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You Never Even Called Me by My Name
performed Steve Goodman (1971), David Alan Coe (1975), and others
written by Steve Goodman and John Prine
released in 1971 by Steve Goodman, 1975 by David Alan Coe
Well, it was all
That I could do to keep from crying’
Sometimes it seemed so useless to remain
But you don’t have to call me darlin’, darlin’
You never even call me by my 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
[Chorus:]
And I’ll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standing’ in the rain
But you don’t have to call me darlin’, darlin’
You never even called me by my name
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
[Repeat chorus]
[Recitation:]
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:
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 ned over by a damned old train
[Chorus:]
And I’ll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standing’ in the rain
No, a’ you don’t have to call me darlin’, darlin’
You never even call me
Well I wonder why you don’t call me
Why don’t you ever call me by my name
_____________________________
Ah. The perfect country and western song. I love me some David Alan Coe.
I don’t understand the weird power of this song, but it’s absolutely real. I think the idea of a failure to be properly recognized (or to have your work attributed to someone else) must be a thing that really resonates. This song makes the most sense in a large group – and your group is doing it right if someone is singing “let me, let me, let me, let me” after Coe does, and before he gets to the next line. It’s one thing to feel unrecognized and to share that with the singer. It’s another to feel that way and share it with an entire room of people. There’s a powerful sense of bonding (though if I’m being entirely honest, when I’ve seen this happen in my own life, the bonding has involved people who are all on the path toward inebriation.)
It’s funny sometimes how things evolve. This song started as a parody of “every country music song ever written” but the imitation feels both like sincere flattery and something that is wholly its own thing, too.
(via wiki)
“You Never Even Called Me by My Name” is a song written by Steve Goodman and John Prine. Prine requested to be uncredited on the song, as he thought it was a “goofy, novelty song” and did not want to “offend the country music community”. Goodman released the song on his 1971 debut album Steve Goodman to little acclaim. It was more famously recorded by country music singer David Allan Coe on his 1975 album Once Upon a Rhyme. It was the third single release of Coe’s career and his first Top Ten hit, reaching a peak of number eight on the Billboard country singles charts. The song, over five minutes long, is known for its humorous self-description as “the perfect country and western song.”
On a WNEW-FM radio show, 1987. John Prine told his version of the story behind the song. He said that he and Goodman had recently scored their first recording contract in New York City and Paul Anka had been assigned to them as their manager. As a regular performer at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Anka had a grand luxury suite dedicated for his use as a dressing room. But since Anka already lived in New York he did not need it. So he let Goodman and Prine stay there to write music while they were in town. Prine says they raided the suite’s full bar and “mixed a special cocktail punch” in the sink with “…Dom Perignon, a little bit of brandy, a little bit of Jack Daniels, quite a bit of Wild Turkey; and some vodka and gin; and some punch and 7up.” So, the song was completed while they were wildly intoxicated.
Content
Goodman and Prine originally composed the song as a pastiche and style parody of “every country song” they had ever heard. In live performances, Goodman would often adopt a parody of Hank Williams Sr.‘s performance style, with a large cowboy hat. Waylon Jennings, Charley Pride and Merle Haggard (as well as his song “The Fightin’ Side of Me“) are mentioned in the lyrics; Coe also uses loose impersonations of each artist in doing so, and also makes reference to Faron Young‘s “Hello Walls” in the background vocals, noting that “you don’t have to call me” any of those names anymore. In the third verse, Coe notes “the only time I know I’ll hear David Allan Coe is when Jesus has his final Judgment Day.”
In a spoken epilogue preceding the song’s iconic closing verse, Coe relates a correspondence he had with Goodman, who stated the song he had written was the “perfect country and western song.” Coe wrote back stating that no song could fit that description without mentioning a laundry list of clichés from the genre: “Mama, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or getting drunk”. Goodman’s equally facetious response was an additional verse that incorporated all five of Coe’s requirements, and upon receiving it, Coe acknowledged that the finished product was indeed the “perfect country and western song” and included the last verse on the record:
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 runned over by a damned old train
Goodman, in his versions, commented that there were some other ideas he missed, including farms, Dallas, divorce, dead dogs like Old Shep, and Christmas. He also mentioned, in various performances, Freddy Fender, Charlie Rich and Charlie the Tuna instead of Jennings, and his name on the sign was a neon sign hanging over “the bar I used to own,” with the verse likewise restructured to fit without Coe’s name.
Coe’s recording of “You Never Even Called Me by My Name” is accompanied mainly by resonator guitar, pedal steel guitar, electric guitar and bass guitar.
Chart performance
“You Never Even Called Me by My Name” by David Allan Coe spent 17 weeks on the Billboard country singles charts, peaking at number eight.
Weekly charts (1975) Peak Position US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) 8 Canadian RPM Country Tracks 4
This is one of my favorite songs. Counter-intuitively, it’s a mood booster and if you watch any of Coe’s live performances, it’s also a great source or fashion advice. I won’t give you a live recording though, because Mr. David Alan Coe often sprinkles in some colorful language in those versions. But the picture below should give you some ideas.
