[Intro — spoken, porch-storytelling style] Well, they say the Devil's been everywhere... But one day he got himself a bright idea. He heard there were plenty of souls down in Missouri. So he figured... “Well, boys, this oughta be easy.” [Verse 1] He came rollin' down the gravel road In a black old Cadillac Had a suitcase full of promises And a whole lotta devil in the back He said, “I hear these folks are simple I hear they're easy to persuade I'll collect a hundred souls by sundown And be headed back before it gets late” He pulled into a little Ozark town With a grin from ear to ear But something about that quiet woods Made him wish he hadn't come here [Chorus] The Devil came to Missouri Thinkin' souls would come for free But he didn't know the Ozarks And he sure didn't know Momo or me Earl said, “Go get the goat now Tell him Momo's needed here” The goat just looked at Earl sideways Like, “Are you sure you want him near?” The Devil came to Missouri But he picked the wrong place to roam 'Cause there ain't a soul in these Ozark hills That's gonna go with him home [Verse 2] Earl walked out onto the porch And tipped his old straw hat He said, “Mister Devil, welcome here But we ain't interested in that.” The Devil said, “Now listen, Earl I've got riches, fame and gold I've got everything a man could want And a thousand things to sell his soul” Earl just laughed and shook his head Then pointed toward the trees He said, “You might wanna save your breath, friend There's something you should see.” The goat came trottin' through the woods With Momo close behind And the Devil's grin got smaller When he looked into Momo's eyes [Chorus] The Devil came to Missouri Thinkin' he'd collect the whole damn town But Momo wasn't interested And the Devil's confidence was goin' down Earl said, “You can try your luck here If that's what you wanna do But when Momo gets to lookin' strange There ain't much left for you.” [Verse 3 — building tension] The banjo stopped its pickin' The fiddle lost its tune The wind went still around the trees And daylight faded from the moon The goat backed up real slowly Earl whispered, “Here we go...” Momo stood there in the darkness And started changing slow His shadow stretched across the ground The whole woods seemed to breathe And something ancient woke up Beneath those Ozark trees [BREAK — eerie forest ambience] The crickets stopped. The wind stopped. Even the Devil stopped. Momo lifted his head... And the Devil finally saw what everybody else had known... You don't mess with Missouri. [Instrumental — eerie ambience, distant low drone, strange forest sounds] [Verse 4 — Devil panics] The Devil took one step backward Then he took about ten more He dropped his little suitcase And ran straight for the door He yelled, “I've dealt with kings and demons! I've dealt with sinners by the score! But whatever that thing is... I ain't dealin' with it anymore!” Earl hollered, “Mister Devil! You forgot your suitcase there!” The Devil screamed, “KEEP IT!” And disappeared into thin air [Chorus — upbeat return] The Devil came to Missouri But Missouri sent him home He came lookin' for some easy souls And found out he was wrong You can tempt 'em, you can threaten 'em You can promise 'em the sky But when you wake up Momo Even the Devil says goodbye [Final Verse] They say down in Hell that evening There was talk around the fire The Devil walked in shaking And somebody asked, “What's got you tired?” He said, “Don't ask me about Missouri Don't ever send me there again There's a monster in those Ozark woods And apparently... he's Earl's friend.” [Final Chorus] The Devil came to Missouri But he won't be back again He learned a lesson in the Ozarks That he'll never learn in Hell So if you're lookin' for some easy souls You better keep on movin' through 'Cause Missouri's got Earl and a goat... And Momo's got his eyes on you. [Outro — spoken, banjo quietly picking] Earl: “Well... y'all think he's gone?” Goat: Baaaah. Earl: “Yeah. Me neither.” [Banjo final lick]
