Devil, Devil (Prelude: Princess of Darkness)

This town, she is a temptress
A siren with gold eyes, she'll cut you with her kindness
She will lead you with her lies
She's been called a glistening devil
She's good at keeping score
If you make it she's your savior, if you don't she's a whore
The roads to and from her heart are littered with grave souls
They gave all of their all and all they got in return is empty holes
Sure we've all heard about Shell, and Chris, Willy and Bobby Bares
She'd smiled on the Johnny's, the Merle's and the Music Row millionaires
Like a beacon she goes seeking seed, her loins so fertile
To a free man she's a prison, to a caged one she's a fire

She's the reason there's a "Sunday Morning Coming Down"
"I Saw The Light", "A Boy Named Sue", "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
"The Pill" and "16th Avenue"
The Ryman, oh, she's a diamond in the crown of that wicked queen
She was Roy Acuff's castle and Elvis Presley's broken dream
It's not all bad it's not all dark it's not all gloom and crass
But to find gold in this silver mine it does take balls of brass
For she's seen 'em come and seen 'em go
And came herself a time or two
No matter how satisfied her screams sound she always wants someone new
The next him or them or her or all with stamina to last the night
To be a star in this lady's town, you can fuck or you can fight

You see, it all comes down to money
Not romantic art of days gone past
If you forget that rule, you can bet your backside she will bury it in your ass
A tramp, a slut, a bitch, a mutt, a thousand pawn shop guitars
A nasty little needle to a vein that feeds a singer's heart
She lurks in friendly shadows; but she's a junky with a limp
The agents are her bookie and the labels are her pimp
I'll tell you a well-known secret of a tiny place known far and wide
The devil walks among us folks and Nashville is his bride

Of all the chaos he has caused, and done
His greatest trick is to every guitar-totin' dreamer
The devil don't exist... but me, I shook his hand
And I know that he is real
So devil, you can go screw yourself, and then go straight to hell