| "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 | ||||
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"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.
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"Everyone considered him the coward of the county", so the song's signature opening (and closing) line goes.
The song tells the story of a young man named Tommy, who earns a notorious reputation as the "coward of the county" (and is aptly nicknamed "Yellow") since he never stood up for himself one single time to prove the county wrong.
Tommy's non-confrontational attitude, though, was likely influenced, at age 10, by his final visit with his imprisoned father, shortly before he dies there (accompanied by the narrating Rogers, Tommy was his brother's son). In his final words to Tommy, his father tells him that to "turn the other cheek" isn't altogether a sign of weakness, and implores him to promise "not to do the things I've done; walk away from trouble if you can" (implying that not "turning the other cheek" may have landed Tommy's father in prison).
Despite his cowardly reputation, he falls in love with Becky, who loves Tommy for who he is without having to prove he was a man. One day, while Tommy was working, the three Gatlin brothers (the villains of the ballad) came to visit. They attacked and "took turns at Becky". Tommy returns home and finds Becky crying. Reaching above the fireplace and taking down his daddy's picture, he faces the dilemma of choosing between upholding his father's plea of "walking away from trouble", or defending Becky's honor.
Tommy chooses to visit the bar where the Gatlin boys are. Amid laughter upon Tommy's entrance, and after "one of them got up and met him halfway 'cross the floor", Tommy turns around. Appearing to once again choose non-confrontation, "you coulda heard a pin drop when Tommy stopped and locked the door". Fueled by "twenty years of crawlin'" that "was bottled up inside him", Tommy engages in a relentless barroom brawl that leaves all three Gatlin boys unconscious on the barroom floor.
Tommy then reflects on his dead father's plea, addressing him respectfully that while he did his best to avoid trouble, he hopes he understands that "sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man."
The song inspired a 1981 television movie of the same name, set in Georgia during World War II. The film starred Rogers as Reverend Matthew (Uncle Matt) Spencer (the singer of the song), Frederick Lehne as his troubled nephew Tommy Spencer (the lead character in the song), Largo Woodruff as Tommy's girlfriend Becky, and William Schreiner as Jimmy Joe Gatlin (Tommy's nemesis and rival for Becky). The movie added several characters never mentioned in the song, including Car-Wash (Noble Willingham), a friend of the Spencer family; Violet (Ana-Alicia), a local girl who also loved Tommy; and Lem Gatlin, father of the Gatlin Boys (brothers Jimmy Joe, Paul, and Luke).
It has been claimed--and of course, listeners undoubedly initially thought--that the "Gatlin boys" in the song was 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]
Ironically, the Gatlin Brothers went on to open for Rogers on his 1980 tour, and provided backing vocals to Rogers' 1984 single "Buried Treasure".
| Chart (1979/1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.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 |
| Preceded by "Happy Birthday Darlin'" by Conway Twitty |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single January 5-January 19, 1980 |
Succeeded by "I'll Be Coming Back for More" by T. G. Sheppard |
| Preceded by "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound" by Hank Williams, Jr. |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks number-one single January 12-January 26, 1980 |
Succeeded by "Help Me Make It Through the Night" by Willie Nelson |
| Preceded by "The Special AKA Live!" by The Specials |
UK number-one single February 16-February 29, 1980 |
Succeeded by "Atomic" by Blondie |