The thing is he was never a coward. He just never did anything when people called him a coward. He just turned the other cheek. Honoring his dead father's final advice. But when somebody messed with his girl, he did what he had to do. Showing that you cant always turn the other cheek.
Indeed, he wasn't a coward. He was keeping a promise. "Please don't think I'm weak i didn't turn the other cheek" says it all. Not many people are strong enough to turn the other cheek.
Lex gets it....great story. You want to turn the cheek and choose peace whenever possible, but there are times and situations in life where you got to be tough and stand up for whats right....and Tommy sure did.
There is a Dr Who episode like this where the doctor is hiding from a family of aliens. Paraphrasing but at the end one of them said he wasn't hiding out of fear he was hiding out of compassion. Things didn't go well for the family as you might imagine.
This song is good and yes its about sometimes you have to fight to be a man and he stepped up when his moment came, we understood the story and how he had to become a man and do what he had to do, to protect his family . This song was such a hit and everyone loved it and the meaning of the song about him and his father too , trying to please his father but then there comes time a man has to step up , whether you want to or not. It was played constantly because no body thought too much on the story but the meaning
Always loved the story in this song as a child growing up. It teaches to pick your battles but sometimes you have to do what you have to do in particular situations!!!
My parents use to play this all the time when I was a kid. I use to happily sing along not understanding the words. I then listen to it one day when in my twenties, having not heard it for years, I started to happy sing a long like I did when I was a kid, until I got the the part that implied the gang rape (which I later look up and that is what he meant). The shock of realising this made me break down in tears. Understanding that he felt the blame that by turning the other cheek all the time, being the coward of the county, always backing down ment the Gatlin boy thought the could do anything without fear of retribution. I really made me angry for what happened and sad that actually you can't live in a world where doing the right by turning the other cheek, means that there will always be someone how will abuse this kindness seeing this as weaknesses, when it takes courage and strength to to let go of anger and walk a way. However, you need to take a stand once in a while so your not perceived as being weak, to show that you when you choose to walk away it not due to fear, but because it is the right thing to do. To stop trouble, to be the better person. That it take strength when you choose to walk away. So it doesn't lead to the killing killing at the end. You need to balance between always walking away or choosing to fight. You need to choose your battle carefully 🙂✌️
What I like is that the opening and closing lines are identical but use the word "considered" in two ways. In the song's opening, "considered" from the perspective of county residents is meant as "how he is" while at the end it describes "how he was". Great lyric writing.
One of my all-time favorite bits is Norm MacDonald and Adam Carrolla diving into this song and riffing on it for like 30 minutes. They started with "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town" then segued into this one. It's absolute comedy GOLD!
Yes, I remember that... "Then there was the Jackson Boys (there was five of them)". The funniest part is that Rogers, for some bizarre reason, used the actual Gatlin Brothers as the antagonists in his song, totally unprovoked. Carolla interviewed one of the Gatlin Brothers a few years back and brought this up specifically, and the story got even more strange.
This thing is played out again over and over and over in country music particularly although in other genres of music to a degree. It's a classic story and it's not modern enough to be ironic and have a dark ending so in the end it's a pretty uplifting story that we can all easily relate to. But it fits so well with the music and vice versa.
A solid movie and I loved Kenny's portrayal of the Uncle. I can't recall for sure, but wasn't Kenny the uncle and a preacher? he ended up fighting it out with the Gatlin boys father so Tommy could take on the sons without interference? I kind of want to see it again. ruclips.net/video/dwZHTf9midA/видео.html found it. lol, old school TV resolution, but watchable.
@@ovp66223 Kenny had been in the bar as Tommy came for vengeance and had 3:1 odds against him. Once the truth came out, the boys were charged under military justice. Tommy had not enlisted as he had been a pacifist since his dad died in prison. He ended up doing multiple Homefront jobs as more and more men his age volunteered for military service.
There is actually a movie that was made based on this song with the same name . it shows that Tommy was not a coward just could not be provoked until the Gatlin boys attacked his love . Then he showed the real Man he was when it came to his loved ones .
The thing is, when 3 men do what these three did, you don't solve it with a bar fight. You let the cops and the courts try, and if they don't do it, then you solve it with something a little more final.
We don't know if he killed them, or at least did permanent damage to them. Maybe at the time of the song, or in the location (such as a rural area), police and courts are not readily available.
this song is from 1978 and when things like this happened the cops could be called but usually the guilty parties would get away with it by saying something like " She is only saying that because of her man" , or "she wanted it ". and Tommy did not kill them, he just gave into his temper because his woman was attacked . The song says " not a Gatlin boy was standing " it does not say " not a Gatlin boy was breathing" He stood up for his woman , he did not care what was said or done to him but she was the love of his life .
Typical terrific 'Southern Law' C&W. Every dark moral c+w song is this: Stew is cold, hat's dented, girl left, rifle rack's in the truck, dog ate the meat and died. God, Mom, and Apple Pie. Salute!
The whole ting of the song having dark lyrics with a more up beat melody is something that happened in older songs. The Beatles had a song Live and Let Die, that was the same way.
My best friend had that happen to him after coming home. He stepped on a mine. There wasn't much left of him that came home. His wife wouldn't commit to him. He committed suicide. CPL Clarence Baker USMC RIP.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this song. Also, check out Kenny Rogers' The Gambler. Trust me on this. And, if you have time, check out the Chipmunks version of it too.
I actually read about that not too long ago. Larry's mom called him and told him there was a horrible song about them. He did actually talk to Kenny about it and Kenny said he didn't write the song. While that's true, I really think they could have used a different name, especially since there were 3 Gatlin Brothers.
Heard Larry Gatlin say in an interview yrs later" He wished they'd not used the Gatlin brothers name." l got the strong impression he didn't want people to think it was him & his brothers the song was referring to.
I think the meaning behind the song: Is sometimes you have to stand up. I think it is note worthy that, its was not himself he stood up for, but his wife. Sammy Spaniel in this thread said it well.
Classic country, with great storytelling (and sometimes twangy as hell). This is when I listened to country music (the 70s), and it was damn good then before they co-opted getting drunk, partying, and casual sex from rock. You want to check out Alabama, the Oak Ridge Boys, and the Gatlin Brothers (no relation to the Gatlin boys in this song).
Love it 👍think a good mix is great the country stuff is going down really well! I first heard you guys playing other stuff but I love love that theres a real mix of country am loving it look forward to more...🙂
Kenny Rogers wrote some of the best country ballads of his generation. He did some phenomenal songwriting (and he's an utterly unique vocalist). Singing songs like "Lady" and the many pop duets in the 80s made him a shit ton of money, but it killed his country cred and he was reduced to being a phone sex-addicted lounge act in the 90s. He eventually tried going back to his country ballad roots (again, writing excellent stuff), but sadly, few people bought it.
Song gets to the part where it talks about then taking turns on Becky. Y’all had two completely different reacts to it. Which was surprising in such a serious moment. Lex sees the song as more of a playful song, when it’s really not meant to be. Nothing wrong with what you thought of it, I’d just never seen somebody have that reaction to it before It’s interesting
Yes, it was very disturbing to see her smiling and bopping while listening to a vicious gang rape being described. Unfortunately, it appears to be a serious issue in the younger generations that they only care about the beat and rarely bother with the words .Or, perhaps it's a combination of poor education that they lack verbal literacy or have such short attention spans (due to constant electronic stimulation) that they have difficulty focusing solely on spoken words.
I believe the song you were trying to remember when you said a song about a girl, in Mexico, was Seven Spanish Angels by Ray Charles and Willie Nelson, maybe?
The moral of the story is he was just a calm man didn't bother anybody and everybody did this did that to him that's why they called him Yeller but it didn't bother him until he bothered her then that was a different story he had it all bottled up inside of him when it happened to her he opened up and kicked ass
Marty Robbins El Paso is the other song you were thinking of Lex it starts out "Down in the West Texas town of El Paso" I think it was what you were referring to. Peace and Love from Central Texas You two are the best, hands down. Love yall stay hunkered down from Ian and be safe..
Even as a little kid who just thought Becky had been bullied and roughed up, I appreciated the satisfying revenge of Tommy not leaving a Gatlin boy standing. May also be one of the answers to the question of why Gen-Xers tend to shrug when asked why they're not more upset over an instance of vigilantly justice.
It was set up in the wild west with cowboys. His Dad was telling him not to fight when you can just walk away. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone. But if his Dad was there to see it, I think he would have said, Take them down son
The thing is he was never a coward. He just never did anything when people called him a coward. He just turned the other cheek. Honoring his dead father's final advice. But when somebody messed with his girl, he did what he had to do. Showing that you cant always turn the other cheek.
Yeah, yeah cornball. Here's the real thing.... He doesn't exist. He's a fictional character in a sappy song.
@@FURTHER_ADO Thanks for pointing that out. I'm sure myself and everyone else thinks that all songs are non-fiction 🙄
But if he had kicked the occasional ass earlier in life, the guys who attacked his girl might not have thought they could do so with impunity.
Indeed, he wasn't a coward. He was keeping a promise. "Please don't think I'm weak i didn't turn the other cheek" says it all. Not many people are strong enough to turn the other cheek.
@@FURTHER_ADO Are you sure? How do you know? Did you know Kenny Rogers? Were you told this personally?
Lex gets it....great story. You want to turn the cheek and choose peace whenever possible, but there are times and situations in life where you got to be tough and stand up for whats right....and Tommy sure did.
One of my favorite quote is, "Beware the fury of a patient man."
How can anyone smile and laugh at this song, it's very deep
I came here to say THAT!
Never mistake meekness for weakness. Meekness requires a level of strength and discipline that a hot head would never understand.
There is a Dr Who episode like this where the doctor is hiding from a family of aliens. Paraphrasing but at the end one of them said he wasn't hiding out of fear he was hiding out of compassion. Things didn't go well for the family as you might imagine.
...well spoken.
The people who are slow to anger, but if you do, you'd better get the hell out the way.
I'd rather be known for hurting others than be known as the one who wouldn't hurt a fly. That's just me though, it's a decision all men have to make.
This song is good and yes its about sometimes you have to fight to be a man and he stepped up when his moment came, we understood the story and how he had to become a man and do what he had to do, to protect his family . This song was such a hit and everyone loved it and the meaning of the song about him and his father too , trying to please his father but then there comes time a man has to step up , whether you want to or not. It was played constantly because no body thought too much on the story but the meaning
Tommy was never a coward he just wanted to respect his father's last word's. The Gatling boys pushed to far
"Fear the wrath of a patient man."
Or the QUIET man.
Kenny can always sing a story for sure.
Always loved the story in this song as a child growing up. It teaches to pick your battles but sometimes you have to do what you have to do in particular situations!!!
The Norm MacDonald & Adam Carolla reaction to this song is one of the funniest bits of radio ever.
This is why 70s country ROCKS ,,,, Released in 1978
It's called deciding what's worth fighting for.
My parents use to play this all the time when I was a kid. I use to happily sing along not understanding the words. I then listen to it one day when in my twenties, having not heard it for years, I started to happy sing a long like I did when I was a kid, until I got the the part that implied the gang rape (which I later look up and that is what he meant). The shock of realising this made me break down in tears. Understanding that he felt the blame that by turning the other cheek all the time, being the coward of the county, always backing down ment the Gatlin boy thought the could do anything without fear of retribution. I really made me angry for what happened and sad that actually you can't live in a world where doing the right by turning the other cheek, means that there will always be someone how will abuse this kindness seeing this as weaknesses, when it takes courage and strength to to let go of anger and walk a way. However, you need to take a stand once in a while so your not perceived as being weak, to show that you when you choose to walk away it not due to fear, but because it is the right thing to do. To stop trouble, to be the better person. That it take strength when you choose to walk away. So it doesn't lead to the killing killing at the end. You need to balance between always walking away or choosing to fight. You need to choose your battle carefully 🙂✌️
My favorite part is when I said look oh yellow is leaving when he was only turning to lock the door to give them what they deserved
What I like is that the opening and closing lines are identical but use the word "considered" in two ways. In the song's opening, "considered" from the perspective of county residents is meant as "how he is" while at the end it describes "how he was". Great lyric writing.
This song always gets to me, along with “Lucille”
Wasn't Tommy's cheek to turn. He did what he had to do.
Definitely words to live by. Turn the other cheek until they mess with what’s precious to you, then rip them a new one
One of my favorite songs by Kenny...A classic.
One of my all-time favorite bits is Norm MacDonald and Adam Carrolla diving into this song and riffing on it for like 30 minutes. They started with "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town" then segued into this one. It's absolute comedy GOLD!
Classic comedy. I've listened to that so many times. I can never seriously listen to Kenny Rogers again.
Yes, I remember that... "Then there was the Jackson Boys (there was five of them)". The funniest part is that Rogers, for some bizarre reason, used the actual Gatlin Brothers as the antagonists in his song, totally unprovoked. Carolla interviewed one of the Gatlin Brothers a few years back and brought this up specifically, and the story got even more strange.
I think the writer of the song or a producer had beef with the Gaitlin brothers
I'm pretty sure the other song Lex was thinking of is El Paso, Marty Robbins.
I don’t know why but this song always gets me very emotional I remember the movie it was low budget but very good
This thing is played out again over and over and over in country music particularly although in other genres of music to a degree. It's a classic story and it's not modern enough to be ironic and have a dark ending so in the end it's a pretty uplifting story that we can all easily relate to. But it fits so well with the music and vice versa.
One of my favorites from my youth. You guys listen to EVERYTHING imaginable. Keep up the great work and congrats on the youngin.
One of the best vocals in country - IMO
This was a huge hit in 1978
One of the best voices and worst facelifts.
It's not country, it's satanic brutal death metal.
You need to do a movie reaction .This was a movie called Coward of the county, and Kenny Rogers was Tommy's uncle in the movie..
@@stephanietip I remember watching that...I will show myself out if I can reach my walker....
there was a TV movie starring Kenny about this song,acting it out . it was pretty good
A solid movie and I loved Kenny's portrayal of the Uncle. I can't recall for sure, but wasn't Kenny the uncle and a preacher? he ended up fighting it out with the Gatlin boys father so Tommy could take on the sons without interference? I kind of want to see it again.
ruclips.net/video/dwZHTf9midA/видео.html
found it. lol, old school TV resolution, but watchable.
@@ovp66223 Kenny had been in the bar as Tommy came for vengeance and had 3:1 odds against him. Once the truth came out, the boys were charged under military justice. Tommy had not enlisted as he had been a pacifist since his dad died in prison. He ended up doing multiple Homefront jobs as more and more men his age volunteered for military service.
Kenny Rogers has so many great songs and he is such a awesome story teller! The song I think you were thinking about was El Paso by Marty Robbins.
The Gatlin Brother's [the band] said, "Kenny, why?" But they found it amusing.
3:09 - I think the song you're thinking of there is Marty Robbins' El Paso.
Never Judge A Book By It's Cover
Bronx Tale has the same kind of scene. Sonny locks the door and says, "Now you can't leave."
They made a movie about this song......titled 'Coward of the county'......worth checking out
There is actually a movie that was made based on this song with the same name . it shows that Tommy was not a coward just could not be provoked until the Gatlin boys attacked his love . Then he showed the real Man he was when it came to his loved ones .
"... when Tommy stopped and locked the door."
NOW YOU CAN'T LEAVE!
The looks on your faces when you understood what happened in the second verse.... priceless.
The thing is, when 3 men do what these three did, you don't solve it with a bar fight. You let the cops and the courts try, and if they don't do it, then you solve it with something a little more final.
We don't know if he killed them, or at least did permanent damage to them. Maybe at the time of the song, or in the location (such as a rural area), police and courts are not readily available.
this song is from 1978 and when things like this happened the cops could be called but usually the guilty parties would get away with it by saying something like " She is only saying that because of her man" , or "she wanted it ". and Tommy did not kill them, he just gave into his temper because his woman was attacked . The song says " not a Gatlin boy was standing " it does not say " not a Gatlin boy was breathing" He stood up for his woman , he did not care what was said or done to him but she was the love of his life .
This song was a movie as well. Just a fictional story that did well as a song for Kenny Rogers. RIP Mr Rogers
Kenny Rogers, the great story teller!
God do I 💕 Kenny I can't believe he is gone ! Brad you dont like the story ? C'mon dude!
Another great movie, inspired by a GREAT song. My mom & i watched it together. She loves this song
Typical terrific 'Southern Law' C&W.
Every dark moral c+w song is this:
Stew is cold, hat's dented, girl left, rifle rack's in the truck, dog ate the meat and died. God, Mom, and Apple Pie. Salute!
Lol None of those things are in this song…
I love this song
The whole ting of the song having dark lyrics with a more up beat melody is something that happened in older songs. The Beatles had a song Live and Let Die, that was the same way.
Guys songs like this were how our dads spoke to us. They didn't share. Different generation. Our dads played songs like this.
Great reaction! Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town for more 'dang!' stuff by Kenny.
My best friend had that happen to him after coming home. He stepped on a mine. There wasn't much left of him that came home. His wife wouldn't commit to him. He committed suicide. CPL Clarence Baker USMC RIP.
“I’m never listening to that again” made me laugh out loud
LOVE LOVE LOVE this song. Also, check out Kenny Rogers' The Gambler. Trust me on this. And, if you have time, check out the Chipmunks version of it too.
They did already react to The Gambler. Check if the reaction is uploaded,
@@maxis5650 Cool. Thanks.
Hach Kenny ♥ his voice ... greatings from Germany. ♥
Kind if the story, don't mess with the quiet man that wants to be left alone, because pushed over the edge he can be what nightmares are made from.
There's a Kenny ROGERS RESTAURANT in a Mall in the Philippines and I've been to the restaurant and had a HAMBURGER and it was great
Lex definitely needs more country music in her life. Still waiting for Fishin in the Dark. I promise nobody gets hurt in it ;)
Great reaction. Another Kenny Rogers song I like: "20 Years Ago."
I've been with you all for a long time. You're doing great! Keep working
I wonder what Larry Gatlin and his brothers (the Gatlin Brothers band) thought when they heard this song for the first time.
I actually read about that not too long ago. Larry's mom called him and told him there was a horrible song about them. He did actually talk to Kenny about it and Kenny said he didn't write the song. While that's true, I really think they could have used a different name, especially since there were 3 Gatlin Brothers.
Heard Larry Gatlin say in an interview yrs later" He wished they'd not used the Gatlin brothers name." l got the strong impression he didn't want people to think it was him & his brothers the song was referring to.
Never confuse Tolerance for Weakness. Everyone has a Breaking point and they found Tommy's.
Kenny was a Co-star in the Movie by the same name.
People do confuse being peaceful with being cowardly
One of my favorites from Kenny.
I always love this song by the way this Song takes place in what I always assumed an old western setting
Love Kenny ❤
I think the meaning behind the song: Is sometimes you have to stand up. I think it is note worthy that, its was not himself he stood up for, but his wife. Sammy Spaniel in this thread said it well.
If you pit on lady by Kenny Roger's my parents melt into each other....its adorable.
Classic country, with great storytelling (and sometimes twangy as hell). This is when I listened to country music (the 70s), and it was damn good then before they co-opted getting drunk, partying, and casual sex from rock. You want to check out Alabama, the Oak Ridge Boys, and the Gatlin Brothers (no relation to the Gatlin boys in this song).
Agreed.
Thank you for sharing this with me 😊
Love it 👍think a good mix is great the country stuff is going down really well! I first heard you guys playing other stuff but I love love that theres a real mix of country am loving it look forward to more...🙂
Lol this is a badass song about a real badass! lol I love this song and it's regularly on my country playlists!
I will say it again Lex ❤️ live up to that Iron Maiden Shirt! Rime of the ancient mariner ❤️ Hard Rock and Metal baby!
This is storytelling at it’s best
The Pride of Crockett, Texas. RIP Gambler
Love, love Kenny Rogers!👍
Well, the dad said, "Walk away... when you can".
Sounds like this was not a 'when you can' time.
Great ballad, grew up listening to this stuff.
I don't know how I missed this reaction but better late than never. LoL 😆
Definitely necessary in this situation!
Kenny Rogers wrote some of the best country ballads of his generation. He did some phenomenal songwriting (and he's an utterly unique vocalist). Singing songs like "Lady" and the many pop duets in the 80s made him a shit ton of money, but it killed his country cred and he was reduced to being a phone sex-addicted lounge act in the 90s. He eventually tried going back to his country ballad roots (again, writing excellent stuff), but sadly, few people bought it.
Texas family showing love all the way from orange Texas THE FRUIT!!!🎃
Existentialism: a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.
Brad.... you really understood this song
Song gets to the part where it talks about then taking turns on Becky. Y’all had two completely different reacts to it. Which was surprising in such a serious moment. Lex sees the song as more of a playful song, when it’s really not meant to be. Nothing wrong with what you thought of it, I’d just never seen somebody have that reaction to it before
It’s interesting
Becky was gang raped.
Odd reaction.
Yes, it was very disturbing to see her smiling and bopping while listening to a vicious gang rape being described. Unfortunately, it appears to be a serious issue in the younger generations that they only care about the beat and rarely bother with the words .Or, perhaps it's a combination of poor education that they lack verbal literacy or have such short attention spans (due to constant electronic stimulation) that they have difficulty focusing solely on spoken words.
They had a similar reaction to REM Everybody hurts. A song about suicide and she's just grinning and laughing.. smh
Lex’s reaction sickened me, to be honest. Will not watch another of their videos.
I don’t think Lex understood the song. By the way she laughed when he said there was 3 of them. Maybe Brad should’ve explained to her what happened.
The "coward" is what folks would really call ... an adult. But he was eventually driven to take action against bad guys.
I believe the song you were trying to remember when you said a song about a girl, in Mexico, was Seven Spanish Angels by Ray Charles and Willie Nelson, maybe?
Everyone has a breaking point.
great tune ,,you so funny ,big happy dancin face ,all the way ,,you light up when ye heard there were three of them!,,lol,
The moral of the story is he was just a calm man didn't bother anybody and everybody did this did that to him that's why they called him Yeller but it didn't bother him until he bothered her then that was a different story he had it all bottled up inside of him when it happened to her he opened up and kicked ass
They actually made a tv movie based on this song starring Kenny Rogers. It’s not bad.
Is it called coward of the county or? Never knew they made a movie
@@starfoxz55 yeah. It was literally titled “Kenny Rogers: Coward of the County”, a 1981 tv movie 👍
@@oldcdog91 thanks found it for free on prime video and youtube
You were thinking of El-paso by Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins El Paso is the other song you were thinking of Lex it starts out "Down in the West Texas town of El Paso" I think it was what you were referring to. Peace and Love from Central Texas You two are the best, hands down. Love yall stay hunkered down from Ian and be safe..
The irony being if he hadn't had the reputation for being a coward the Gatlin boys might never have dared to violate Becky in the first place.
Always liked that tune
My favorite song by him. Had this on 45 record
Even as a little kid who just thought Becky had been bullied and roughed up, I appreciated the satisfying revenge of Tommy not leaving a Gatlin boy standing. May also be one of the answers to the question of why Gen-Xers tend to shrug when asked why they're not more upset over an instance of vigilantly justice.
Hey, Norm Macdonald and Adam Corolla have one of the funniest conversations ever about this song. It's hilarious, you should watch it!
Kenny was a real ballad singer. :)
you should check out the movie.. Kenny starred in it. " Coward of thr County"
It was set up in the wild west with cowboys. His Dad was telling him not to fight when you can just walk away. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone. But if his Dad was there to see it, I think he would have said, Take them down son
Great song. Glad to see a Grateful Dead shirt on you Lex!
Norm Macdonald has a great bit on this song from a radio interview
Kenny Rogers always reminds me of my grandparents 😂 if that makes any sense
Best country/western story song since "Cow Patty".👍
Kenny Rogers was from the projects of Houston.