A Boy Named Sue
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"A Boy Named Sue" is a country song made famous by Johnny Cash. Written by Shel Silverstein, it tells the preposterous yet moving tale of a young man's quest for revenge on the father who gave him a girl's name. Recorded on February 24, 1969 for the Johnny Cash At San Quentin album, it shot to #1 on the Country Charts and #2 on the Pop Charts in the U.S.
The song has a driving di di DAH rhythm and unusual A-A-C B-B-C rhyme scheme, broken only to mark the dramatic midpoint and comic ending, and is full of vivid images like "he kicked like a mule and bit like a crocodile".