Lyrically, "Call Me When You're Sober" is a literal song which depicts the difficult situation of a female protagonist dealing with a lover who suffers from an addiction; she eventually decides to move away from this dysfunctional relationship and leave him. According to Lee, writing a song with literal meaning was an unusual practice for her. A writer for "The Daily Princetonian" concluded that "Call Me When You're Sober" and "Lithium" (also from "The Open Door") were both dedicated to Lee's ex-boyfriend, with the latter song exploring his perspective of the story started by Lee in the former one. Andree Farias from "Christianity Today" felt that the song was "self-explanatory". A "Stornoway Gazette" writer called it a "tough-love" song which finds the protagonist "hoping that lover will crash and burn and finally learn a lesson". In the song, Lee accuses her lover numerous times, as illustrated in the chorus lines "Don't cry to me/ If you loved me/ You would be here with me" and the bridge lines "You never call me when you're sober/ You only want it cause it's over". The lines "make up your mind" repeated during the song's chorus are replaced with "I've made up your mind" at the end, indicating that the protagonist has moved on, eventually realizing her worth. The song closes off with Lee giggling, which was described as "the proverbial last laugh".