To Beat the Devil (Live)

I, uh, had this song, um

And Chris, uh, saved my life

And, uh, I wouldn't, uh, I wouldn't be here

If it weren't for this song, if it weren't for Chris Christopherson

I'm havin' a hell of a hard enough time

For him sittin' right there as I play it

I had, uh, I'd had, you know

A rough time in Nashville, like a lot of people that get told no a lot

And I'd played that game, where, you know, "If I get told one

No one more time, I'm outta here

I'm packin' up, I'm, I'm goin' back to North Carolina"

And um, I went into this particular meeting

Knowin' that this was gonna be the meeting where it all happens

And uh, I remember I played probably half a song

And the guy said, uh, started waitin', he said

And he goes, um, "I don't know where you're from

I don't know much about ya, but I'd go back there"

And, and that's one time I was goin' to

And I went to my car in the parking lot of this publishing house

And I just got the Austin sessions on a CD

And the next song, was "To Beat the Devil"

And it talked about

It talked about the very thing I was, I was goin' through

So I decided to stay one more day after I got drunk

I got drunk first, then I stayed one more day

And the next day, I got a publishing deal, phone rang

And uh, so I'm here

I'm here because of that man, right there

It was wintertime in Nashville

Down on Music City road

And I's lookin' for a place to get myself outta the cold

To warm the frozen feelin' that was eatin' at my soul

Keep the chilly wind off my guitar

My thirsty wanted whiskey

But my hunger needed beans

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 could call it a tavern

Cigarette smoke to the ceiling and sawdust on the floor

Friendly shadows

I saw that there was just one old man sittin' at the bar

In the mirror, I could see him checkin' out me and my guitar

And he turned and said, "Come up here, boy

And show us who you are"

I said, "I'm dry", he bought me a beer

He nodded at my guitar and said, "It's a tough life, ain't it?"

I just looked at him

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

I said, "Mister, you been readin' my mail"

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

I got something you oughta hear"

And he laid it on me

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 by what they had 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 before failure had me locked out of both sides 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, he haunts a hungry man

If you don't wanna join him, you gotta beat him

I ain't sayin' I beat the Devil

But I did drink his beer for nothing

And I stole that son of a bitch's song

And you can still 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

Well, 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

Yeah, I don't believe that no one wants to know