"The Devil's Plea" [Interlude - Sam (female)] (A fast, dark, swamp-blues acoustic riff starts up like it’s being picked by hooked claws. A tambourine rattles like bones in a bucket. Spoken word, completely deadpan and amused.) The devil isn't afraid of sinners. He loves sinners. What he is absolutely terrified of is a hostile takeover. Word made it down to the basement that the mechanic from Galveston might be coming down the pipe eventually. And for the first time in eternity, the prince of darkness got nervous, put on his best suit, and took a meeting with the man upstairs to negotiate the lease. [Verse 1 - Matt (male)] (A heavy, thumping bass drum kicks in like a giant fist on a steel door. Matt's voice has a dark, arrogant swagger to it, while something in the back line growls like it’s got teeth.) Well, I got a rap sheet longer than a Texas mile headed into New Mexico I’ve been standing on the edge with a wicked kind of smile If the Pearly Gates are checking on the things I used to do Saint Peter's gonna take my file and tear it right in two But down below the surface where the sulfur burns the ground The devil heard the rumor that my soul was inbound He packed a heavy briefcase, rode the elevator high Walked right up to heaven's door with a horn-section howl and started in to cry. [Pre-Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The electric bass gets thick and fuzzy, driving the rhythm hard, and the strings sound like they’re being dragged through hot coals.) (Matt - male) He said, "Listen to me, Lord..." (Sam - female) "...we got a serious situation." (Matt - male) "If you send that mechanic down to me..." (Sam - female) "...it’s the end of my operation!" [Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The full band explodes. A raucous, stomping, Southern rock-metal chorus. The slide guitar is screaming like a demon with split knuckles.) (Matt - male) You gotta keep him in the light, you gotta give him a cloud! (Sam - female) He’s too damn mean and he’s way too loud! (Matt - male) If he comes down to hell, he'll tear the hinges off the door! He’ll take my pitchfork and my throne and lock me in the floor! (Sam - female) The devil’s begging on his knees! (Both) Lord, you gotta take him, please! He's gonna steal my whole damn operation! [Verse 2 - Matt (male)] (The rhythm drops to a dirty, chugging groove, like the drums are being beaten by something with hooves. Matt delivers this like he's laying out a blueprint.) The devil told the Lord, "He ain't gonna just burn. He’s gonna look at my furnace and decide it's his turn. He’ll re-wire the brimstone, he'll tune the lake of fire, He'll organize the demons and he'll cut my main wire! He's got a .380 loaded with a blue laser sight, If he walks into my kingdom, I am losing the fight! I'm the prince of all the darkness, I'm the master of the pain, But that boy from the island is completely insane!" [Pre-Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (The harmonica wails like a freight train dragged through the underworld.) (Matt - male) "He’s gonna take my heavy crown..." (Sam - female) "...he’s gonna kick you off the board." (Matt - male) "I'll do anything you want..." (Sam - female) "...the devil’s praying to the Lord!" [Chorus - Matt (male) & Sam (female)] (Maximum volume, an absolute riot of a groove. The whole thing sounds like demons in coveralls tearing through the set.) (Matt - male) You gotta keep him in the light, you gotta give him a cloud! (Sam - female) He’s too damn mean and he’s way too loud! (Matt - male) If he comes down to hell, he'll tear the hinges off the door! He’ll take my pitchfork and my throne and lock me in the floor! (Sam - female) The devil’s begging on his knees! (Both) Lord, you gotta take him, please! He's gonna steal my whole damn operation! [Verse 3 - Matt (male)] (The groove tightens up into a panic-stricken stomp. The organ wheezes like it’s short of breath, and Matt sounds like he’s running out of room.) Lord, I’m not proud, I’m not asking for grace, Just one more day, a safer place. Anywhere but my lane. If that mean SOB hits my door, I’m done, [Bridge - Matt (male)] (The music stops completely. Just a slow, slow clap and a single acoustic guitar strum on the beat, like a demon tapping a fingernail on a coffin lid. Spoken in a low, dangerous tone.) I don't know what deal they're gonna strike. I don't know who is drawing up the paperwork. But if heaven locks the gate... And hell refuses my entry... I guess I'll just have to live forever. [Outro - Sam (female) & Matt (male)] (The heavy blues riff kicks back in at double speed for a wild, fiery instrumental finish, with the band sounding like a pack of demons let out for the weekend, then abruptly slows to a crawl.) (Sam - female - speaking softly, amused) The devil is scared of the dark now. (Matt - male - spoken, chuckling) Tell him I need the keys to his office by Tuesday. (The sound of a heavy vault door slamming shut, then a single guitar chord rings out and fades.)
