The Devil And Billy Markham

Am   Em Am    Em


[Verse 1]
Am
The Devil walked into Linebaugh's
      Dm
on a rainy Nashville night
           E
While the lost souls sat and sipped 
their soup
        Am
in the sickly neon light.

And the Devil, he looked around the 
room,
      Dm
then got down on his knees.
                    E
He says, "Is there one among you 
scum
        Am
who'll roll the dice with me?"


[Verse 2]
Am
Well, Red, he just strums his 
guitar,
Dm
pretending not to hear.
     E
And Eddie, he just looks away
     Am
and sips on his beer.

Vince, he says, "Not me, I'll pass,
     Dm
I've had my share of Hell"
     D
And kept scribbling on a napkin,
      Am
some songs he thought would sell.


[Verse 3]
 Am
Ronnie just kept whisperin' low
         Dm
to the snuff queen clutching his 
sleeve,
       E
And somebody coughed, and the Devil 
scoffed,
     Am
and turned on his heels to leave.

"Hold on," says a voice  from the 
back of the room.
        Dm
"'fore you walk out that door.
      E
If you're lookin' for some action, 
friend,
      Am
well, I've rolled them dice before."


[Verse 4]
Am
And there stood Billy Markham,
          Dm
he's been on the scene for years,
         E
Singin' all them raunchy songs that 
the town
   Am
didn't want to hear.

He'd been cut and bled a thousand 
times,
         Dm
and his eyes were wise and sad,
E
All his songs were the songs of the 
street,
    Am
and all his luck was bad.


[Verse 5]
Am
"I know you," says Billy Markham,
       Dm
"from many a dark and funky place,
         E
But you always spoke in a different 
voice
     Am
and wore a different face.

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Me, I've gambled here on Music Row
       Dm
with hustlers and with whores,
      E
And, Hell, I ain't afraid to roll
       Am
them devilish dice of yours."


[Verse 6]
 Am
"Well, then, get down," says the 
Devil,
      Dm
"just as if you was gonna pray,
     E
And take these dice in your luckless
 hand
          Am
and I'll tell you how this game is 
played.

You get one roll and you bet your 
soul
             Dm
and if you roll thirteen you win,
     E
And all the joys of flesh and gold
     Am
are yours to touch and spend.


[Verse 7]
Am
But if that thirteen don't come up,
              Dm
then you can kiss your ass goodbye
     E
And will your useless bones to God,
             Am
'cause your goddamn soul is mine!"

"Thirteen?" says Billy.
              Dm
"Hell, I've played in tougher games.
      E
I've loved ambitious women
           Am
and I've rode on wheelless trains.


[Verse 8]
Am
So gimme room, you stinkin' fiend,
     Dm
and let it all unwind.
 E
Nobody's ever rolled a thirteen yet,
     Am
but this just might be the time."

Then Billy Markham, he takes the 
dice,
         Dm
and the dice feels heavy as stones.
       E
"They should, they should," the 
Devil says,
                 Am
"'cause they're carved from Jesus' 
bones."


[Verse 9]
 Am
And Billy Markham he turns the dice
         Dm
and the dice, they have no spots.
       E
"I'm sorry," says the Devil,
                  Am
"but they're the only dice I got."

"Well, shit," says Billy Markham.
          Dm
"Now, I really don't mean to bitch,
       E
But I never thought I'd stake my 
roll
       Am
in a sucker's game like this."


[Verse 10]
Am
"Well, then, walk off," says the 
Devil.
    Dm
"Nobody's tied you down."
       E
"Walk off where?" says Billy 
Markham.
           Am
"It's the only game in town.

But I just wanna say 'fore I make my
 play,
        Dm
that if I should chance to lose,
        E
I will my guitar to some would-be 
star
        Am
who'll play some honest blues,


[Verse 11]
Am
Who ain't afraid to sing the words
      Dm
like damn or shit or fuck
         E
And who ain't afraid to put his ass 
on the stage
 Am
where he makes his bucks.

But if he plays this guitar safe,
      Dm
and sings some sugary lies,
      E
I'll haunt him till we meet in Hell,
      Am
now, gimme them fuckin' dice."


[Verse 12]
Am
And Billy Markham shakes the dice
             Dm
and yells, "Come on, thirteen!"
         E
And the dice, they roll - and they 
come up blank.
      Am
"You lose!" the Devil screams.

"I must say 'fore we go our way
         Dm
that I really like your style.
    E
Of all the fools I've played and 
beat,
            Am
you're the first one who lost with a
 smile."


[Verse 13]
Am
"Well, I'll tell you somethin'," 
Billy Markham says.
        Dm
"Those odds weren't too damn bad.
    E
In fourteen years on Music Row,
            Am
that's the best damn chance I've 
had."

Then, arm in arm, Billy Markham
          Dm
and the Devil walk out through 
Linebaugh's door,
         E
Leavin' Billy's old beat-up guitar
 Am
there on the floor.


[Otro]
Am
And if you go into Linebaugh's now,
         Dm
you can see it there today
 E
Hangin' from a nail
        Am
on the wall of peelin' gray
       F
It's Billy Markham's old guitar
       E              Am
That nobody dares to play.