David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwrit… Read Full Bio ↴David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly in the blues style, before transitioning to country music, becoming a major part of the 1970s outlaw country scene. His biggest hits were "Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile", "The Ride", "You Never Even Called Me by My Name", "She Used to Love Me a Lot", and "Longhaired Redneck". His most popular songs performed by others are the number-one hits "Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)" sung by Tanya Tucker and Johnny Paycheck's rendition of "Take This Job and Shove It". The latter inspired the movie of the same name.

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."

Love's Cheatin' Line
David Allan Coe Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Yep, she finally crossed over love's cheatin' line
If she mean to hurt me, she's done it this time
My best friend has loved her right out of my mind
She's finally crossed over love's cheatin' line

Yep, she finally crossed over lovers cheatin' line
It's hard to imagine that I've been so blind
Well, nobody could have told me that she was that kind

She finally crossed over lover's cheating line

Now listen to me, girl, it's true that I left her left her alone
And some folks will tell you i done her wrong
And I see the pity from all of my friends
It's hard to believe, Lord, the way true love ends

She finally crossed over love's cheatin' line
Guess I should have noticed those old danger signs

This bottles gonna help me to get her off my mind
She finally crossed over love's cheatin' line

Overall Meaning

In "Love's Cheatin' Line," David Allan Coe sings about a woman who has finally crossed over the line of cheating in their relationship. He expresses his pain and frustration with the situation, as well as his confusion about how he did not see the signs sooner.

Coe describes his best friend as being the one who has taken his love interest away from him, and that he cannot understand how his friend could do such a thing. He admits that he may have contributed to the end of the relationship by leaving her alone, but he does not believe that he did her wrong. He feels the weight of the judgment of his friends and the difficulty of accepting how love can suddenly come to an end.

The lyrics reflect the complexity and pain of relationships, particularly those that end in cheating. Coe's vocals capture the sadness and confusion that one can feel when they discover their partner's betrayal. The portrayal of the situation as a crossing of a line adds to the sense of finality and loss that the artist is feeling.

Line by Line Meaning

Yep, she finally crossed over lovers cheatin' line
She has finally cheated on me and gone beyond the boundary of unfaithfulness in our relationship

It's hard to imagine that I've been so blind
I couldn't believe that my partner could cheat on me even though there were warning signs

Well, nobody could have told me that she was that kind
No one could have warned me that my partner was capable of disloyalty

My best friend has loved her right out of my mind
My best friend has fallen in love with my partner, causing me to lose interest in her

Now listen to me, girl, it's true that I left her left her alone
I acknowledge that I was not always there for her and may have contributed to her infidelity

And some folks will tell you i done her wrong
People may accuse me of mistreating her, but that is not an excuse for her unfaithfulness

And I see the pity from all of my friends
My friends feel sorry for me after finding out about my partner's infidelity

It's hard to believe, Lord, the way true love ends
It is painful to accept the reality of how a supposedly genuine relationship can come to a tragic end

Guess I should have noticed those old danger signs
Hindsight has made me realize that there were red flags indicating her potential for cheating

This bottle's gonna help me to get her off my mind
I am turning to alcohol to ease the pain of heartbreak caused by her cheating

Contributed by Caden I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS