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."

Master Bation Blues
David Allan Coe Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

She's alone in the corner, with her panties to her knees, lookin in the mirror,
She gives her tits a squeeze. Slides her finger through the wetness, rubbing
Gently on her clit. Breathing heavy with each stroke now. She's not worried
Bout me watchin, its too late now to refuse, nightly fever you can't shake
Down, masturbation blues.

He picks up the dirty picture, with his dick hard in his hand, with a stroke
You see hime moving, with the music of the band, against the wall you see him

Jerking, as the cum spills on the floor, as he swells in the mirror, he won't
Do this anymore, he's not worried bout me watchin, it's too late now to refute,
Nightly fever you can't refuse, masturbation blues.

(Every line is sang twice)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of David Allan Coe’s song “Master Bation Blues” are raw and explicit, depicting a graphic scene of a woman and a man masturbating. The language is provocative and meant to shock and disturb the listener, but beyond the surface level shock value, there is a deeper message to the lyrics. The two verses feature different characters indulging in the act of self-pleasure, with the first verse focusing on a woman and the second on a man. The lyrics describe the characters’ shame and guilt about engaging in an activity that is often considered taboo and frowned upon by society.

The lyrics also suggest that the act of masturbation can become addictive and all-consuming, leading the characters to feel trapped in their own desires. They are not worried about being caught because they cannot resist their obsessive impulses. The song's title, "Master Bation Blues," is a pun that reflects the feeling of being trapped in this cycle. The "blues" could be a nod to the feeling of sadness or despair that can accompany an addiction, or it could refer to the blues as a genre of music that often features raw, confessional lyrics about personal struggles.

Overall, while the lyrics of “Master Bation Blues” may be unsettling and controversial, they offer a commentary on the societal stigmas surrounding masturbation and the potential addictive nature of the act.

Line by Line Meaning

She's alone in the corner, with her panties to her knees, lookin in the mirror,
She is in a private place, with her underwear down, watching her own reflection in the mirror,

She gives her tits a squeeze. Slides her finger through the wetness, rubbing
She touches, massages and pleasure herself using her own breasts and wetness

Gently on her clit. Breathing heavy with each stroke now. She's not worried Bout me watchin, its too late now to refuse,
She continues to stimulate herself focusing on her clitoris, getting more excited by the second. She is unaware or doesn't care that someone else may be watching her

Nightly fever you can't shake Down, masturbation blues.
It's a nightly ritual that she can't resist, leading to a feeling of emptiness and dissatisfaction after she's done. She suffers from a type of addiction or compulsion.

He picks up the dirty picture, with his dick hard in his hand, with a stroke. You see hime moving, with the music of the band,
He grabs a pornographic image and begins to stimulate himself, using the rhythm of the music as inspiration.

Against the wall you see him Jerking, as the cum spills on the floor, as he swells in the mirror, he won’t Do this anymore,
He ejaculates, unable to contain himself, leaving a trace of it on the ground. His reflection in the mirror scares him and he decides not to do it again

He's not worried bout me watchin, it's too late now to refute, Nightly fever you can't refuse, masturbation blues.
He knows he's being watched, but it doesn't matter since he's already too far gone. Similar to the woman, it's a nightly habit that is hard to resist, leading to feelings of discontent afterwards.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS

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