%22Coward of the County%22 is a country song written by Roger Bowling and Billy Ed Wheeler, and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. It was released in November 1979 as the second single from the Triple Platinum album Kenny. A million-selling gold-certified 45, it is one of Rogers' biggest hits.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. It also hit #1 on the Cash Box singles chart and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In addition, it hit #1 on the UK Singles chart. It was the most recent traditional country music song to hit number one in the UK, in February 1980. In Ireland, the song entered the charts at #1 on 13th February 1980, and stayed at the top of the charts for six consecutive weeks.