into the ballroom
and made it halfway across the floor
they said, hey look old yellow's leaving
But you could have heard a pin drop
when Tommy stopped to lock the door
was bottled up inside him
He wasn't holding nothing back,
When Tommy left the ballroom,
not a Gatlin boy was standing
He said there's ones for Becky,
as he watched the last one fall
not to do the things you've done
I'll 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 should hope you understand
Sometimes you gotta fight
The coward of the county you
