FIVE FEET NINE AND A HALF INCHES TALL

I left home when I was five and now I'm 25
and I'm five foot nine and a half inches tall
and I ain't scared of no one in the spring, summer, winter or fall.

One day, I went into this saloon
there was a man playing cards in that back room
Picked on me and I hit him back
Oh yeah, I hit him
Next thing I knew, it was very late
and I yelled, ha!
I told you you're five feet eleven
but I don't care if you're six feet seven
'cuz I'm five feet nine and a half inches tall
and I ain't scared of no one in the spring, summer, winter or fall.

Then a year later I went into this store
and there was this man standing on the floor, tall and mean
He picked on me and I hit him back
Oh yeah, I hit him
Next thing I knew it was very late and I yelled
I told you you're six three but I don't care if you're seven three
cuz I'm five feet nine and a half inches tall
and I ain't scared of no one in the spring, summer, winter or fall.

When the people told me that this was the son of the man that I struggled with in that saloon
I put on my hat and coat and left that town as fast as I could
They told me they had another brother who was six feet seven
but I didn't care 'cuz I'm five feet nine and a half inches tall!

Six months later I was walking in a park
there was a man sitting in the dark
he recognized my face from a worn out newspaper that he had traced
He looked at me and I looked at him
He told me he was six feet seven
but I told him I'm five feet nine and a half inches tall
and I ain't scared of no one in the spring, summer, winter or fall.
He picked on me and I hit him back
Oh yeah, I hit him.
Next thing I knew it was very late.

Three days later I was walking down the street
I heard a voice, oh yes, it was so sweet
it said" Son, son"
I turned around and my surprise it was my sweet mama
I ran to her and held her in my arms
I asked her how's Dad, John and Bill?
She looked at me and said
"Your dad was playing cards in this saloon
and he had a struggle with this man, never to get up."
John also had a struggle with this man in a store, never to come home again.
Bill was tall, six feet seven, he went looking for this man.
Three days ago Bill was found laying on the ground in this old park
I looked at Mom and said "I'm sorry, Mom.....I'm sorry".

- Pablo Feliciano
sung by Dick Kent, MSR 3002