I'm working on the very end of my book on the devil and the blues tradition, and I want to briefly survey stuff from the last decade or so. I've downloaded a lot of songs and am transcribing like crazy.
Does somebody here have the lyrics for Jason's "Done With the Devil," off the album by the same name? I just need the lyrics to that one song. I'm pretty sure they're in the liner notes. I'd be hugely grateful if somebody would either post them here or email them to me (asgussow at aol dot com). Thanks. (And yes: I could take the time to transcribe them myself. But I've got another dozen songs and I'm trying to economize.)
Hang in there Adam. I looked all over the web to no avail. I then went to Jason's website and e-mailed him to ask for a copy of the lyrics. I'll send them to you if and when he sends them to me. ----------
An interesting topic. That is book I will be looking for when it is published.
I have found this devilish little musical tale , L'Histore du Soldat, written by Stravinsky in 1918, fascinating since I first heard it when I was in high school.
While Stravinsky is not a blues musician, he was radical, and this was written when he was down and out and trying to find a way to make a living. I was wondering if perhaps you had come across it in your studies of the devil in music, and if you see any connection with the blues tradition, besides the common ancient root story of selling ones soul to the devil?
It wants to tell you lies Wants to advertise It won't compromise It comes in disguise
It will hypnotize It can paralyze You won't vocalize Feelings of demise
You'll be ostracized It laughs and does not cry You'll never exercise It sees out your eyes
Three knocks at the door This ain't no folklore It's a dirty force You cannot divorce
Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you
When your life resolves Back inside it crawls Its blood will stain your walls Your body is its halls
Your words become its call It's apt to be your fall It is you, after all It stands 10 feet tall
Three knocks at the door This ain't no folklore It's a dirty force You cannot divorce
Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you
-- break --
It wants to tell you lies Wants to advertise It won't compromise It comes in disguise
It will hypnotize It can paralyze You won't vocalize Feelings of demise
You'll be ostracized It laughs and does not cry You'll never exercise It sees out your eyes
Three knocks at the door This ain't no folklore It's a dirty force You cannot divorce
Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you
-- break --
Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you
-- short break --
Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you Done with the devil, but Devil ain't done with you...
Thanks Garry, great to listen along with the lyrics. I only have doubts about one word.
You'll be ostracized It laughs and does not cry You'll never exorcise It sees out your eyes
'exercise' sounds very very similar but I think 'exorcise' fits in more with the song subject matter.
Head phones and volume required to catch it. ---------- MBH Webbrain - a GUI guide to Adam's Youtube vids FerretCat Webbrain - Jason Ricci's vids (by hair colour!)
Thanks, Garry! That's exactly the sort of answer I hoped for.
In my devil/blues project, I've transcribed more than a hundred songs. I always start by googling the song title plus the word lyrics. Half the time somebody has put the lyrics up on line--and almost all the time they've gotten at least a few words wrong. (I just did one where they got most of the lyrics laughably wrong.)
As long as I've got something to start with, I'm good. I'm sure you're 99% there, or maybe 100% there. I'll go over the song first thing this morning and will get back to you later, in this thread.
Garry: I've just listened with headphones. Great job! I, too, had "exercise," but I think bluemoose is right: "exorcise" makes much more sense.
One more tiny change: after the first break, you've got a verse that has "Wants to advertise" as the second line. That's what he says the first time around, but this time around, the line is "It wants to advertise." A tiny difference, signifying nothing.
Please email me (asgussow at aol dot com) with your full name so I can credit you in the book's footnotes.
I could use help on a few words from Johnny Sansone's "The Lord is Waiting and the Devil is Too". I'm having trouble with the end of the second verse
Johnny Sansone, “The Lord is Waiting and the Devil is Too” (2011)
Well the lord is waiting and the devil is too Better find the lord…before I find you I said the lord is waiting and the devil is too Will I find the lord….before I find you?
I got a trigger already pulled I’m speaking in tongues like you’ve never heard Ideas running in my head They’ve got a [unintelligible] and the light is lit
I’m working on a job that will never be done Don’t even have time to polish my gun Because the lord is waiting and the devil is too You better find the lord before I find you [Said] The lord is waiting and the devil is too You better find the lord before I find you
You’re planning your trouble, your trouble has groove I keep on doing the only thing I know [Whatcha know, whatcha know whatcha know] Well I ain’t crazy, but I ain’t right Gimme what I want and I’ll save your life
Because the lord is waiting and the devil is too Better find the lord before I find you Well the lord is waiting and the devil is too Will I find the lord before I find you?
I came from the bottom, from the bottom I rose You can’t change the path that I chose You the only one that got something to lose I’ll only give you thirty seconds for you to chose.
[Cause] The lord is waiting and the devil is too Better the lord before I find you The lord is waiting and the devil is too You better find the lord before I find you You better find the lord before I find you You better find the lord before I find you You better find the lord before I find you
Last Edited by kudzurunner on May 18, 2015 8:07 AM
Not precisely blues, but close enough to be covered by both John Hammond and Screamin' Jay Hawkins:
Heartattack and Vine
Liar liar with your pants on fire white spades hangin on the telephone wire gamblers reevaluate along the dotted line you'll never recognize yourself on Heartattack and Vine
doctor lawyer beggar man thief Philly Joe Remarkable looks on in disbelief if you want a taste of madness you have to wait in line you'll probably see someone you know on Heartattack and Vine
Boney's high on china white Shorty found a punk don't you know there ain't no devil theres just god when he's drunk well this stuff will probably kill you lets do another line what you say you meet me down on Heartattack and Vine
see that little Jersey girl in the see through top with the pedal pushers suckin on a soda pop well I bet shes still a virgin it's only twenty-five to nine you can see a million of em on Heartattack and Vine
better off in Iowa against your scrambled eggs than crawlin down Cahuenga on a broken pair of legs you'll find your ignorance is blissful every goddamn time you're waitin for the RTD on Heartattack and Vine
Boney's high on china white Shorty found a punk don't you know there ain't no devil thats just god when he's drunk well this stuff will probably kill you let's do another line what you say you meet me down on Heartattack and Vine
liar liar with your pants on fire white spade hangin on the telephone wire gamblers reevaluate along the dotted line you'll never recognize yourself on Heartattack and Vine
doctor lawyer beggar man thief Philly Joe Remarkable looks on in disbelief if you want a taste of madness you'll have to wait in line you'll probably see someone you know on Heartattack and Vine
see that little Jersey girl in the see through top with the pedal pushers suckin on a soda pop well I'll bet she's still a virgin but it's only twenty-five to nine you can see a million of em on Heartattack and Vine
Boney's high on china white Shorty found a punk don't you know there ain't no devil thats just god when he's drunk well this stuff will probably kill you let's do another line what you say you meet me down on Heartattack and Vine
Nice one! I wasn't familiar with that, but those are some remarkable lyrics.
As I go through the music of the past 15 years, tracking down devil blues recordings, I'm surprised by the two artists who have each plumbed this particular lyric vein more than any other: John Mayall and Popa Chubby. Mayall has actually written four or five devil blues over the years, including "When the Devil Starts Crying," "I Thought I Heard the Devil," and "Speak of the Devil," all in the last 20 years.
Popa Chubby has "Somebody Let the Devil Out," "The Devil Gonna Drag You Down," "Slide Devil Man Slide" and "The Devil's Guitar," all in the last 13 years.
There's actually been a renaissance of devil blues since the mid-1990s--which I would attribute to several different factors, including the extraordinary popularity of Robert Johnson's Collected Recordings (1990), the turn-of-the-millennium and its anxieties, and the shock of 9/11.
When you walk through the garden You gotta watch your back Well I beg your pardon Walk the straight and narrow track When you walk with Jesus He's gonna save your soul You got to keep the devil You gotta keep him Down in the hole
He's got the fire people He's got the fury At his command You don't have to worry Hold on to hold on to Jesus' hand We'll all be safe from Satan when the thunder When the thunder starts to roll We got to keep the devil keep him on down Down in the hole
That red horned lousy low life Underneath our boots Praise the Lord I don't know what it is Two dollar That demon meister Three dollar That prince devil Just see if you can come up with a figure That matches your faith You say how much has Jesus done for you And we got to go in with our Hydraulic system and blast him out People can I get an amen
All the angels They start to sing All about Jesus' mighty sword And they'll shield you with their wings People they'll keep you close to the Lord Now don't pay heed to temptation For his hands are so cold You gotta keep the Devil Keep him on down in the hole Down in the hole Down in the hole Down in the hole
Well people I got to speak about something Can I get an amen Can I get a hallelujah Praise the lord Have mercy The lord is a very very busy man I do what I can But Jesus is always going for the big picture But he's always there to help us out of the little jams too
Down in the hole Down in the hole Down in the hole Keep him down in the hole We got to keep the Devil Down in the hole We got to keep the Devil Keep him on down in the hole
Down Down down down Mighty devil I send you down below my boots Down down Filling my life With anger and strife Go down mighty Devil Find a place to live Down down down
(The covers usually leave out the sermonizing.)
Last Edited by timeistight on May 18, 2015 9:36 AM
I agree that exorcise makes more sense. I always took it as a wry comment about not taking care of yourself. But yeah, exorcise.
It's funny, I didn't have this saved anywhere I would have expected to find it, but then I did a full disk search and it turned up in a tmp directory. Lucky break.
Sorry don't get back here much anymore. Those lyrics are exactly right (Thank you) they are hard to memorize cause they are all so similar and it is "exorcise". Thanks dudes. ---------- www.mooncat.org
Hi Adam, I am glad to see that Moon Cat confirmed the lyrics from garry as I did not receive a reply to my e-mail from May 15th. Understand as he's a very busy person. ----------
Sorry Owen, Im not very good at the whole phone/internet thing and then I get home to my actual computer and most the questions/emails are either resolved, obsolete or sometimes unfortunately get buried and never answered. ---------- www.mooncat.org
