Macidol Mac music community

Song Information:

Written in 1996. Finally recorded on Sunday night, Oct 22. I'll add electric guitars, and redo the vocals, one of these days.

This song was inspired by Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil."

Song Lyrics:

Early this morning I heard the devil ringing my bell:
loud satanic knocks added to the door's now ghastly knell.
So, of course, I bade him enter, and Satan wished me well;
I asked quite politely what he was doing out of hell.

Satan took me walking, and we were talking all day long
all anent the woes of the world and all its mortal throng;
Satan doesn't like being blamed for ev'rything that's wrong
and he told me flat that I had to write this little song.

Satan said: "look, forget that book which I try to ignore.
I never invented the weapons--or concept--of war,
not economic theories--nor practice--; and, furthermore,
I'd no hand in the wicked convolutions of your law.

"I've no time for pollies--I'd lief befriend a sewer rat--
I'll have no truck with Labor, Lb'ral, Green or Democrat.*
Parliament is not my bent--I'll not waste my time thereat--
greedy worldly wants alone are responsible for that.

"Each plan for concentration camps came from some human mind,
so too those nice devices planned to wound and maim and blind.
Their creators were considered great, and, of course, you'll find
no devil made them do that kind of work for humankind."

Well," I said, "Satan. you sure ask quite a lot from my pen.
Man's inhumanity to man you've seen time and again;
you seem to think people will see reason. I ask, since when?
Folk ever blame the devil for the wicked works of men."


*four major Australian political parties