Story Of The Ballad On The Devil's Backbone Tavern
Todd Snider Lyrics

Old Miss Virgy tended bar at this shack out in the hills
The singer describes a woman named Old Miss Virgy who owns a small bar in a remote area in the hills.

It never made her any money boys but paid of all her bills
Even though the bar never made much money, it was enough to cover Old Miss Virgy's expenses.

Now she must have been 80 years old but her heart was warm
Despite her age, Old Miss Virgy had a kind heart.

And her beer was cold
Old Miss Virgy served her beer chilled.

She gave away more than she ever sold
Old Miss Virgy was generous to her customers and often gave them free drinks.

Smiling all the time
Old Miss Virgy always had a pleasant smile on her face.

I used to sing off in the corner every Friday night
The singer would perform his music in a corner of the bar every Friday night.

To a loud crowd of cowboys, bikers and bar room fights
His audience consisted of rowdy cowboys, bikers, and people looking for fights.

They were drinking beer, carrying on, not a one of them listening to one of my songs
Although the crowd was loud and rowdy, they paid no attention to the artist's music.

But old Miss Virgy sang along
Old Miss Virgy was the only one in the bar who appreciated the artist's music and would sing along with him.

She said she knew 'em all by heart
Old Miss Virgy knew all of the singer's songs by heart.

And then one night after closing she poured me another beer
After the bar closed, Old Miss Virgy served the artist another beer.

She said "Come on over and sit down you little shit
Old Miss Virgy invited the singer to sit down and talk with her.

I got something you need to hear"
Old Miss Virgy had some words of wisdom to share with the singer.

She said "Life ain't easy getting through everybody's gonna make things tough on you
Old Miss Virgy acknowledged that life is difficult and that people will make things tough for the singer.

But I can tell you right now if you dig what you do, they will never get you down"
Old Miss Virgy encouraged the artist to keep doing what he loves and to not let anyone bring him down.

She said life's too short to worry
Old Miss Virgy believed that life is too short to worry about every little thing.

Life's too long to wait
However, life is also long enough that waiting for things is not productive.

Too short not to love everybody
Old Miss Virgy believed that it's important to love everyone, as life is too short to hold onto hate.

I meet a lot of men who haggle and finagle all the time
The artist has met many people who are always trying to save money or make a profit.

Trying to save a nickel or make a dime
These people are always looking to save a little bit of money or earn a small profit.

Not me, no sireee, I ain't got the time
The artist, however, is not interested in such things and doesn't have the time for them.

Now I ain't seen Ol' Virgy in must have been about ten years
The singer hasn't been to Old Miss Virgy's bar in about ten years.

I've been bumming around this country singing my songs for tips and beers
During this time, the artist has been travelling around the country, performing his music for small amounts of money.

Now the nights are long
The singer is often up late at night performing his music.

The driving's tough
Travelling around the country can be difficult and tiring.

Hotels stink, and the pay sucks
Staying in cheap hotels and making very little money is not ideal.

But I can't dig what I do enough, so it never gets be down
Despite the hardships of being a travelling musician, the artist loves what he does and refuses to let it bring him down.

I say life's too short to worry
The artist agrees with Old Miss Virgy's message that life is too short to worry.

Life's too long to wait
At the same time, life is long enough that waiting for things is not productive.

Too short not to love everybody
The singer also believes that it's important to love everyone in life, as it's too short to hold onto hate.

I meet a lot of men who haggle and finagle all the time
The artist reiterates that he has met many people who are always trying to save or make money.

Trying to save a nickel or make a dime
These people are always looking for ways to save a little bit of money or make a small profit.

Not me, no sireee, I ain't got the time
However, the artist believes that this approach to life is not for him and he doesn't have the time for it.