Coward of the County
Coward of the County is a country song by Kenny Rogers, released in 1979. Though it didn't make the #1 spot in the US, it was a #1 hit in several other countries, and is one of his more widely known songs.
The song talks about Tommy, a young man who was raised by his paternal uncle (the song is sung from the uncle's perspective) as his father was in prison (and would die there). His father's dying words to Tommy, 20 years prior when he was ten, were to "turn the other cheek" and not seek violence (implying that his father was in prison for doing so and wanted to avoid Tommy having the same fate).
But Tommy's nonviolent approach would earn him enmity in the area, earning him the nickname "Yellow" (an American slang term for a coward). Only one person believed Tommy was a true man: Becky. One day, though, while Tommy was at work, three brothers[1] sexually assault Becky; Tommy comes home and sees what has happened. It leaves him with a dilemma: does he continue to honor his father's dying wish, or does he uphold Becky's honor?
Tommy decides to confront the brothers at a local bar: when they taunt him again as he appears to leave, they are shocked when he locks the door, leaving all four men inside with no way out. Unleashing 20 years of bottled-up anger, Tommy single-handedly fights the brothers, leaving them unconscious. He then speaks to his dad, saying that sometimes one did have to fight to be a man.
A movie was released in 1981 based on the lyrics: Rogers played Tommy's uncle in the movie.
References
- â The lyrics identify the three brothers as "the Gatlin boys". At that time, Larry Gatlin and his two brothers were well-known country artists; thus, their being named as Becky's assailants was controversial (Rogers himself did not like their name being mentioned). It was later determined that Roger Bowling, one of the song's co-writers, had a running feud with the Gatlins.