Songfacts®:

• Pete Droge says "You Called Me Kid" is "a song of love and gratitude for my mom and dad." They adopted him at birth and were loving parents.
• Droge wrote the song in 2015 a few years after his father died, but he battled chronic fatigue and didn't release it until 2025, when he made it the first song and lead single on his album Fade Away Blue.
  
  "I'd had the title for a long time because he used to call me 'kid,'" Droge told Songfacts. "I thought that would be a solid title and eventually it became that song. Sadly, my mom passed away three days before 'You Called Me Kid' was released as a single in June. I was able, at her bedside, to play her a soft, mellow version of the song."
• For the music video, Droge put out a call asking fans to send in photos of parental figures who made a big impact in their lives. Many of those photos appear in the video, which was directed by John Jeffcoat.
• Droge's best-known song is his first single, "If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill Myself)," released in 1994. His music got a lot more personal over time, and much of the Fade Away Blue album reflects his journey, including his search for his birth mother.