Life Ain't Easy for a Man Called Jayne

[hellison]

Driving home in the snow this evening, Johnny Cash still in teh cd, it occured to me that 'A Boy Named Sue' could have been written about Jayne ;p
Would explain a lot about him too ;)



My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to Ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me 'Sue.'



Well, he must o' thought that is was quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named 'Sue.'

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made me a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man that give me that awful name.

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me 'Sue.'

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' how do you do! Now you gonna die!"

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down but, to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.

And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I know I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said good-bye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's that name that helped to make you strong."

He said: 'Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you 'Sue'.'

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I come away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but sue! I still hate that name!


Can't wait for the film. Tho don't recall Joaqin Phoenix having a particularly deep voice. Gotta get the voice right!

Comments

[vashti.livejournal.com]

So ... littlebluefish has now, you have snow, plainly there is a circle of snow hovering around Wales and mocking me. :(

[hellison.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel any better I think I just ran out of oil...

[dreammonkey.livejournal.com]

I refuse to believe that Joaquin Phoenix will be anything but Perfect.

Have you seen this photo (http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0358273/Ss/0358273/WTL664.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Phoenix,%20Joaquin)?

I did a double take...

[hellison.livejournal.com]

Bloody hell! But can he do the VOICE? If so I will be a weak-kneed mess in teh cinema ;p

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

skhdgfjcasjhfdgv. uewt9f cnngld.d',mniowjrcm!

sorry, drool in keyboard.

helen, i'm not sure it actually occurred to jayne that he had a girly name until river pointed it out. (i was going to say something about girls names making for hard men, but then i realised how that would sound.)

[dreammonkey.livejournal.com]

Shirley Crabtree and Marion Morrison! The former being a childhood hero...

Is Jayne the mudder of the same name?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

nah, she means this jayne:

http://www.liquidfractal.com/brigade/pix/logo1.jpg

[hellison.livejournal.com]

Jayne is the Hero of Canton! From Firefly (see icon!)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

aw, cute icon. i want to track down the one with the jacket-unzipping ('let's go be badguys!').

[malvino.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that's impressive :)

[thesme-01.livejournal.com]

Am really losing it now, what's going on?

[hellison.livejournal.com]

I will explain tomorrow! Are you staying tomorrow night? Come to the hen night, so i won't be the only aged non-blonde thing there ;p

[thesme-01.livejournal.com]

I can't I have to be in Dublin early Sunday and I won't make it if I am not good and disciplined.

Sorrysorrysorry
AGed? Just noticed that, mooface!

[hellison.livejournal.com]

heh. We are going to horrible trendy club thing full of 18 year olds dressed in hankies, was talking to a friend yesterday who is 24 and says SHE feels old in there. Not looking forward to this much...

[thesme-01.livejournal.com]

urgh, sounds horrible.

Urgh
especially in combination with rivers of blood (TM)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

whatclubwhatclubwhatclub? tell me so i can mock sympathise.

[thesme-01.livejournal.com]

ask hells there- I'm not trailing my yucky ass through it's doors....

[hellison.livejournal.com]

the beach club in the odyssey, the one you see all those teeny milly girls in no clothes queueing outside when you go to the cinema :(

[http://users.livejournal.com/_unhurt_/]

oh dear. poor poor poor hellison. i have only heard about the beach club, and i shiver. just remember: they'll all be pregnant to a spidey wee bastard by the time they hit 21, and use the Armour of Smugness to make yourself feel better. (i also find the Armour of Cocktails quite effective)