Names

I don't know anyone who doesn't like Johnny Cash, at least a little bit. Lyrically, he is transcendent. His voice digs out the depths of one's soul. And his ability to read and play to his audience was legendary.



And then there is his compassion. Recently, I was listening to one of his most popular songs (spoken word? song? rap?) "A Boy Named Sue," off his live at San Quentin album. This song is really a poem by the mostly children's poet Shel Silverstein about a boy given the name Sue by his father who left the family early in his life. This name gave him such grief that he vowed to find his dad and kill him for sticking him with it. Upon finding his dad and getting ready to keep his promise to off him, his dad tells him the great secret--he named him Sue to force him to be tough. In other words, he named him with a purpose in mind, which turned out for good. The song ends famously,


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! Any-damn-thing but Sue!


And the crowd laughs. And the song ends. A happy ending.


But what gets me about this song is the setting and the people who are hearing it. This is San Quentin Penitentiary.

THE San Quentin Penitentiary.

One of the roughest prisons in the country, where the hardest of criminals are housed. Men whose names are anathema, or forgotten, or purposely set aside so that the rest of us don't have to say them. These are men whose names are pretty much trash.

And it is into that context that Cash comes and tells the story of a man whose horrible name is redeemed, and even seen as something that can be a part of the gift of his life. A name that someone else gave him, that is not part of the good.



Stunning. When you the see the video clip of the song, the men listening are eating it up, laughing and smiling.



But more than that, they are wanting it to be true.



In some ways, all of us has Sue-ish names attached to us. (and if your name is literally Sue, my apologies. Feel free to substitute. 😊). Names like "failure" or "too old”, “too young”, “damaged goods”, or whatever name defines you to be different or not acceptable.



But those are not that matter. The name that matters is the one God gives us; forgiven friends. 



Those prisoners certainly needed to hear that. And we do, too. 



Names matter. 



Your name matters.



Let's dwell on that today.





Jonny Cash, A Boy Named Sue, Live at San Quentin