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Invictus (Means) Unconquered, 1981
Written by Gary P. Nunn, 1973
This country singalong, about a Texan getting pretty sick of London's chill and reserve, was made famous by Jerry Jeff Walker, but his version is live and nearly eight minutes. Coe's version is easier to get down and keeps the easygoing swing and the catchy chorus ("I want to go home with the armadilla / Good country music from Amarilla and Abilene"). Nunn's lyric is witty and full of fun internal rhyme: "And I’ll substantiate the rumor that the English sense of humor / Is drier than the Texas sand." Coe leans into the humor without overdoing it, his drawl half-complaining, half-charmed. My favorite line is a quietly clever one: "And where in the world is that English girl / I promised I would meet on the third floor?" It reveals a Texan lost in translation, counting floors American-style and winding up one level off. It's a small joke, but a perfect one: homesickness rendered as cultural confusion.
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