To Beat The Devil

It was winter time in Nashville, down on music city 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 thirsty wanted whisky and my hungry needed beans
 But it'd been of 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 could call it a Tavern
 Cigarette smoke to the ceilin' 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
 An' he turned and 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've been readin' my mail"
 He just smiled and said
 "Let me see that guitar
 I've got some you oughta hear"
 Then he'd 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 swirlin' 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 got to beat him
 I ain't sayin' I beat the devil, but I drank his beer for nothing
 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 got to feed the hunger in my soul
 And if I never have a nickle, I won't ever die ashamed
 'Cause I don't believe that no-one wants to know