Steve Earle (born Stephen Fain Earle on January 17, 1955 in San Antonio, Te… Read Full Bio ↴Steve Earle (born Stephen Fain Earle on January 17, 1955 in San Antonio, Texas) is a singer-songwriter best known for his country music and rock 'n roll tinged "alt-country." He is also a published writer, a keen political activist (particularly in protesting against the death penalty in the U.S., as in his song "Ellis Unit One" from the movie Dead Man Walking), and has written and directed a play. Earle also had small roles on the HBO television shows "The Wire" and "Treme". His sister Stacey Earle is also an acclaimed singer-songwriter, as is his most recent wife, Allison Moorer, whom he wed in 2005. His first son from an earlier marriage is the singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle, named for Earle's hero Townes Van Zandt.

Earle was born in Fort Monroe, Virginia, and grew up near San Antonio, Texas. His father, Jack Earle, was an air traffic controller. Although he was born in Virginia where his father was stationed, the family returned to Texas before Earle's second birthday. They moved several times but Earle grew up primarily in the San Antonio area.
Earle began learning the guitar at the age of 11 and placed in a talent contest at his school at age 13. He is reported to have run away from home at age 14 to follow his idol, singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt around Texas. Earle was "rebellious" as a youngster and dropped out of school at the age of 16. He moved to Houston with his 19-year-old uncle, who was also a musician, where he married and worked odd jobs. While in Houston Earle finally met Van Zandt, who became his hero and role model.

In 1975, at the age of 20, Earle moved to Nashville and began working as a songwriter. In these early days, he recorded with Guy Clark and Emmylou Harris. He finally scored a country hit in 1981, writing Johnny Lee's top ten cut "When You Fall in Love." Earle's early work as a performer tended towards the rockabilly sound, popular at the time. In 1986, his first proper album Guitar Town was a critical and commercial success. It sold over 300,000 copies and led some to herald him as a saviour of country music.

Earle long struggled with drug abuse. His addiction eventually caused a departure from performing and recording after he was dropped by MCA in 1991. Whilst in jail on drug and firearm charges, he kicked the habit and returned to music after his release in 1994.

Earle's "second, post-jail, musical career" has been more stylistically diverse than his early material, dipping in acoustic, bluegrass, and roots rock sounds. I Feel Alright and Transcendental Blues met with good reviews and decent sales. 2002's somewhat controversial Jerusalem was one of the first albums to directly address the September 11 attacks. It brought Earle's leftist views to media attention, especially the song "John Walker's Blues."

His latest album of original material I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive was released in 2011. Songfacts reports that one of the tracks, This City, got played on HBO’s New Orleans based show Treme several months before the album‘s release. Earle, who plays a recurring street musician, composed the song especially for the drama series.

Earle has also released a tribute album of material written by friend and mentor Townes Van Zandt, entitled Townes.

For more information and photographs of Steve Earle go to his official website, www.SteveEarle.com.

The Tennessee Kid
Steve Earle Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

On Mardi Gras day the Tennessee kid
Awoke in a puddle
Of his own worst fears
Haunted by the ghost
Of vague remembrance
No corporeal beast he could name
So the kid invoked Lucifer himself
With oaths most grievously discourteous

And charged him submit
Forthwith to atone
At the crossroads
Celebrated in song
Come on

Up jumped the devil
In the middle of the thoroughfare
"Who dares to utter my most secret name?"
He roared
But the kid yielded not so much as an inch
To uncertainty
Steadfast he rejoined the enemy in kind
"Old patch then, Satan, Mephistopheles,
Beelzebub
By any other name you ain't nothin'
Like a rose"
Then he girded his loins for the
Ensuing onslaught
But the devil only shrugged and the kid
Shuddered when he hissed he said

Hey hey hey hey
Hey hey hey hey
Hey hey hey hey
The balance comes due someday

Wait just one goddamn minute cried the kid
From the cumberland
You never mention nothin'
'Bout no kinda note
Just said, sign here, it's just a soul
You'll never miss it
I ain't set foot in a church since I was just
A little ol' thang
Reckoned I was headed straight to hell
By the highway
No matter how long and how hard
That I prayed
So I might as well learn how to make
This guitar talk
Somebody said ol' Bob Johnson
Came down this way
And Devil say

Hey hey hey hey
Hey hey hey hey
Hey hey hey hey
When the balance comes due someday

And the monster raised himself up
To the fullness of his stature
Black wings eclipsing a sanguine
Mississippi moon
Behold behemoth the trampler
Of infidels,
He who sweeps away nations
With a flick of his tail
Theopolis, Agrrippa, Faustus, Paganini
Lurid and long is the tale of my prey
Question not the ironclad bond
Of my surety
Set down here in blood
In your very own hand

And the Tennessee kid cast an eye
On the list where his mark
Was indeed clearly inscribed
And he fell to his knees
But it was too late to pray
And with his very last breath he did say

Hey hey hey hey
Hey hey hey hey

Hey hey hey hey
The balance comes due someday

Overall Meaning

The song "The Tennessee Kid" by Steve Earle & The Dukes is an intriguing story about a man who wakes up on Mardi Gras day in a state of fear and uncertainty. He is haunted by a vague memory of an event in his past and decides to invoke Lucifer himself to atone for his sins. The devil appears in the middle of the street and demands to know who has dared to utter his secret name. The Tennessee kid responds to the devil's threats with equal force, refusing to back down or show any fear. In the end, the Tennessee kid realizes that it is too late to escape his fate, and he falls to his knees, accepting the consequences of his choices.

The lyrics capture the essence of the human condition, where we all fear the consequences of our past choices and the uncertainty of our future. The Tennessee kid's story represents a classic Faustian bargain, where he sells his soul to the devil in exchange for musical talent. The song is a complex narrative that begs for multiple interpretations, but one thing is clear, the Tennessee kid is facing the ultimate price of his actions.

Line by Line Meaning

On Mardi Gras day the Tennessee kid
The story begins on Mardi Gras day with the Tennessee kid

Awoke in a puddle
The Tennessee kid woke up in a puddle

Of his own worst fears
The puddle symbolized his worst fears,

Haunted by the ghost
The Tennessee kid was haunted by the ghost of an unknown memory,

Of vague remembrance
which he couldn't quite remember in detail.

No corporeal beast he could name
He couldn't put a name to this haunting memory,

So the kid invoked Lucifer himself
So the Tennessee kid called upon the devil to help him remember the memory,

With oaths most grievously discourteous
Using offensive language,

And charged him submit
He asked the devil to reveal the memory to him.

Forthwith to atone
He asked him to confess and apologize for any wrongdoing.

At the crossroads
He wanted the devil to come clean at a famous crossroad location

Celebrated in song
where there are traditions that are known in songs.

Up jumped the devil
The devil appeared when summoned.

In the middle of the thoroughfare
In a public place where he can be easily seen.

"Who dares to utter my most secret name?"
The devil asked who summoned him.

But the kid yielded not so much as an inch
The kid stood firm and didn't show any fear.

To uncertainty
He didn't let any doubt show.

Steadfast he rejoined the enemy in kind
He stood his ground and stood up to the devil.

"Old patch then, Satan, Mephistopheles,
He then called the devil by different names in a mocking manner.

Beelzebub
Those names included Beelzebub.

By any other name you ain't nothin'
Regardless of what he is called he is nothing.

Like a rose"
A reference to a famous line from Romeo and Juliet

Then he girded his loins for the
The kid prepared himself for a battle.

Ensuing onslaught
The anticipated attack from the devil.

But the devil only shrugged and the kid
However, the devil wasn't interested in attacking,

Shuddered when he hissed he said
He became frightened when the devil spoke,

"Hey hey hey hey, Hey hey hey hey, Hey hey hey hey, The balance comes due someday"
The devil warned that the kid will have to pay back one day.

Wait just one goddamn minute cried the kid
The Tennessee kid finally realized that the contract he made with the devil is binding.

From the cumberland
He protested that he wasn't warned about the consequences.

You never mention nothin'
He complains that there was no mention of notes or any warning before he signed.

'Bout no kinda note
He was never told about any debt or payment.

Just said, sign here, it's just a soul
The devil had tricked him into signing.

You'll never miss it
He had been convinced that his soul is of no value and it would not be missed.

I ain't set foot in a church since I was just
The kid admits that he hasn't been religious since he was young,

A little ol' thang
but now realizes that he is facing the consequences of his decisions.

Reckoned I was headed straight to hell
He thought he was going to hell anyway,

By the highway
either way he was headed there.

No matter how long and how hard
Regardless of how much he prayed,

That I prayed
he was still going to hell, so he decided to make the best of what he had.

So I might as well learn how to make
He decided to learn how to make music on his guitar.

This guitar talk
to create something beautiful and meaningful with his life.

Somebody said ol' Bob Johnson
He believes that he could have become famous like Bob Johnson.

Came down this way
who may have made a similar deal with the devil.

And Devil say
The devil confirmed that.

"Hey hey hey hey, Hey hey hey hey, Hey hey hey hey, When the balance comes due someday"
The devil warns again that the payment will be due someday.

And the monster raised himself up
The devil appeared as a giant monster,

To the fullness of his stature
as tall as he could be.

Black wings eclipsing a sanguine
His black wings hid the red moon,

Mississippi moon
creating a dark and ominous atmosphere.

Behold behemoth the trampler
The devil was powerful trampler of non-believers,

Of infidels,
an enemy of faith,

He who sweeps away nations
The devil was capable of ruining and destroying entire nations.

With a flick of his tail
With the slightest move he could cause tremendous destruction.

Theopolis, Agrrippa, Faustus, Paganini
He listed the names of famous people who allegedly made deals with the devil.

Lurid and long is the tale of my prey
There are many who have been trapped by the devil,

Question not the ironclad bond
He warned not to question the validity of the contract,

Of my surety
as it's as sure as fate.

Set down here in blood
The contract was signed in blood.

In your very own hand
By his own hand.

And the Tennessee kid cast an eye
The kid saw his own name on the list of victims.

On the list where his mark
The contract had his name on it.

Was indeed clearly inscribed
It was impossible to deny his own signature.

And he fell to his knees
He realized that he would never be able to escape from his fate.

But it was too late to pray
It was too late to ask for forgiveness

And with his very last breath he did say
He spoke his last words before being taken by the devil.

"Hey hey hey hey, Hey hey hey hey, Hey hey hey hey, The balance comes due someday"
He repeated the warning of the devil: that the balance always comes due.

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEVE EARLE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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