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."
The Great Nashville Railroad Disaster
David Allan Coe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dedication: To Billy Sherrill for having the courage to stand by me and my career even when everyone told him they'd never play my records because of my life style. Thanks Radar!
ONE SULTRY SUMMER MORNING IN THE YEAR OF 1918
THREE HUNDRED MEN WITH EBONY SKIN
HEADING OUT OF NASHVILLE FOR WESTERN TENNESSEE
HOMEWARD BOUND CAUSE UNCLE SAM CLOSED DOWN
THE MUNITIONS FACTORY.
AT THAT VERY MOMENT ON THE CHEATHAM COUNTY LINE
OLD NUMBER ONE TRAIN FROM MEMPHIS
WAS RUNNING WAY BEHIND
BACK IN THE SMOKEY CLUB CAR A MEMPHIS GAMBLING MAN
SAID GENTLEMAN, IM FOLDING THESE CARDS
CAUSE I DREW A DEAD MANS HAND!
A YOUNG MAN IN A MILK TRUCK OUT NEAR DUTCHMAN'S GRADE
SAID OH MY GOD TWO TRAINS ONE TRACK
THEN HE CLOSED HIS EYES AND HE PRAYED
A SISTER FROM THE ORPHANS HOME MADE A CROSS UPON HER CHEST
CAUSE A ONE IRON BEAST WAS COMING FROM THE EAST
AND ANOTHER ONE WAS COMING FROM THE WEST
THE BIRD FLEW FROM THE TREE TOPS AS THE IMPACT SHOOK THE GROUND
THE SCREAMING WHEELS AND THE GRINDING STEEL
COULD BE HEARD FOR MILES AROUND
NOW EVERY JULY 9TH A FEW MILES WEST OF TOWN
TO THIS DAY SOME FOLKS SAY
YOU CAN HEAR THAT MOURNFUL SOUND
In David Allan Coe's song The Great Nashville Railroad Disaster, he tells the story of a tragic train accident that occurred in Nashville, Tennessee in 1918. The song begins by describing a group of 300 black men who were leaving Nashville and heading to Western Tennessee after a munitions factory closed down. Meanwhile, the Number One train from Memphis was running behind schedule on the same track. As the two trains approached each other, disaster struck. A young man in a milk truck near Dutchman's Grade witnessed the event and closed his eyes to pray. At the moment of impact, the ground shook and the sound of the screeching wheels and grinding steel could be heard for miles around.
The vivid portrayal of the events of the disaster in Coe's song reflects the real-life tragedy that occurred on July 9, 1918. The accident, which would later be called the Worst Train Wreck in American History to that point, resulted in the deaths of at least 101 people and left many more injured. The cause of the accident was determined to be human error, as the two trains collided head-on due to a communication breakdown between the two crews. The event had a significant impact on the community and is still remembered to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
ONE SULTRY SUMMER MORNING IN THE YEAR OF 1918
On a hot and humid morning during the summer of 1918
THREE HUNDRED MEN WITH EBONY SKIN
300 African American men
PULLED OUT OF UNION STATION
Left from the Union Station in Nashville
HEADING OUT OF NASHVILLE FOR WESTERN TENNESSEE
Traveling towards western Tennessee from Nashville
HOMEWARD BOUND CAUSE UNCLE SAM CLOSED DOWN
Returning home because the munitions factory closed down under the orders of the Government
THE MUNITIONS FACTORY.
The factory where the men worked in munitions production
AT THAT VERY MOMENT ON THE CHEATHAM COUNTY LINE
At the same time on the Cheatham County train line
OLD NUMBER ONE TRAIN FROM MEMPHIS
Train named Old Number One coming from Memphis
WAS RUNNING WAY BEHIND
The train was extremely delayed
BACK IN THE SMOKEY CLUB CAR A MEMPHIS GAMBLING MAN
In the smoky club car, a man from Memphis who was gambling
SAID GENTLEMAN, IM FOLDING THESE CARDS
The gambler folds his cards
CAUSE I DREW A DEAD MANS HAND!
He reveals that he lost due to a hand that is also known as the 'Dead Man's Hand'
A YOUNG MAN IN A MILK TRUCK OUT NEAR DUTCHMAN'S GRADE
A young man driving a milk truck near Dutchman's Grade
SAID OH MY GOD TWO TRAINS ONE TRACK
The young man sees the two trains on the same track and exclaims in shock
THEN HE CLOSED HIS EYES AND HE PRAYED
The young man closes his eyes and begins to pray
A SISTER FROM THE ORPHANS HOME MADE A CROSS UPON HER CHEST
A nun from the orphanage makes the sign of the cross on her chest
CAUSE A ONE IRON BEAST WAS COMING FROM THE EAST
The train approaching from the east was large and powerful like an iron beast
AND ANOTHER ONE WAS COMING FROM THE WEST
There was another train approaching from the west
THE BIRD FLEW FROM THE TREE TOPS AS THE IMPACT SHOOK THE GROUND
Birds were startled and took flight as the impact of the trains colliding shook the ground
THE SCREAMING WHEELS AND THE GRINDING STEEL
The sound of the crushing metal and screeching wheels
COULD BE HEARD FOR MILES AROUND
The noise traveled for miles around the area
NOW EVERY JULY 9TH A FEW MILES WEST OF TOWN
Every year on July 9th a few miles west of town
TO THIS DAY SOME FOLKS SAY
Some people still say to this day
YOU CAN HEAR THAT MOURNFUL SOUND
You can hear the mournful sound of the train accident
Contributed by Kayla M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lucas Muñoz
Lyric :
-
One sultry summer morning in the year of 1918
three hundred men with ebony skin
pulled out of union station
heading out of nashville for western tennessee
homeward bound cause uncle sam closed down
the munitions factory.
at that very moment on the cheatham county line
old number one train from memphis
was running way behind
back in the smokey club car a memphis gambling man
said gentleman, I'm folding these cards
cause I drew a dead mans hand!
a young man in a milk truck out near dutchman's grade
said oh my god two trains one track
then he closed his eyes and he prayed
a sister from the orphans home made a cross upon her chest
cause a one iron beast was coming from the east
and another one was coming from the west
the bird flew from the tree tops as the impact shook the ground
the screaming wheels and the grinding steel
could be heard for miles around
now every july 9th a few miles west of town
to this day some folks say
you can hear that mournful sound
Ken Brannon
I grew up listening to DAC, Of all the songs and styles this man performs, this song caught me off guard.... The combination of the music and his voice on this platform fit together very well.... Almost wished for the song to be longer
R. Watson
I thought I had heard everything DAC had put out . Then about two years ago I was reading an article about Ronnie Van Zant ( Lynyrd Skynyrd ) and how one of Coe's songs was played at his funeral. That song was, " Another Pretty Country Song ". Just a gem that passed me by.
the dude
Same here guys I thought I had heard all of COES songs but this one I knew not nery nothin bout
A Physics Professor
Man, David Allan Coe can really get to a person's heart. Bend those strings, bend 'em.
Mark Maynard
Support real ass country music! YouTube search USRT23 TYLER! Great music and good times! Join us!
Cera D
Love this song!!!
Madkirk74
102 years after and this is still the worst wreck in US history
lasjayhawk
My god two trains one track, then he closed his eyes and he prayed....
Mark Maynard
Support real ass country music! YouTube search USRT23 TYLER! Great music and good times! Join us!
Mandy Plodek
Someone needs to go to nashville and blast this at full volume.