This collection of songs could have gone by a few different names. But I think Devil captures it the best. This time period in my life started as one thing and resulted in something entirely different. There are a handful of songs that I wrote and even recorded that I decided to cut from this project because they didn't serve that eventual result. Cutting songs is something I've rarely ever done, but I came to see the benefit of it for this project.
This album picks up where my previous release, Life Lessons, left off. After a double album of looking outwardly, these songs were all about looking inwardly, discovering what was hiding in me.
This work was motivated in part by an interest in "shadow integration," by way of Jungian psychology. It is for this reason that I kept the "Devil" name, and chose to let the album be ugly.
Devil
All songs written, recorded and performed by Tyler Nail at Red House Studio in Rural Hall, NC
Mastered by Matt Tuttle
Quique Rodriguez-Pastor is featured on electric guitar and vocals on "I AM"
Album Photography by Cory Wood & Tyler Nail
Lyrics
Hellhounds and Highways
I’ve been at the mercy of hellhound and highways
And I will be again
I was born in the summer, was barely alive
A half broken collar and blue swollen eyes
Got chewed up in churches til I turned twenty-two
And the Devil behind me said come try to find me, don’t mind if I do
I worked on a few farms, got sunburned and tanned
I worked on a few boats that never left land
Worked storefronts and rooftops in days long since gone
I’d be in the ringer of not for the acre where I made my home
We got far as Texas, Michigan and Maine
We rode through the sunshine the snow and the rain
The tears and the tall tales were worth every mile
But when it was over I needed a summer to rest for a while
I gave up on mary, pills and cocaine
I stuck with the bottle the smoke and the flame
If they get me before I can set them aside
Well I’ll go down swinging, hard as a hellion, and claim that I tried
I laid down beside every demon I could find
I soaked up the torture and left them behind
And when I found the Devil it hit like the wind
He wasn’t before me, not laying beside me, he was under my skin
I’ve been at the mercy of hellhounds and highways
And I will be again
Said I’ve been at the mercy of hellhounds and highways
And I will be again
Break the Horse
The creek is dry, the rivers getting lower
It's worse than normal for this time of year
The harvest seasons weighing on my shoulders
I'm doing what I can to persevere
But a hangman is waiting in the shadows
With a smile and a cigarette hung low
We could wait around until he comes to find us
But maybe it'd be better if we go
One hell of a wintertime is coming
And I don't see a reason we should stay
You brush your hair, I'll break the horse
And tonight we'll ride away
A dust storm might be worth a yellow ribbon
There's a box of secrets buried in my chest
The sooner that we get around to leaving
The sooner we can stop to take a rest
The saddle in the hallway by the bedroom
Could use a little dusting and a shine
Better that we're on our way to somewhere
Than to wait forever for a better time
That sun is hot and there's no taking cover
And that evening moon is delicate and white
You clean your dress, I'll break the horse
And we'll ride away tonight
Better that we're on the way to somewhere
Than to wait forever for a better day
You pack the bag, I'll break the horse
And tonight we'll ride away
The Devil Got a Hold of You
The devils got a hold of you, the devils got a hold of you
The devils got a hold of you, and it looks like he’s here to stay
The devils got a hold of you, the devils got a hold of you
The devils got a hold of you, and this time he ain’t going away
Well he’s been here times before, howling in the dead of night
But now he lingers at your door and you’re shaking at the sight
The devils got a hold of you, the devils got a hold of you
The devils got a hold of you, and it looks like he’s here to stay
The devils got a hold of you, the devils got a hold of you
The devils got a hold of you, and this time he ain’t going away
Well he’s pulling you in close, and he’s staring at your face
And he’s pulling you in close with his hands around your waist
The devils got a hold of you, the devils got a hold of you
The devils got a hold of you, and it looks like he’s here to stay
The devils got a hold of you, the devils got a hold of you
The devils got a hold of you, and this time he ain’t going away
Well you’re lying in his arms, and you’re burning in his flames
And he’s tearing you apart, and you’re whispering his name
You’ve made it out alive time and time again
And you’ve managed to survive all the other sins
But there’s a red-skinned devil right before your eyes
And he looks like paradise
The devils got a hold of you, the devils got a hold of you
The devils got a hold of you, and it looks like he’s here to stay
The devils got a hold of you, the devils got a hold of you
The devils got a hold of you, and this time he ain’t going away
No this time I think he’s here to stay, no this time he ain’t going away
No this time I think he’s here to stay
Devil and a Deadman
Hellhole on the wrong side of the station
Smoke pouring in and out the door
Bring it in with a big reputation
Gonna show you what the gloves are for
Back room got a pole and a like box
No rules if you're paying right
Rock Billy boys hanging round the nine ball
Another pitcher and their gonna pick a fight
Road House girls raised on the good times
Long legged with the 3 inch heels
Not in it to walk on a fine line
Not in it for the way it feels
Cat call get you pulled into the back room
Want to show you what they can do
Hair back, eyes closed like a Sunday
Trade you for a dime bag or two
Black boots, bloody knuckles and a heartbeat
Hell baby it's about damn time
You wanna dance with the devil and a deadman
Take a number girl and get in line
Young lady with a scorpion tattoo
Nine millimeter in her waist
White jeans, mean hips, red lipstick
Got 'em dying just to get a taste
Old man with the godless hairdo
Did a couple tours in Vietnam
Came home, took a licking in the dope fight
Got a bone to pick with Uncle Sam
Burly fucker with the worn in steel toes
Mean mugging ‘til the day he dies
Talk to him with the least bit of salt son
You and him are gonna take it outside
Eight-balling to stay off the moonshine
Deep down with the ball and the chain
Keep quiet to stay on his good side
Hundred dollars to forget his name
Black boots, bloody knuckles and a heartbeat
Hell baby it's about damn time
You wanna dance with the devil and a deadman
Take a number girl and get in line
Liquor store whore coming down from the day before
Hooked on amphetamine
Used to smoke that Chinese snakeskin
‘Til she got a cut that wasn't clean
Smoke shows take it off for the weekend
Blue collars dipping in their checks
Boyfriend catch a fella get a handful
Take a tire iron to his neck
Street king with the jewelry on display
Hyena of the human race
Young boy with a stolen switchblade
And a plan to put him in his place
Street fire with the summer bloodlust
Black Chevy with a shot up door
Two bodies and the cops are coming
No telling what the debt was for
Black boots, bloody knuckles and a heartbeat
Hell baby it's about damn time
You wanna dance with the devil and a deadman
Take a number girl and get in line
I AM
I am a Goddamn devil
I am a piece of pain
I am a flash of lightening
I am a ball of flame
You want the cold and lonely
You want a taste of fame
I am a Goddamn devil
Go ahead and say my name
You want to feel like a blind man
You want a big parade
You want a mouth like a mad man
You want amazing grave
You want to sound like the thunder
You want to settle the score
I am a Goddamn devil
Sleep, sleep and rise no more
You want a taste of the champagne
You want to start again
You want a fist like a freight train
You want a bottle of gin
You want to scream like a heartbeat
You want to roll the dice
I am a Goddamn devil
Welcome to paradise
I came down from heaven
I came up from hell
I put the piss in the passion
I put the penny in the well
You want a ride with your tongue tide
You want to cry like a clown
I am a Goddamn devil
Lets burn this building down
I am a Goddamn devil
I am a ball and a chain
I am the ghost of a savior
I am a moth to a flame
I am the bad salvation
I am as good as it gets
I am a Goddamn devil
Let there be no regrets
You want to fly with an angel
You want to sample some sin
You want to bleed the believers
You want a bruise on the chin
You want to dance with the danger
You want a story to tell
I am the Goddamn devil
I am the angel of hell
I am the Goddamn devil
I am the angel of hell
I am the Goddamn devil
I am the angel of hell
To Not Belong
I was a slave unto my own
I was a stranger in my home
I got away after I fell
And skated by the door to hell
I gave away my everything
To satisfy my empty wings
I stumbled on the serpents tongue
Another slave I did become
I got away from bitter fate
And laid my robe outside her gate
My road is aimless and it’s long
Where does one go to not belong
You’re Gonna Find Me
I read your letter twenty times over
Smiled like Betty when you signed your name
What could be better
Thought of you laughing, tripping on cactus
Burning pavement like a biker gang
Baby have at it
Windows down, music on
Some old lost highway song
The road is furious and long
Hard to handle, right and wrong
You’ll be beautiful and gone
If you find your way back home
You’re gonna find me
I wasn’t a hero til I met the devil
At the bottom of the same old well
Tell him I said hello
Maybe you'll ramble out of the shadows
Riding shotgun through the desert wind
You’ll be a hero
Windows down, music on
Some old lost highway song
The road is furious and long
Hard to handle, right and wrong
You’ll be beautiful and gone
If you find your way back home
You’re gonna find me
Honey get out there, somewhere or nowhere
Trash the map and let the midnight moon
Light up your long hair
Scorpion lady, Tanqueray baby
Falling star against a cold black sky
Shining like crazy
I’ll still remember, still read your letter
Think about you every God damn day
For worse or for better
