"The Rebel" lyrics - JAMEY JOHNSON

Hey I was ten years old before I heard
That damn and yankee were two different words
I was raised a redneck boy down in Alabam'
My daddy worked hard to make ends meet
He said some men work and some men cheat
And if you can't get it honest, boy, it ain't worth a damn

Well I left my folks when I turned eighteen
I thought a two-lane road led to my dreams
And set out to make it big in a college town
But two years later I was down on my luck
'Cause the man they tried to make me wasn't who I was
So I left them college boys and I burned it down

[Chorus:]
'Cause I'm a rebel, they called me a rebel
I found Uncle Sam and signed up for four
I was bad to the bone but I was good to the core
And I'm a rebel, just call me a rebel
Hey CHarlie Daniels you wrote my life
And the South's gonna do it again

You know that's right

I took a second shift job at a steel mill
Just tryin' to earn a livin' and to pay a few bills
It didn't take long to learn it don't come easily
Every dollar earned was a dollar spent
It was all I could do to keep from drinkin' my rent
So when the eagle flew on Friday, I set him free

[Chorus:]
'Cause I'm a rebel, just call me a rebel
I quit my job and packed up the house
And started singin' my songs to a real country crowd
I'm a rebel, just call me a rebel
I ain't never been just a face in a crowd
I'm a little too rowdy and a little too loud

Yeah somebody said Nashville that's the place you oughta be
So I loaded my truck and I moved off to Tennessee
Started livin' the life of a hillbilly dream come true
I heard Waylon and Willie on a [?] show
And I even opened up for David Allan Coe
And if that ain't country, son, you know what you can do

[Chorus:]
'Cause I'm a rebel, just call me a rebel
Don't come down here tryna change the South
'Cause we're southern born and southern proud

Aw, you heard me
This is our town
I'm a rebel

[Outro:]
Mama they want me to be, a honky-tonk man