Although David Allan Coe passed away estranged from several of his children, early in his career he wrote a demo song where the singer says farewell to his children.
Country legend David Allan Coe passed away on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. While articles about his life focus on certain songs he wrote, like “Take This Job and Shove It,” and on certain singles, like “Tennessee Whiskey,” “Longhaired Redneck,” and “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” the man’s vast catalog cannot be summed up by a few songs. And while there will be the usual labels for the Ohio-born Coe, like “Outlaw,” he had a long and complex career full of highs and lows.
And where does one start with David Allan Coe? There were some troubled times, including stints in prison and bankruptcy. But for fans, one has to start with the music. There’s forty-two studio albums, as well as some controversial X-rated independent ones. Among his catalog is some amazing work.
And one way to start is to go back near the beginning. Some of his great songs and recordings came out during the early 1970s before finding wider success and before the rise of Outlaw country. He released his debut album Penitentiary Blues in 1970, including songs he had written in prison.
But before he had much success he worked as a staff songwriter for Window Music publishing, writing songs and creating demos for other artists. In 2005, many of these demos were finally released on For the Soul and for the Mind: Demos of ’71-’74 . Although none of the songs eventually became a hit, as Allmusic notes, they are further evidence that David Allan Coe was a poet.
One of those demos was a song called “Don’t You Cry.” And it seems like a fitting way to say goodbye for now.
Don’t you cry, children; Don’t you cry I’ll see you in the sweet bye and bye.
I’ve been staring at tomorrow, knowing it might never come; I’ve been talking about salvation, Thinking I might get me some.
It’s so hard to beat the devil, When he don’t play by the rules; And I know that the Savior Has a special place for fools.
What is your favorite David Allan Coe song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Mickey Newbury’s song “33rd of August” had a special connection for singers like David Allan Coe. But what is the song really about?
Mickey Newbury’s 1969 album Looks Like Rain is one of the rare albums where every song is great. Newbury, who John Prine called “probably the best songwriter ever,” hits you in the guts with every song. Upon repeated listens, each song on Looks Like Rain grows deeper. And one song in particular that stands out is “33rd of August” (paired on the track with “When the Baby in My Lady Gets the Blues”).
Mickey Newbury was born in Houston on May 19, 1940 and died in Oregon on September 29, 2002. During his lifetime, he became well-respected by his songwriting peers, even if huge commercial success eluded him.
Newbury’s song “33rd of August” has been covered by artists such as Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Joan Baez. One of the more famous versions is by David Allan Coe. Coe released the song on his third album The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy (1974), which was also his first album devoted entirely to country music. Coe, an outstanding songwriter himself, recognized songwriting talent, also including a song by Guy Clark on the album.
David Allan Coe Sings “33rd of August” from a Cell
But Newbury and his song “33rd of August,” obviously touched a special chord with Coe. Coe dedicated his album The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy to Newbury. On the album, he even included a letter he had written Newbury, including the line: “Freedom is knowing how to remember the weight of your chains once they’ve been removed, for each man feels his own pain in prison and each man must pull his own time.”
Coe’s references to “freedom” and “prison” were hard won. Coe was sent to reform school at age nine, and subsequently spent a number of years in correctional facilities, including three years serving time at the Ohio Penitentiary.
Around the time he released The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy (in 1974 or 1975), he sang “33rd of August” from one of the cells where he had spent time.
When is the 33rd of August?
When a song has a specific date in the title (such as Matthew Ryan’s “3rd of October“), it is logical to ask about the significance of that date to the song. Here, the song is not clear about the meaning behind the made-up date of August 33. So, one might also wonder when is the thirty-third of August since the month only has thirty-one days?
The logical answer, would be that it must be September 2, or two days after August 31. But of course, the song is not really about September 2 or the events of a specific date.
The song opens, apparently, at a train station with a reference to a typical train station welcoming party from film. There is a crowd there, but the band has left. The only remaining musician is a singer who cannot see. The person narrating the song came to town seeking salvation on the thirty-third of August.
Well, today there’s no salvation; The band’s packed up and gone; Left me standin’ with my penny in my hand; There’s a big crowd at the station, Where a blind man sings his songs; He can see what I can’t understand, It’s the thirty-third of August . . .
The singer is troubled, possibly addicted to drugs (with references to “I am finally touchin’ down” and “a thousand voices screamin’ through my brain”). The singer tells us he was once busted for vagrancy and spent time in jail. He has angry thoughts and demons dancing and singing inside his “fevered brain.”
It’s the thirty-third of August, And I am finally touchin’ down; Eight days from Sunday, Lord, Saturday bound.
So what is the significance of the “thirty-third of August” reference? Maybe the singer is trying to beat his addiction. But the day of redemption (Sunday) is farther away than the seven days of a week — it is eight days away. The singer cannot get to Sunday, instead bound for the day traditionally reserved for sinning, “Saturday bound.” And, if you count, “eight days from Sunday” if you are counting from today’s date, it would mean today is also Saturday.
So the singer is stuck on Saturday, trying to get to a Sunday that is out of reach. Similarly, like Sunday’s redemption, the thirty-third of August is a day that never comes.
So the singer is struggling for the salvation mentioned in the first line of the song, trying to get to the day traditionally associated with redemption, Sunday. But the singer remains locked in a cycle of Saturday nights, the traditional night of sin.
One line near the end of the song, though, provides a little hope for the singer, who declares, “Not all my God-like thoughts, Lord, are defiled.” In other words, the singer still has some good thoughts and is still struggling for salvation and has not given up. But that leaves us with the question of whether he would be better off if he had given up and was not reaching for something out of reach, like salvation, or the 33rd of August.
Of course, everyone is entitled to interpret a song in whatever way has meaning for them. Others have found other meaning in “33rd of August.” One commenter has explained, that the lyrics “capture a feeling of disorientation, despair, and resilience in the face of adversity. The lyrics paint a picture of a person trying to make sense of a confusing world while also finding inner strength and resilience.”
Others have found more specific meaning. Another writer has emphasized the religious connections in the song, going so far as to cite other references to the number “33” in the Bible. That author finds the rain the prisoner sees coming from his cell as the rain of redemption and cleansing.
Another website, lists “33rd of August” as an anti-war song, although it does not explain how it came to that conclusion. It does make sense that the narrator in the song might be a veteran of the Vietnam War. Traditionally, it is soldiers who might expect a band welcoming them at a train station. Many vets of that war also battled drug addiction and would have faced violent thoughts from their service.
And in the late 1960s, when the song was released, the war was on everyone’s minds, and so likely the songwriter Mickey Newbury might have placed the song in the voice of a veteran.
I haven’t found any interviews or performances where Newbury talks about the inspiration for “33rd of August.” Of course, listeners can hear whatever they hear.
But songwriter Mickey Newbury obviously felt a special connection to the song. On his album Looks Like Rain, used he a line of of the lyrics of “33rd of August”(“And outside my cell it sure as hell / It looks like rain”) as the title for the wonderful album that features the song.
Below is Newbury’s version of his song with the lyrics.
What do you think “33rd of August” is about? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The 1976 documentary Heartworn Highways provided insight into some of the legends of alternative country like Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, and Guy Clark. Director Jim Szalapski filled the film with vignettes of the singer-songwriters in their daily lives, providing a fly-on-the wall portrait of them. It is a film for music lovers, without a narrative story, that I found engaging.
Now, to celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of Heartworn Highways, director Wayne Price will be releasing Heartworn Highways Revisited.
The new film takes a look at some current outlaw country singers like Shelly Colvin, Matraca Berg, Bobby Bare Jr., Johnny Fritz, Robert Ellis, Shovels and Rope, Joshua Hedley, John McCauley, and Langhorne Slim. Some old-timers make appearances too, like Guy Clark and David Allan Coe. I am happy to see that rising star singer-songwriter Andrew Combs is in the film too.
Check out the promotional video below.
On the film’s website, Price writes, “With electronic laptop musicians commanding the airwaves, I am excited to bring us back to the ‘old school, with songwriters who only need their instrument and their experience to create music.”
Years ago, I loaned my copy of Heartworn Highways to a friend and never got it back. But I enjoyed the movie, which has some great moments like Van Zandt playing “Waitin’ Round To Die.” I still listen to the soundtrack.
Reportedly, there is no release date yet for the new film, but I am looking forward to the release of Heartworn Highways Revisited.
.