Say whatever the hell you want about DAC, but he's one of a kind as a singer, songwriter, and performer. In his early sixties, DAC hasn't slowed a bit and is experiencing another of his periodic renaissances as an artist and live act. Live at Billy Bob's Texas is R-rated DAC... unlike the "Mature Audiences Only" tag on Live at the Iron Horse... the performance is tight, full-on badass country-rock with a band that rivals any but the Allman Brothers (including his pal Kid Rock's). Who knows how long this show really was, as most of the audience monologues have been omitted, but who gives a damn when it's as fine as this? There are 20 tracks here, from virtually every period in his career, performed with white-hot intensity, grease, profanity, and a burning, brokenhearted passion. The set kicks off with the gorgeous "Ain't That the Way (Love's Supposed to Be)," with Kim Hastings on duet and backup vocals, one of Coe's more poignant and edifying love songs, and shifts into medium gear on "Talkin' to the Blues" before kicking into full-rock ass-kicking glory with "Son of the South" and "'59 Cadillac, '57 Chevy." Both tracks are complete with screaming leads by Terry Fox and popping, cut-time basslines by Steven Bishop. DAC's son, Tyler, plays a very solid rhythm guitar and acts as bandleader. The pace varies and moves between thunderous, redneck-biker country-rock and the honky tonk tunes with beautiful acoustic ballads like "Heaven Only Knows" tossed in. The entire show is seamless in its quality, but some moments, such as the Hastings/DAC duet on the Jessi Colter classic "Storms Never Last," are so moving they ask more questions than they answer. For those concerned, the "hits" are here..."Take This Job and Shove It," "Drank My Wife Away," and updated versions of "Longhaired Redneck," "If That Country," and "The Ride"... and they are played with more inspiration than they ought to be given how often they've been performed, even with the new twists and turns (like a faux-hardcore ending on the otherwise straight honky tonk of "Take This Job and Shove It"). But it's on the dirty funk of "Free My Mind" with its attempt at hip-hop that DAC is really in his element. He likes to mess with the form of country music with excessive word-mongering and boasting, such as: "You know I don't shoot dope but I might shoot my gun/I don't like acid rock but I might be trippin'." Immediately after, he slides into a stunning cover of "Follow Me," where sweet Saturday-night country music meets Jimmy Buffett's Volcano-era rhythm section. The album closes with the Steve Goodman/John Prine classic "You Never Even Called Me by My Name," that DAC has made his signature tune. Rather than the slow, forlorn version on his own recordings, this version is pure Jerry Jeff Walker honky tonk... who may have gotten his honky tonk style from DAC in the first place. Hastings adds so much to DAC's still-excellent baritone that the crowd is swept up in the raw country swing of the tune, until he adds a hip-hop coda and they all laugh like hell -- you will, too. DAC hasn't gone anywhere; he's still crazy, vulgar, literate, passionate, and simultaneously awesome and frightening. Just get it. [The CD was also released with a bonus DVD of the show.]

Lyrics:

Son of the South
I like to play Hank Williams Jr. records just as loud as they will go
I'm into Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Allman Brothers and David Allan Coe
I like Willie, Waylon, George, and Merle
And alot of ZZ Top
They play country, soul, rock and roll
I really like Kid Rock

Chorus
And I'm a redneck
A rock-n-roll son of the south
I don't like no new wave disco bands around
I'm gonna drink a couple dozen beers
Go out and jam some gears
I'm a long haired redneck rock-n-roll son of the south

I've got a 1965 Harley chopper
It sure makes those women stare
A dead flamingo wrapped around the cowboy hats I wear
I can cuss I can fight I can spit I can belch I can raise all kinds of hell
If you ride to live like I live to ride let me hear some rebel yells

Chorus
And I'm a redneck
A rock-n-roll son of the south
I don't like no new wave disco bands around
I'm gonna drink a couple dozen beers
Go out and jam some gears
I'm a long haired redneck rock-n-roll son of the south

I like my whiskey straight up
Daqueri just makes me ill
If someone touches my cowboy hat I get mad enough to kill
I got a rifle rack in my pickup truck
I'm a four wheelin' maniac
And if you wanna race name the place
I'll show you where it's at ???

Chorus
And I'm a redneck
A rock-n-roll son of the south
I don't like no new wave disco bands around
I'm gonna drink a couple dozen beers
Go out and jam some gears
I'm a long haired redneck rock-n-roll son of the south

I'm a long haired redneck rock-n-roll son of the south
I'm a long haired redneck rock-n-roll son of the south

Storms Never Last
Storms Never Last: Waylon Jennings and Jesse Colter.

Storms never last do they, baby?
Bad times will pass with the winds.
Your hand in mine steals the thunder.
You make the sun want to shine.

Oh, I followed you down so many roads, baby;
I picked wild flowers and sung you soft sweet songs.
And every road we took, God knows, our search was for the truth.
And the storm brewin' now won't be the last.

Storms never last do they, Jessie?
Bad times will pass with the winds.
Your hand in mine steals the thunder.
You make the sun want to shine.

Storms never last do they, Jessie?
Bad times will pass with the winds.
Your hand in mine steals the thunder.
You make the sun want to shine.


Written by Bosse Andersson and Jesse Colter.
(© Universal Songs Of Polygram.)
From "Music Man", © 1980, RCA.

If That Ain't Country
The old man was covered with tattoos and scars
He got some in prison and others in bars
The rest he got workin' on old junk cars in the daytime
They looked like tombstones in our yard
And I never seen him when he wasn't tired and mean
He sold used parts to make ends meet
Covered with grease from his head to his feet
Cussin' the sweat and the Texas heat and mosquiters
And the neighbors said we lived like hicks
But they brung their cars for pa to fix anyhow
He was veteran-proud tried and true
He'd fought till his heart was black and blue
Didn't know how he'd made it through the hard times
He bought our house on the GI Bill
But it wasn't worth all he had to kill to git it
He drank pearl in a can and Jack Daniels black
Chewed tobacco from a mail pouch sack
Had an old dog that was trained to attack sometimes
He'd get drunk and mean as a rattlesnake
And there wasn't too much that he would take from a stranger
There were thirteen kids and a bunch of dogs
A house full of chickens and a yard full of hogs
I spent the summertime cuttin' up logs for the winter
Tryin' like the devil to find the Lord
Workin' like a nigger for my room and board
Coal-burin' stove no natural gas if that ain't country I'll kiss your ass
If that ain't country it'll hairlip the pope
If that ain't country it's a damn good joke
I've seen the Grand Ole Opry and I've met Johnny Cash
If that ain't country I'll kiss your ass
[ steel ]
Mama sells eggs at a grocery store my oldest sister is a first-rate whore
Dad says she can't come home anymore and he means it
Ma just sits and keeps her silence
Sister she left cause dad got violent and he knows it
Mama she's old far beyond her time
From chopping tobacco and I've seen her cryin'
When blood started flowin' from her calloused hand and it hurt me
She'd just keep workin' tryin' to help the old man
To the end of one row and back again like always
She's been through hell since junior went to jail
When the lights go out she ain't never failed
To get down on her knees and pray because she loves him
Told all the neighbors he was off in the war
Fightin' for freedom he's good to the core and she's proud
Now our place was a graveyard for automobiles
At the end of the porch there was four stacks of wheels
And tires for sale for a dollar or two cash
There was fifty holes in an old tin roof
Me and my family we was livin' proof
The people who forgot about poor white trash
And if that ain't country I'll kiss your ass
If that ain't country...
I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes concerning the great speckled bird
I didn't know God made honky tonk angels and went back to the wild side of life

Longhaired Redneck
Written By David Allan Coe/ Jimmy Rabbit

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

LOUDMOUTH IN THE CORNER'S GETTING' TO ME
TALKIN' '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 REDNECK
I'VE WON EVERY FIGHT I'VE EVER FOUGHT
AND I DON'T NEED SOME TURKEY TELLING' ME THAT I AIN'T COUNTRY
SAYING' I AIN'T WORTH DAMNED
OLD TICKET THAT HE BOUGHT

'CAUSE I CAN SING ALL THEM SONGS ABOUT TEXAS
AND I STILL DO ALL THE SAD ONES THAT I KNOW
THEY TELL ME I LOOK LIKE MERLE HAGGARD
AND SOUND A LOT LIKE DAVID ALLAN COE
AND THE BARMAID IN THE LAST TOWN THAT WE PLAYED IN
KNEW THE WORDS TO EVERY SONG I'D WROTE
SHE SAID JIMMY RABBIT TURNED HER ON TO MY LAST ALBUM
JUST ABOUT THE TIME THE JUKE BOX BROKE

YEAH, JOHNNY CASH HELPED ME GET OUT OF PRISON
LONG BEFORE RODRIGUEZ STOLE THAT GOAT
I'VE BEEN THE RHINESTONE COWBOY FOR SO LONG I CAN'T REMEMBER
AND I CAN DO YOU EVERY SONG
HANK WILLIAMS EVER WROTE

AND I CAN SING ALL THEM SONGS ABOUT TEXAS
AND I STILL DO ALL THE SAD ONES THAT I KNOW
I CAN'T HELP IT, I LOOK LIKE MERLE HAGGARD
AND I SOUND A LOT LIKE DAVID ALLAN COE

BUT THE COUNTRY D.J.'S ALL THINK I'M AN OUTLAW
AND 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 LOUDMOUTH IN THE CORNER'S GETTING' TO ME
TALKIN' 'BOUT MY EARRINGS AND MY HAIR

Take This Job and Shove It
Chorus: TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT/ I AIN’T WORKING’ HERE NO MORE MY WOMAN DONE LEFT AND TOOK ALL OF THE REASONS I WAS WORKING FOR YOU BETTER NOT TRY TO STAND IN MY WAY/ WHEN I WALK OUT THE DOOR TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT/ I AIN’T WORKING’ HERE NO MORE

I BEEN WORKING IN THIS FACTORY/ PRETTY CLOSE TO 15 YEARS I’VE SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS’ WOMEN/ STANDING IN A POOL OF TEARS I’VE SEEN A LOT OF KINFOLKS DYING/ I HAD A LOT OF BILLS TO PAY LORD, I’D GIVE THE SHIRT RIGHT OFFING’ MY BACK/ IF I HAD THE NERVE TO SAY:

Repeat Chorus

THE FOREMAN IS A REGULAR SOB. AND THE NIGHT BOSS, HE’S A FOOL HE GOT HIMSELF A BRAND NEW FLATTOP HAIRCUT LORD, HE REALLY THINKS THAT’S COOL ONE OF THESE DAYS I’M GONNA BLOW MY TOP AND THERE’S GONNA BE HELL TO PAY I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THEIR FACES WHEN I GET THE NERVE TO SAY

Repeat Chorus

The Ride
Well, I was thumbin' from Montgomery
I had my guitar on my back
When a stranger stopped beside me in an antique Cadillac
Well he was dressed like 1950
Half drunk and hollow-eyed
He said "Its a long walk to Nashville
Would you like a ride, son?"
And well I sat down in the front seat, he turned on the radio
Them sad old songs comin' out of them speakers was solid country gold
And I noticed the stranger was ghost-white pale
When he asked me for a light
And I knew there was something strange about this ride

(Chorus)
He said "Drifter can ya make folks cry when you play and sing?
Have you paid your dues, can you moan the blues?
Can you bend them guitar strings?"
He said "Boy, can you make folks feel what you feel inside?
Cause if you're big star bound let me warn ya, its a long, hard ride"

Then he cried just south of Nashville
And he turned that car around
He said "This is where you get off boy,
Cause I'm goin' back to Alabam'"
As I stepped out of that Cadillac
I said "Mister, many thanks"
He said "You don't have to call me Mister, Mister.,
The whole world called me Hank

Chorus x2

If you're big star bound
Let me warn ya its a long, hard ride

You Never Even Call Me by My Name
Written By Steve Goodman
As Recorded By David Allan Coe

WELL, IT WAS ALL
THAT I COULD DO TO KEEP FROM CRYIN’
SOMETIMES IT SEEMED SO USELESS TO REMAIN
BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO CALL ME DARLIN’, DARLIN'
YOU NEVER EVEN CALL ME BY MY NAME

YOU DON’T HAVE TO CALL ME WAYLON JENNINGS
AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO CALL ME CHARLIE PRIDE
AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO CALL ME MERLE HAGGARD/ANYMORE
EVEN THOUGH YOU’RE ON MY FIGHTIN’ SIDE

CHORUS:
AND I’LL HANG AROUND AS LONG AS YOU WILL LET ME
AND I NEVER MINDED STANDIN’ IN THE RAIN
BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO CALL ME DARLIN’, DARLIN’
YOU NEVER EVEN CALLED ME BY MY NAME

WELL, I’VE HEARD MY NAME
A FEW TIMES IN YOUR PHONE BOOK (Hello, Hello)
AND I’VE SEEN IT ON SIGNS WHERE I’VE PLAYED
BUT THE ONLY TIME I KNOW
I’LL HEAR "DAVID ALLAN COE"
IS WHEN JESUS HAS HIS FINAL JUDGMENT DAY

REPEAT CHORUS

RECITATION:
WELL, A FRIEND OF MINE NAMED STEVE GOODMAN WROTE THAT SONG
AND HE TOLD ME IT WAS THE PERFECT COUNTRY & WESTERN SONG
I WROTE HIM BACK A LETTER AND I TOLD HIM IT WAS NOT THE PERFECT COUNTRY & WESTERN SONG BECAUSE HE HADN’T SAID ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT MAMA,
OR TRAINS,
OR TRUCKS,
OR PRISON,
OR GETTING’ DRUNK
WELL HE SAT DOWN AND WROTE ANOTHER VERSE TO THE SONG
AND HE SENT IT TO ME,
AND AFTER READING IT,
I REALIZED THAT MY FRIEND HAD WRITTEN THE PERFECT
COUNTRY & WESTERN SONG
AND I FELT OBLIGED TO INCLUDE IT ON THIS ALBUM
THE LAST VERSE GOES LIKE THIS HERE:

WELL, I WAS DRUNK THE DAY MY MOM GOT OUT OF PRISON
AND I WENT TO PICK HER UP IN THE RAIN
BUT BEFORE I COULD GET TO THE STATION IN MY PICKUP TRUCK
SHE GOT RUN NED OVER BY A DAMNED OLD TRAIN

CHORUS:
AND I’LL HANG AROUND AS LONG AS YOU WILL LET ME
AND I NEVER MINDED STANDIN’ IN THE RAIN
NO, A’ YOU DON’T HAVE TO CALL ME DARLIN’, DARLIN’
YOU NEVER EVEN CALL ME
WELL I WONDER WHY YOU DON’T CALL ME
WHY DON’T YOU EVER CALL ME BY MY NAME