Lyrics

Why should the devil get all the good tunes?
The booze and the neon and the rhythm and blues
The swaying in the darkness and the lovers like spoons
Why should the devil get all the good tunes?

And why should the devil have all the real fun?
The fire and the freedom and the coming undone
The Saturday nights and the beating of the drums
Why should the devil have all the real fun?
CHORUS
My mama told me that the devil likes to dance
Dressed up in the shadows always looking for his chance
Snake in the garden wanna change my plans
I think the devil is a music man

Why should the devil get all the good tunes?
Does he sing ‘em on Sunday in those dim lit rooms
Rockin' out the jukebox making bad men swoon
Why should the devil get all the good tunes?

And why should the devil want to steal my soul?
This wretched ball of lonesome and this need to be whole
Just a lost little puppy always looking for a home
Why should the devil want to steal my soul?

CHORUS

If god’s so good why don’t he have soul?
Don’t he hear the music? Want to lose control?
Feel the heavy rhythm? Want to rock and roll?
If god’s so good why don’t he have soul?

Why should the devil get all the tunes?
The songs that make you sweat, the songs that make you move
The songs that make you feel like you got nothing to lose
Why should the devil get all the tunes?

And why should the devil keep me up at night?
Whisper in my ear, do what I like
Sounding so wrong but feeling so right
Why should the devil keep me up at night?

CHORUS

Why should the devil get all the good tunes?
The booze and the neon and the rhythm and blues
The swaying in the darkness and the lovers like spoons
Why should the devil get all the good tunes?

"Why Should the Devil" was inspired by the A.E. Stallings poem "Triolet on a Line Apocryphally Ascribed to Martin Luther” from the collection Olives. The song uses lines from the poem with permission. Copyright © 2012 by A.E. Stallings. Published 2012 by TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Press. All rights reserved.