The devil walked into Linebaugh's
On a rainy Nashville night
While the lost souls sat and sipped their soup
In the sickly neon light
And the devil, he looked around the room
Then got down on his knees
He says, "Is there one among you scum
Who'll roll the dice with me?"
Well, Red, he just strums his guitar
Pretending not to hear
And Eddie, he just looks away
And sips on his beer
Vince, he says, "Not me, I'll pass
I've had my share of hell"
And kept scribbling on a napkin
Some song she's thought would sell
Ronnie just kept whispering low
To the snuff queen clutching his sleeve
And somebody coughed, and the devil scoffed
And turned on his heels to leave
"Hold on" says a voice from the back of the room
"Before you walk out that door
If you're looking for some action, friend
Well, I've rolled them dice before"
And there stood Billy Markham
He's been on the scene for years
Singing all them raunchy songs
That the town didn't want to hear
He'd been cut and bled a thousand times
And his eyes were wise and sad
All his songs were the songs of the street
And all his luck was bad
"I know you" says Billy Markham
"From many a dark and funky place
But you always spoke in a different voice
And wore a different face
Me, I've gambled here on Music Row
With hustlers and with whores
And, hell, I ain't afraid to roll them
Devilish dice of yours"
"Well, then, get down" says the devil
"Just as if you was gonna pray
And take these dice in your luckless hand
And I'll tell you how this game is played
You get one roll and you bet your soul
And if you roll thirteen you win
And all the joys of flesh and gold
Are yours to touch and spend
But if that thirteen don't come up
Then you can kiss your ass goodbye
And will your useless bones to God
Cause your goddamn soul is mine"
"Thirteen?" says Billy
"Hell, I've played in tougher games
I've loved ambitious women
And I've rode on wheelless trains
So gimme a room, you stinking fiend
And let it all unwind
Nobody's ever rolled a thirteen yet
But this just might be the time"
Then Billy Markham, he takes the dice
And the dice feels heavy as stones
"They should, they should" the devil says
"Cause they're carved from Jesus' bones"
And Billy Markham he turns the dice
And the dice, they have no spots
"I'm sorry," says the devil
"But they're the only dice I got"
"Well, shit" says Billy Markham
"Now, I really don't mean to bitch
But I never thought I'd stake my roll
In a sucker's game like this"
"Well, then, walk off" says the devil
"Nobody's tied you down"
"Walk off where?" says Billy Markham
"It's the only game in town
But I just wanna say before I make my play
That if I should chance to lose
I will this guitar to some would-be star
Who'll play some honest blues
Who ain't afraid to sing the words
Like "damn" or "shit" or "fuck"
And who ain't afraid to put his ass on the stage
Where he makes his bucks
But if he plays this guitar safe
And sings some sugary lies
I'll haunt him till we meet in hell
Now, gimme them fucking dice"
And Billy Markham shakes the dice
And yells, "Come on, thirteen"
And the dice, they roll and they come up blank
"You lose" the devil screams
"I must say before we go our way
That I really do like your style
Of all the fools I've played and beat
You're the first one who lost with a smile"
"Well, I'll tell you something" Billy Markham says
"Those odds weren't too damn bad
In fourteen years on Music Row
That's the best damn chance I've had"
Then, arm in arm, Billy Markham and the devil
Walk out through Linebaugh's door
Leaving Billy's old beat-up guitar
There on the floor
And if you go into Linebaugh's now
You can see it there today
Hanging from a nail
On the wall of peeling gray
It's Billy Markham's old guitar
That nobody dares to play