Nothing Sacred

Nothing Sacred is the eleventh studio album by American country musician David Allan Coe. Released in 1978, it is Coe's fourth independent album, after Penitentiary Blues, Requiem for a Harlequin and Buckstone County Prison. Nothing Sacred was noted for its profane and sexually explicit lyrics, and was released solely by mail order. History In the late 1970s, Coe lived in Key West, Florida, and Shel Silverstein played his album Freakin' at the Freakers Ball for Coe, who proceeded to play a series of his own comedic songs. Silverstein encouraged him to record the songs, leading to the production of this album. Nothing Sacred was released as a mail order-only release, initially advertised in the back pages of the biker magazine Easyriders; another album of similar material, Underground Album, followed in 1982. Lyrics The lyrics of Nothing Sacred are profane, often sexually explicit and describe an orgy in Nashville's Centennial Park and sex with pornographic film star Linda Lovelace. The album also contains songs insulting Jimmy Buffett and Anita Bryant. Buffett had accused Coe of plagiarizing the melody of "Divers Do It Deeper" from Buffett's "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes", stating "I would have sued him, but I didn't want to give Coe the pleasure of having his name in the paper." Coe wrote the song "Jimmy Buffett" in response to the success of Buffett's song; Coe notes that Buffett moved from Key West to Malibu, California, and suggests that he and Buffett "get drunk and screw". Reception Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 3/5 stars The album was generally criticized as being profane and crude. Neil Strauss described the album's material as "among the most racist, misogynist, homophobic and obscene songs recorded by a popular songwriter." Allmusic, which did not review the album, gave it three out of five stars.