To Beat the Devil
Kris Kristofferson Lyrics

It was wintertime in Nashville
The story is set in wintertime in Nashville.

Down on Music City Row
The singer is on Music City Row, looking for a place to warm up.

And I was looking for a place
The singer is looking for a place to warm up.

And to get myself out of the cold
The artist is looking for a place to warm up.

To warm the frozen feeling that was eating at my soul
The artist is feeling cold and soulless.

Keep the chilly wind off my guitar
The singer wants to protect his guitar from the cold.

My thirsty wanted whiskey
The singer is thirsty for whiskey.

But my hunger needed beans
The artist is hungry for beans.

But it had been a month of paydays
The artist hasn't been paid in a month.

Since I'd heard that eagle scream
The artist hasn't been paid in a month.

So with a stomach full of empty
The singer is hungry and broke.

And a pocket full of dreams
The artist is hopeful.

I left my pride and stepped inside a bar
The singer enters a bar, willing to ask for help.

Actually I'd guess you'd call it a tavern
The bar is more like a tavern.

Cigarette smoke to the ceiling
The tavern is full of cigarette smoke.

And sawdust on the floor
The tavern is old-fashioned and rustic.

Friendly shadows
The bar is not crowded.

I saw that there was just one old man sitting at the bar
There is only one person sitting at the bar, an old man.

And in the mirror I could see him checking me and my guitar
The old man is checking out the singer and his guitar.

And he turned and said,
The old man spoke to the artist.

Come up here, boy, and show us what you are
The old man invites the artist to play.

I said I'm dry, and he bought me a beer
The old man buys the artist a beer.

He nodded at my guitar and said,
The old man acknowledges the singer's guitar.

It's a tough life, ain't it?
The old man empathizes with the artist.

I just looked at him
The singer didn't respond to the old man.

He said, you ain't making any money, are you?
The old man assumes the singer doesn't have any money.

I said, you been reading my mail
The singer confirms the old man's assumption.

He just smiled and said, let me see that guitar
The old man is interested in the guitar.

I got something you ought to hear
The old man has something to share with the artist.

If you waste your time a talking
The old man starts reciting a poem he wrote.

To the people who don't listen
The old man talks about people who don't listen.

To the things that you are saying
The old man talks about things that aren't being heard.

Who do you thinks gonna hear?
The old man asks who will listen if you're speaking to people who don't hear you.

And if you should die explaining how
The old man talks about trying to explain things.

The things that they complain about
The old man talks about things that people complain about.

Are things they could be changing
The old man suggests solutions to those complaints.

Who do you thinks gonna care?
The old man questions if anyone cares about things that could be changed.

There were other lonely singers
The old man talks about other musicians.

In a world turned deaf and blind
The old man talks about a world that doesn't listen.

Who were crucified for what they tried to show
The old man talks about other musicians who faced criticism.

And their voices have been scattered by the swirling winds of time
The old man talks about how those musicians are forgotten over time.

‘Cause the truth remains that no one wants to know
The old man says that people don't want to know the truth.

Well the old man was a stranger
The singer doesn't know the old man well.

But I'd heard his song before
The artist is familiar with the old man's music.

Back when failure had me locked out
The artist faced failure in the past.

On the wrong side of the door
The artist was on the wrong side of success.

When no one stood behind me
The singer was alone during tough times.

But my shadow on the floor
The artist only had his shadow for company.

And lonesome was more than a state of mind
Feeling alone was more than a feeling for the singer.

You see, the devil haunts a hungry man
The singer talks about how hunger can lead to bad choices.

If you don't want to join him
The singer talks about resisting temptation.

You gotta beat him
The artist talks about defeating temptation.

I ain't saying I beat the devil
The artist doesn't claim to have defeated temptation.

But I drank his beer for nothing
The singer took advantage of temptation.

Then I stole his song
The singer references a metaphor for borrowing the old man's wisdom.

And you still can hear me singing
The artist is still making music and getting his message out.

To the people who don't listen
The artist is still speaking to those who don't listen.

To the things that I am saying
The artist is still trying to share his thoughts.

Praying someone's gonna hear
The singer is hoping someone is listening.

And I guess I'll die explaining how
The artist talks about what he expects to happen.

The things that they complain about
The singer talks about people's complaints.

Are things they could be changing
The singer thinks there are solutions to these complaints.

Hoping someone's gonna care
The singer is hoping someone will take action.

I was born a lonely singer
The artist talks about his origins.

And I'm bound to die the same
The artist is anticipating the future.

But I've gotta feed the hunger in my soul
The singer has a strong desire to create music.

And if I never have a nickel
The singer isn't worried about making money.

I won't ever die ashamed
The artist is proud of his work.

‘Cause I don't believe that no one wants to know
The artist still has hope that people will listen to his message.