Coe's rebellious attitude, wild image, and unconventional lifestyle set him apart from other country performers, both winning him legions of fans and hindering his mainstream success by alienating the music industry establishment. Coe continues to be a popular performer on the country circuit.
Coe was born in Akron, Ohio. His favorite singer as a child was Johnny Cash. After being sent to the Starr Commonwealth For Boys reform school at the age of nine, he spent much of the next 20 years in correctional facilities, including three years at the Ohio Penitentiary. Coe claimed he received encouragement to begin writing songs from Screamin' Jay Hawkins, with whom he had spent time in prison.
After concluding another prison term in 1967, Coe embarked on a music career in Nashville, living in a hearse which he parked in front of the Ryman Auditorium while he performed on the street. He caught the attention of Shelby Singleton, owner of the independent record label Plantation Records and signed a contract with his label.
He is the father of Tyler Mahan Coe, who created the country music podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones. He has a daughter, Shelli Coe Mackie, and is father-in-law to the late Michael Mackie, formerly of Texas band 'Thunderosa'.
Coe's musical style derives from blues, rock, and country music traditions. His vocal style is described as a 'throaty baritone'. His lyrical content is often humorous or comedic, with William Ruhlmann describing him as a 'near-parody of a country singer'. Stephen Thomas Erlewine describes Coe as "a great, unashamed country singer, singing the purest honky-tonk and hardest country of his era […] he may not be the most original outlaw, but there is none more outlaw than him".
Coe's lyrics frequently include references to alcohol and drug use, and are often boisterous and cocky. Coe's debut album Penitentiary Blues was described as "voodoo blues" and "redneck music" by Allmusic's Thom Jurek. It focused on themes such as working for the first time, blood tests from veins used to inject heroin, prison time, hoodoo imagery, and death. The album's influences included Charlie Rich, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Tony Joe White. Coe later explained to Kristofer Engelhardt of Review: "I didn't really care for some of the country music until people like Kris Kristofferson and some of those people started writing songs. They had a little more to say than just, 'Oh baby I miss you', or whatever. I don't do anything halfway. Once I got into country music, I went back and researched it, and learned everything there was to know about it. I could do impersonations of Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Marty Robbins, just about anybody. I knew just about all there was to know about country music."
Coe's first country album, The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy, has been described as alt-country, 'pre-punk' and "a hillbilly version of Marc Bolan's glitz and glitter". Credited influences on the album include Merle Haggard. In his early career, Coe was known for his unpredictable live performances, in which he would ride a Harley-Davidson motorcycle onto the stage and curse at his audience. Coe has also performed in a rhinestone suit and a mask which resembled that of the Lone Ranger, calling himself the 'Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy'.
The album Rebel Meets Rebel featured a song, "Cherokee Cry", which criticizes the United States government's treatment of Native Americans. When asked why he did not write more political songs, Coe replied, "I live in my own world, not thee world. I just write songs about what affects me in everyday life. At one point I wrote a song that was sort of a protest about when they were talking about drafting women into the military. It was about my son making it past the draft, but my daughter didn't. And I've done Farm Aid."
In his review of Coe's 1987 album A Matter of Life...and Death, Allmusic's Thom Jurek wrote, "Coe may have had some hits, but it is records like this that make one wonder if there was not a conspiracy to marginalize him and make him fail. Coe is a brilliant songwriter well into the 21st century, and deserves to be lauded along with the likes of [Willie] Nelson and [Waylon] Jennings and Kristofferson and Newbury – and even Cash."
Desperados Waiting for the Train
David Allan Coe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And he'd sit in the kitchen and cry
Run his fingers through seventy years of livin'
Wonder Lord has every well I drilled ran dry
We were friends me and that old man
Like desperados waiting for the train
Like desperados waiting for the train
And an old school man of the world
Taught me how to drive his car when he's too drunk to
And he'd wink and give me money for the girls
And our lives was like some old western movie
Like desperados waiting for the train like desperados waiting for the train
From the time that I could walk he take me with him
To a place called the Green Frog Cafe
There was old men with beer guts and dominos
Lyin' bout their lives while they'd play
And I was just a kid that they all called his sidekick
Like desperados waiting for the train
Like desperados waiting for the train
Now I looked up and he was pushin' eighty
And there's brown tobacco stains all down his chin
To me he's one of the heroes of this country
So why's he all dressed up like some old men
Drinking beer and playing moon and 42
Like desperados waiting for the train
Like desperados waiting for the train
Then just before he died I went to see him
I was grown and he was almost gone
We just closed our eyes and dreamed us up a kitchen
And sang another verse to that old song
(Don't cry Jack it's only Jesus comin')
Like desperados waiting for the train
Like desperados waiting for the train
Like desperados waiting for the train
The lyrics of David Allan Coe's song Desperados Waiting for the Train bring up themes of aging, nostalgia, and friendship. The singer of the song, who is also the singer, reminisces about his relationship with an old man who was both a drifter and an oil well driller. The two had formed a strong friendship, based on shared experiences, like going to a local cafe called the Green Frog, and driving drunk together. Now, as the old man pushes eighty, the singer reflects on the intergenerational divide between himself and this man, wondering why he seems to have given up on life and is dressing up like an old man.
Throughout the song, the imagery of the old West is invoked, particularly through the reference to desperados. Desperados were outlaws who operated outside of society's laws and norms, making them a symbol of both freedom and danger. By calling them desperados waiting for the train, the singer is drawing a parallel between the old man and himself, and these outlaws. They are all waiting for something that is never going to come, but the waiting is what defines them.
Overall, the lyrics of Desperados Waiting for the Train are poignant and reflective, painting a picture of two men who have lived their lives on the margins of society and who have found solace in their friendship with each other. The song is also a tribute to the passing of a way of life, and the singer recognizes this as he sings the final lines of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I'd sing the Red River Valley
I would sing a song of love and loss
And he'd sit in the kitchen and cry
He would listen and weep while reminiscing
Run his fingers through seventy years of livin'
He would remember the long life he's led
Wonder Lord has every well I drilled ran dry
He would reflect on his successes and failures
We were friends me and that old man
We were close companions
Like desperados waiting for the train
We were like outlaws anticipating an event
He's a drifter and a driller of oil wells
He's a wanderer and an oil worker
And an old school man of the world
He's a traditional and worldly person
Taught me how to drive his car when he's too drunk to
He taught me to drive when he was inebriated
And he'd wink and give me money for the girls
He would slyly offer me money for women
And our lives was like some old western movie
Our existence was like an old cowboy film
From the time that I could walk he take me with him
He included me in his endeavors from a young age
To a place called the Green Frog Cafe
We visited an establishment of significance to him
There was old men with beer guts and dominos
There were older men with beer bellies playing dominos
Lyin' bout their lives while they'd play
They would fabricate stories about their experiences
And I was just a kid that they all called his sidekick
I was his young companion who everyone knew
Now I looked up and he was pushin' eighty
As he aged, he approached eighty
And there's brown tobacco stains all down his chin
He has physical symptoms of tobacco use
To me he's one of the heroes of this country
He is a national hero to me
So why's he all dressed up like some old men
Why does he look like an average elderly person?
Drinking beer and playing moon and 42
He's drinking and playing games with his peers
Then just before he died I went to see him
I visited him close to his death
I was grown and he was almost gone
I had matured while he was approaching death
We just closed our eyes and dreamed us up a kitchen
We envisioned ourselves in a familiar place
And sang another verse to that old song
We sang another part of the old song
(Don't cry Jack it's only Jesus comin')
Don't cry Jack, it's just Jesus coming for him
Like desperados waiting for the train
Like outlaws anticipating an event
Like desperados waiting for the train
Like outlaws anticipating an event
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Guy Clark
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dr. Craphead
on Damn I Wish I Was a Nigger
The song is not by David Allan Coe
Niggerhatingme
on Nigger Hatin Me
I like sugar and I like tea
But I don't like niggers, no sir-e
There are two lone things that'll make me puke
That's a hog eating slop and a big black spook
You know it, 'cuz I show it
Like a barnyard rooster I crow it
And the NAACP would sure like to get
A hold of nigger hatin' me.
Roses are red and violets are blue
Niggers are black and you know that's true
But they don't mind 'cuz what the heck
You gotta' be black to get a welfare check.
.And I'm broke, no joke. I ain't got a nickle
For a coat and I ain't black you see, so Uncle
Sam won't help poor nigger hatin' me.
Jigga-boo Jigga-boo where are you? I was
Here on the woodpile watching you. Jigga-boo
Jigga-boo come outdoors. No! I'sa scared of the
White man way down south.
You know it, 'cuz I show it. Stick your black
Head out and I blow it and the NAACP can't keep
You away from 'lil 'ol nigger hatin' me.
Mirror mirror on the wall who is the blackest
Of them all? A man named King it ain't no doubt
And he's causin' lots of trouble with his baboon
Mouth. Oh no it's he's a done it, caused by the
Trouble he's a brewin' and the NAACP can't win if
The white man stick with nigger hatin' me.
Hey Mr. President what'd ya say? When are we
Whites gonna have our day? The niggers've had
Theirs for such a long long time. I'm a white
And it's time that I had mine.
You know it, 'cuz I show it. Stick your black head
Out and I blow it and the NAACP can't win if the
White man stick with nigger hatin' me.
Nigger hatin me'
Nigger hatin me'
Nigger hatin me'
Nigger hatin me'
All true, how's the death count in chimpcago? https://heyjackass.com/
Ben - Moderator
on Nigger hatin me
Meaning of this line above has now been corrected
Matt
on Nigger hatin me
Who ever did the meaning lines is funny... woodpile is a real term, and when it says jig aboo come out doors, he imitates a poor sounding guy saying he's afraid of the racist whites from the south cuz if they even show themselves in public, they were a target. This is a bad song about the unspoken truth
cemegonuts
on You piss me off...you fuckin' jerk
This is not David Allen Coe. It is a song written by Gaye Delorme and performed by Garry Lee and Showdown.
Teresa Warnke
on Pick Em, Lick Em, Stick Em
Are there any decent constitutional lawyers in the house?
Mr. Coe has been barred from performing in most public forums.
He is one the last surviving Outlaws of country music. Although, Nigger Fucker has racist theme, Mr. Coe was defended by his life long friend, Charlie Pride, who inspired the song, all of his days. They were close friends until the end.
David Allen COE is elderly and we don't have long to have an opportunity to see him perform. What is more is that he deserves to use his constitutional right to free speech.
Some would like to have this song and many more that feel are offensive removed from existence. I am not a racist and recognize the foulness of the song, but, I am mature enough to turn off music or any other media that I don't like.
Personally, the Brian Adam's song, "Rum to You", makes me sick, as does Reba Macy tyre's, "Fancy" and "Whoever's in New England".
Ms. Macy tires songs if a mother pimping out her daughter and an abandoned housewife faithfully waiting for her man to return from fucking his mistress hurts women. The Brian Adam's song also hurts women. I do not for a minute believe that this music should never be heard again. It does provide opportunity to discuss these things with younger people.
I am going to delete my YouTube music account because they removed DAC for it's content. I did have much respect for YouTube for it's American spirit and patriotism even though the way they pay their talent is nonsensical. One deletion is a demonstration of what will follow. Eventually this could lead to less freedoms for all of us.
Please don't fall into the currant popular victim trend. Turn off music you don't like and get on with your day.
Or stand up to censorship of the arts.
Thank You,
Teresa Warnke
Rodan
on Cum Stains on the Pillow
Dribble it on her nose!
11inthemoney
on Itty Bitty Titty
Young sex is the best
11inthemoney
on Itty Bitty Titty
Shucks it's cool.
Rodan
on Cum Stains on the Pillow
Another AWESOME DAC song that makes me bellylaugh!!!