- Coward of the County
-
"Coward of the County" Single by Kenny Rogers from the album Kenny Released November 12, 1979 Genre Country Length 4:22 Label United Artists Writer(s) Roger Bowling, Billy Ed Wheeler Producer Larry Butler Kenny Rogers singles chronology "You Decorated My Life"
(1979)"Coward of the County"
(1979)"Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer"
(1980)"Coward of the County " is the title of a ballad written by Roger Bowling and Billy Ed Wheeler and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in November 1979 as the second single from the album, Kenny. The song is about a man's nephew who is a reputed coward, but finally takes a stand for his lover. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number one on the UK pop chart.[1] It was the most recent traditional country music song to hit number one in the UK, in February 1980. Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song with several lyric changes for their 1981 album Urban Chipmunk.
Contents
Song Plot
"Everyone considered him the Coward of the County", so goes the song's notable opening (and closing) line.
The song tells the story of a young man named Tommy, who had earned a reputation as the "Coward of the County" (and nicknamed "Yellow" by others) since he never stood up for himself when confronted.
Tommy's non-confrontational attitude, though, is the result of a promise he made to his father, whom he visited with his uncle (portrayed by Rogers in the role of narrator, the narrator and Tommy's father were brothers) at age 10 before his father died in prison. In his last words to Tommy, his father tells him that to "turn the other cheek" is not automatically a sign of weakness, and makes him "promise me son/not to do the things I've done/Walk away from trouble when you can" (implying that Tommy's father was imprisoned for killing or attacking someone in a similar situation).
Notwithstanding his reputation, he meets Becky, who loves him without him having to "prove he is a man". One day, while Tommy is out working, the three "Gatlin boys" — the villains of the piece — attack and (implied) rape Becky. When Tommy returns home and finds Becky hurt, he faces a dilemma – choose between upholding his promise to his father of non-confrontation, or defend Becky's honor.
Tommy goes to the local bar where the Gatlin boys hang out. Amidst laughter, and after "one of them got up and met him halfway 'cross the floor", Tommy turns around to the door. It appears that once again Tommy will choose non-confrontation, but the entire bar suddenly becomes silent "when Tommy stopped, and locked the door". Fueled by "20 years of crawling" which "was bottled up inside him", Tommy engages in a vicious barroom brawl that leaves all three Gatlin boys unconscious (or worse) on the barroom floor.
Tommy then addresses the spirit of his dead father, saying that while he did his best to avoid trouble, he hopes the dead man's ghost understands that "sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man."
The Movie
The song inspired a 1981 television movie of the same name, set in Georgia during World War II. The film starred Rogers as Reverend Matt Spencer (the narrator), Frederick Lehne as his troubled nephew Tommy Spencer, Largo Woodruff as Becky, and William Schreiner as Jimmy Joe Gatlin. The movie added several characters never mentioned in the song, including Car-Wash (Noble Willingham), Violet (Ann-Alicia), and Lem Gatlin, father of the Gatlin Boys (brothers Jimmy, Paul, and Luke).
Controversy Over the Gatlins
It has been claimed that the "Gatlin boys" in the song are a reference to The Gatlin Brothers. However, in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Singles, Rogers stated that he did not realize the connection, and that had he done so, he would have asked for the name to have been changed. Larry Gatlin also gave the song a positive review ("It's a good song").[2]
The Gatlin Brothers went on to open for Rogers on his 1980 tour, and provided backing vocals to his 1984 single, "Buried Treasure."
Chart Performance
Chart (1979/1980) Peak
positionU.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 3 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 5 Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1 Canadian RPM Top Singles 1 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 1 U.K. Singles Chart 1 Irish Singles Chart 1 New Zealand Singles Chart 3 Dutch Top 40 8 Swiss Singles Chart 8 Austrian Top 40 9 References
- ^ Kenny Rogers UK Charts history, The Official Charts. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ Roland, Tom, The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-82-307553-2)
Preceded by
"Happy Birthday Darlin'"
by Conway TwittyBillboard Hot Country Singles
number-one single
January 5-January 19, 1980Succeeded by
"I'll Be Coming Back for More"
by T. G. SheppardPreceded by
"Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound"
by Hank Williams, Jr.Canadian RPM Country Tracks
number-one single
January 12-January 26, 1980Succeeded by
"Help Me Make It Through the Night"
by Willie NelsonPreceded by
"The Special AKA Live!"
by The SpecialsUK number-one single
February 16-February 29, 1980Succeeded by
"Atomic"
by BlondieStudio albums Love Lifted Me · Kenny Rogers · Daytime Friends · Love or Something Like It · The Gambler · Kenny · Gideon · Share Your Love · Love Will Turn You Around · We've Got Tonight · Eyes That See in the Dark · The Heart of the Matter · Love Is What We Make It · They Don't Make Them Like They Used To · I Prefer the Moonlight · Something Inside So Strong · Love Is Strange · Back Home Again · If Only My Heart Had a Voice · Vote for Love · Across My Heart · She Rides Wild Horses · There You Go Again · Back to the Well · Water & Bridges · The Love of GodCollaboration albums Every Time Two Fools Collide (with Dottie West) · Classics (with Dottie West) · What About Me? (with Kim Carnes and James Ingram) · Timepiece (with David Foster)Christmas albums Christmas · Once Upon a Christmas · Christmas in America · The Gift · Christmas from the Heart · Christmas with Kenny · Christmas CollectionNotable singles "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" · "But You Know I Love You" · "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" · "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)" · "Lucille" · "Daytime Friends" · "Sweet Music Man" · "Every Time Two Fools Collide" (with Dottie West) · "Love or Something Like It" · "The Gambler" · "All I Ever Need Is You" (with Dottie West) · "She Believes in Me" · "'Til I Can Make It on My Own" (with Dottie West) · "You Decorated My Life" · "Coward of the County" · "Lady" · "I Don't Need You" · "Share Your Love with Me" · "Through the Years" · "Love Will Turn You Around" · "We've Got Tonight" (with Sheena Easton) · "Islands in the Stream" (with Dolly Parton) · "Together Again" (with Dottie West) · "What About Me?" (with Kim Carnes and James Ingram) · "Crazy" · "Morning Desire" · "Goodbye Marie" · "Tomb of the Unknown Love" · "Make No Mistake, She's Mine" · "I Don't Call Him Daddy" · "Love Is Strange" · "Buy Me a Rose" (with Alison Krauss and Billy Dean)Related articles Categories:- 1979 singles
- Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles
- Kenny Rogers songs
- RPM Country Tracks number-one singles
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- Songs written by Roger Bowling
- RPM Adult Contemporary number-one singles
- Songs produced by Larry Butler (producer)
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