To Beat the Devil

It was wintertime in Nashville

Down on music row

And I was lookin' for a place

To get myself out of the cold

To warm the frozen feelin'

That was eatin' at my soul

And keep the chilly wind off me and my guitar

Well my thirst, he wanted whiskey

And my hungry needed beans

But it'd been a month of paydays

Since I'd heard that eagle scream

So with a stomach full of empty

And a pocket full of dreams

I left my pride and stepped inside a bar

Actually, I guess you'd call it a tavern

Cigarette smoke to the ceiling and sawdust on the floor

Friendly shadows

Well I saw that there was just one old man

That was sittin' at the bar

And in the mirror I could see him

Checkin' me and my guitar

And he turned and he said

"Come up here, boy, and show us what you are"

I said, "I'm dry"

He bought me a beer

Then he nodded at my guitar, and he said

"It's a tough life, ain't it?"

I just looked at him, and he said

"You ain't makin' any money, are you?"

I said, "you been readin' my mail"

He just smiled and said, "let me see that guitar

I got somethin' you oughta hear"

Then he laid it on my ear

"If you waste your time a'talkin'

To the people who don't listen

To the things that you are sayin'

Who do you think's gonna hear?

And if you should die explainin'

How the things that they complain about

Are things they could be changin'

Who do you think's gonna care?"

There were other lonely singers

In a world turned deaf and blind

Who were crucified for what they tried to show

And their voices have been scattered

By the swirling winds of time

'Cause the truth remains that no one wants to know

Well, the old man was a stranger

But I'd heard his song before

Back when failure had me locked out

On the wrong side of the door

When no one stood behind me

But my shadow on the floor

And lonesome was more than a state of mind

You see, the devil haunts a hungry man

And if you don't wanna join him

Well, you gotta beat him

I ain't sayin' I beat the devil

But I drank his beer for nothin'

And then I stole his song

And you still can hear me singin'

To the people who don't listen

To the things that I am sayin'

Prayin' someone's gonna hear

And I guess I'll die explainin'

How the things that they complain about

Are things they could be changin'

Hopin' someone's gonna care

I was born a lonely singer

And I'm bound to die the same

But I've gotta feed the hunger in my soul

And if I never have a nickel

I won't ever die ashamed

'Cause I don't believe that no one wants to know