You Never Even Called Me By My Name
David Allan Coe Lyrics

Well, it was all That I could do to keep from crying'
The singer struggled to control their emotions and avoid crying.

Sometimes it seemed so useless to remain
The singer felt like giving up because they saw no point in continuing.

But you don't have to call me darlin', darlin' You never even called me by my name
The singer feels unimportant and neglected because they were never addressed by their real name.

You don't have to call me Waylon Jennings And you don't have to call me Charlie Pride And you don't have to call me Merle Haggard anymore Even though you're on my fighting' side
The artist doesn't want to be called by famous people's names because they want to be recognized for who they are.

And I'll hang around as long as you will let me And I never minded standing' in the rain
The artist is willing to wait for the other person and endure hardships for them.

Well, I've heard my name A few times in your phone book (hello, hello) And I've seen it on signs where I've played But the only time I know I'll hear "David Allan Coe" Is when Jesus has his final judgment day
The singer is aware that they have been acknowledged, but it doesn't give them any real satisfaction. They believe they will only be truly recognized on judgment day.

Well, a friend of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song And he told me it was the perfect country & western song I wrote him back a letter and I told him it was not the perfect country & western song Because he hadn't said anything at all about mama Or trains, or trucks, or prison, or getting' drunk Well, he sat down and wrote another verse to the song and he sent it to me And after reading it I realized that my friend had written the perfect country & western song And I felt obliged to include it on this album The last verse goes like this here
The singer tells the story of how the song was written and how it became perfect when a new verse was added that included the classic themes of country music, such as mother, trains, trucks, prison, and drinking.

Well, I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison And I went to pick her up in the rain But before I could get to the station in my pickup truck She got run over by a damned old train
The final verse of the song adds the classic country themes of alcohol, prison, and tragedy, resulting in the perfect country-western song.

But you don't have to call me darlin', darlin' You never even called me Well, I wonder why you don't call me Why don't you ever call me by my name
The song ends with the artist still feeling neglected and unimportant, wondering why the other person never addresses them by their actual name.