Johnny Cash/Headscratchers

• "A Boy Named Sue:" Where is the mother in this story? Since Sue's father clearly up and left when he was very young, all she had to do was say, okay, your new name is So-and-so. Problem solved. Or, if there is no mom and Sue was somebody's ward, he could've asked his guardians for a new name. It just seems like this could've been taken care of long before he became an adult.
  • He explicitly mentions his mother in the very start of the song ("Well, my daddy left home when I was three, and he didn't leave much to ma and me"). I think one can assume in whatever region he lives she wouldn't have any say on what to call him since "the man" had said it would be Sue and that was final! I guess she could have done that out of spite for her husband, but... just didn't.
  • It's either Rule of Funny or the mother knew the reason why the father named him Sue and thought it was a good idea.