Talk:A Boy Named Sue

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link to lyrics[edit]

I added a link to the lyrics. Then I studied the guidelines more carefully, and I am not sure if it is legit. The website claims they have licensed the content, so I would assume it is. But if anyone knows better, I will stand corrected.

Esb (talk) 19:39, 19 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

nitr0smash[edit]

The "Cover Versions" of this page displays some very poor grammar. Not knowing enough about the topic, I thought I'd bring it to attention.

Anonymous[edit]

Should anybody pen up the obvious Freudian interpretation of this song? I mean, boy is castrated by departing father, then regains his penis by defeating his father in battle? Seems like an Oedipal struggle if I've ever seen one.

Given that Freud could interpret nearly any facet of culture as phallic-inspired, I don't think this song warrants that kind of addition. If you know of reputable sources that have written about that specific intepretation for this specific song, that's naturally a different matter. The Cap'n (talk) 21:18, 23 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Grandpa Jones[edit]

Everybody should check out "smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette" by Grandpa Jones, "A Boy named Sue is a total RIP-OFF! How old does someone have to be in order to legally change their names by themselves?

4th Grade was when I learned that I could go to court to legally change my name, but I had (and have) a great, good name so I didn't need to. I didn't (and still don't) know what the minimum age is to change your name without a parent/legal guardian present. --Shultz IV 00:18, 30 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The song is supposed to be funny, not logical. Wahkeenah 00:34, 30 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
- Anyway, it isn't necessary to change your name legally - in the USA and most other democracies you can demand to be called whatever you choose. Although if you demand to be called Jesus Christ you might face some opposition... Lee M 11:48, 26 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This reminds me of the apocryphal (I assume) story of the man named Joe Crappe who went to court to have his name changed. The judge, believing he understood the reason for the desired change, dispensed with most of the formalities and asked Joe what he wanted to change his name to.

Joe said, "I want to change my name to John Crappe. I'm tired of people saying to me, 'What do you know, Joe?'!" 71.131.255.155 21:05, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Similar also to a Jay Leno joke from ca. 1995 when Tonya Harding's ex was going to change his name from Jeff Gillooly to Jeff-something-else, and Leno said instead he was going to change it to Newt Gillooly (Newt Gingrich being a hot discussion topic at the time). Wahkeenah 00:05, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

- Also reminiscent of a sketch from Do Not Adjust Your Set, in which iirc a man named Incredibly Unbelievably Johnson wanted to change his surname to Stupid. Lee M

Soo[edit]

This page says Soo is a Korean boy's name meaning long life. Is there a more reliable source? --Damian Yerrick (talk | stalk) 06:19, 20 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Cash/Silverstein Related Edits[edit]

I've had a chance to listen to the Silverstein and censored and uncensored Cash versions. This, combined with reading the latest biography of Cash by Robert Hilburn, resulted in me making some corrections to the article, in particular specifying Cash's version of a particular lyric compared to Silverstein's original. 68.146.52.234 (talk) 18:55, 27 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Excellent editing work here. Thanks for further clarifying a great piece of information. --SpyMagician (talk) 02:59, 28 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Confusing[edit]

The intro is confusing. It's a poem in the first sentence and a song in the second. How did it transform? Who provided the tune? Not a hint in the entire article. Generally, the chronology of the various versions seems confused throughout. If it was written by Shel Silverstein, that version should be discussed before jumping to Johnny Cash. If both of them recorded it, which was first? Were they nearly simultaneous?

Also, the releases on albums and as singles are confusing; I was unsure whose single was on which album until I saw the album covers. Zaslav (talk) 11:59, 8 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that the introduction is confusing - it does not make it clear whether Johnny Cash ever released the song as a single. Vorbee (talk) 09:16, 25 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]