The Tennessee Kid Lyrics - Terraplane - Steve Earle

On Mardi Gras day the Tennessee kid 

Awoke in a puddle 

Of his own worst fears 

Haunted by the ghost 

Of vague remembrance 

No corporeal beast he could name 

So the kid invoked Lucifer himself 

With oaths most grievously discourteous 

And charged him submit 

Forthwith to atone 

At the crossroads 

Celebrated in song 

Come on 

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Up jumped the devil 

In the middle of the thoroughfare 

"Who dares to utter my most secret name?" 

He roared 

But the kid yielded not so much as an inch 

To uncertainty 

Steadfast he rejoined the enemy in kind 

"Old patch then, Satan, Mephistopheles, 

Beelzebub 

By any other name you ain't nothin' 

Like a rose" 

Then he girded his loins for the 

Ensuing onslaught 

But the devil only shrugged and the kid 

Shuddered when he hissed he said 

Photos 

Hey hey hey hey 

Hey hey hey hey 

Hey hey hey hey 

The balance comes due someday 

Wait just one goddamn minute cried the kid 

From the cumberland 

You never mention nothin' 

'Bout no kinda note 

Just said, sign here, it's just a soul 

You'll never miss it 

I ain't set foot in a church since I was just 

A little ol' thang 

Reckoned I was headed straight to hell 

By the highway 

No matter how long and how hard 

That I prayed 

So I might as well learn how to make 

This guitar talk 

Somebody said ol' Bob Johnson 

Came down this way 

And Devil say 

Hey hey hey hey 

Hey hey hey hey 

Hey hey hey hey 

When the balance comes due someday 

And the monster raised himself up 

To the fullness of his stature 

Black wings eclipsing a sanguine 

Mississippi moon 

Behold behemoth the trampler 

Of infidels, 

He who sweeps away nations 

With a flick of his tail 

Theopolis, Agrrippa, Faustus, Paganini 

Lurid and long is the tale of my prey 

Question not the ironclad bond 

Of my surety 

Set down here in blood 

In your very own hand 

And the Tennessee kid cast an eye 

On the list where his mark 

Was indeed clearly inscribed 

And he fell to his knees 

But it was too late to pray 

And with his very last breath he did say 

Hey hey hey hey 

Hey hey hey hey 

Hey hey hey hey 

The balance comes due someday