Hell Week: Conversation With The Devil

Ray Wylie Hubbard: Conversation With The Devil

[purchase]

The "Dark Knight" of the Texas Music scene is never more in his element than when he’s singin’ about the afterlife. Known for his prophetic, mysterious stories, Ray Wylie Hubbard creates some of the most image-inducing music around. Songs like Purgatory Road, Bones, The Way of the Fallen, Resurrection, and – of course – This Mornin’ I Am Born Again, often filled with slides and dobros, are just a few of his fatalistic pieces.

Conversation with the Devil is a vivid retelling of a dream. A rolling, talkin’ blues type song, it shows Ray Wylie trying to convince the Devil that he doesn’t belong down below.

“I didn’t use the cocaine to get high, I just liked the way it smelled.”

With over 6 verses, the song takes a turn as Ray Wylie and Satan seem to sort of hit-it-off, and Satan gives him some insight into how things work in Hell.

“All the murderers and the rapists, they go in this fiery lake. As well as most of the politicians and the cops on the take. And all the mothers who wait till they get to K-Mart to spank their kids.”

“What you won’t find up in Heaven are Christian-Coalition Right-Wing Conservatives, Country program directors, and Nashville record executives.”

In the end, Ray Wylie takes the message as a sign to change his ways.

“Some get spiritual ‘cause they see the light. Some ‘cause they feel the heat.”

Submitted by Payton.