To Beat The Devil – English Lyrics

• By: Johnny Cash

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

It was winter time in Nashville, down on music city row

And I was lookin' for a place to get myself out of the cold

To warm the frozen feelin' that was eatin' at my soul

And keep the chilly wind off me and my guitar

Well my thirsty wanted whisky and my hungry needed beans

But it'd been of month of paydays since I'd heard that eagle scream

So with a stomach full of empty and a pocket full of dreams

I left my pride and stepped inside a bar

Actually, I guess you'd could call it a Tavern

Cigarette smoke to the ceilin' and sawdust on the floor

Friendly shadows

Well I saw that there was just one old man that was sittin' at the bar

And in the mirror I could see him checkin' me and my guitar

An' he turned and said: "Come up here boy, and show us what you are"

I said: "I'm dry." He bought me a beer

Then he nodded at my guitar and he said

"It's a tough life, ain't it?"

I just looked at him, and he said

"You ain't makin' any money, are you?"

I said, "You've been readin' my mail"

He just smiled and said

"Let me see that guitar

I've got some you oughta hear"

Then he'd laid it on my ear

If you waste your time a-talkin' to the people who don't listen

To the things that you are sayin', who do you think's gonna hear

And if you should die explainin' how the things that they complain about

Are things they could be changin', who do you think's gonna care?

There were other lonely singers in a world turned deaf and blind

Who were crucified for what they tried to show

And their voices have been scattered by the swirlin' winds of time

'Cause the truth remains that no-one wants to know

Well, the old man was a stranger, but I'd heard his song before

Back when failure had me locked out on the wrong side of the door

When no-one stood behind me but my shadow on the floor

And lonesome was more than a state of mind

You see, the devil haunts a hungry man

And if you don't wanna join him, well, you got to beat him

I ain't sayin' I beat the devil, but I drank his beer for nothing

And then I stole his song

And you still can hear me singin' to the people who don't listen

To the things that I am sayin', prayin' someone's gonna hear

And I guess I'll die explainin' how the things that they complain about

Are things they could be changin', hopin' someone's gonna care

I was born a lonely singer, and I'm bound to die the same

But I've got to feed the hunger in my soul

And if I never have a nickle, I won't ever die ashamed

'Cause I don't believe that no-one wants to know

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
beat /biːt/ A2	verb - to defeat
devil /ˈdevəl/ B1	noun - the personification of evil
hungry /ˈhʌŋɡri/ A1	adjective - feeling or displaying the need for food
soul /soʊl/ B1	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being
lonely /ˈloʊnli/ A2	adjective - sad because one has no friends or company
singer /ˈsɪŋər/ A2	noun - a person who sings
blind /blaɪnd/ A2	adjective - unable to see
truth /truːθ/ B1	noun - the quality or state of being true
change /tʃeɪndʒ/ A2	verb - to make or become different
shadow /ˈʃædoʊ/ A2	noun - a dark area produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface
failure /ˈfeɪljər/ B1	noun - lack of success
drink /drɪŋk/ A1	verb - to consume liquid
steal /stiːl/ A2	verb - to take something without permission
explain /ɪkˈspleɪn/ B1	verb - to make something clear
care /ker/ A1	verb - to feel concern or interest
ashamed /əˈʃeɪmd/ B1	adjective - feeling embarrassed or guilty