David Allan Coe, the outlaw country music singer known for his unrepentant, confrontational image and songs such as “You Never Even Called Me by My Name” and “The Ride,” has died. He was 86. […]
Coe was one of country music’s most complex figures. A walking tall tale who boasted about past exploits in prison and on the road, he was the author of his own mythology. Coe wrote mainstream hits for Tanya Tucker and Johnny Paycheck — “Take This Job and Shove It” was entirely his creation — and recorded country songs that still appear on multiple playlists and in radio rotation (countless jukeboxes include “You Never Even Called Me by My Name”). Still, a period of offensive, racist songs that Coe claimed were parodies make many bristle to this day.
Born September 6, 1939, in Akron, Ohio, Coe spent much of his early years in and out of reformatories and prisons, serving time for charges ranging from grand theft auto to possession of burglary tools. During one period of incarceration in the fall of 1963, he claimed to have killed a fellow inmate with a mop bucket after the man threatened him in the prison showers. In a 1975 interview, Coe said he once felt like he belonged in the penal system. “There were a lot of times when I would actually be in the county jail after being busted and I’d wake up the next morning and say to myself, ‘Oh I’m glad it’s over; I’m glad I’m going back to prison now, where I know I’ll be safe, where I’ll be out of society,’” he said.
* He was a flawed and even at times a bad, mean man. I will never make excuses for his personal behavior or some of the stuff he wrote. But the dude also composed some real bangers. And this song in particular has always meant a lot to me. His ironic menacing boasts predate some of the best hip-hop…
Country deejays knows that I’m an outlaw
They’d never come to see me in this dive
Where bikers stare at cowboys who are laughing at the hippies
Who are praying they’ll get out of here alive
The loud mouth in the corner’s gettin’ to me
Talking ’bout my earrings and my hair
I guess he ain’t read the signs that say I’ve been to prison
Someone ought to warn him ‘fore I knock him off his chair
‘Cause my long hair just can’t cover up my red neck
I’ve won every fight I’ve ever fought
As an Illinois open thread, we would be remiss not to point out that “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” was co-written by Illinois legends John Prine and Steve Goodman.
Coming out of retirement to say RIP to David Allan Coe and to say thank you for his immense influence on Corrosion of Conformity, Down, Pantera, and so many other southern hard rock and heavy metal bands.
- StarLineChicago - Thursday, Apr 30, 26 @ 7:31 am:
As an Illinois open thread, we would be remiss not to point out that “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” was co-written by Illinois legends John Prine and Steve Goodman.
- Team Sleep - Thursday, Apr 30, 26 @ 8:49 am:
Coming out of retirement to say RIP to David Allan Coe and to say thank you for his immense influence on Corrosion of Conformity, Down, Pantera, and so many other southern hard rock and heavy metal bands.