The song tells the preposterous, yet moving, tale of a young man’s quest for revenge on an absent father, whose only contribution to his entire life was naming him Sue, commonly a feminine name, which regularly resulted in the young man suffering from ridicule and bullying. Because of the bullying, Sue grows up tough and smartens up very quickly, though he must move to other towns constantly because of the shame his name gives him. Angered by this he swears he shall find and murder his father for giving him the accursed name.