When I moved to Nashville, in October of 2009, I was immediately greeted by a number of signs that not-so-subtly screamed, “GET OUT!” No matter where I turned, it seemed the signals of discord were everywhere, stalking me like a beast in the wild. From this, naturally, the hopeless lyric “the Devil knows me by name” was spawned.
As hard as I tried, I never could figure out how to fit that phrase into a song, so it was years later, while reading The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis, that the phrase turned.
You see, the novel is a collection of letters from a Senior Devil (Screwtape) to a Junior Devil in training — many detailed discussions, back and forth, on how to best deceive Man. Because the suggested practices were mostly covert, subtle ways of corrupting gradually, I was inspired to twist the phrase into what is now “the Devil don’t go by one name.”
Now, Halloween day of 2014, I am pleased to announce the release of my new song, Screwtape — a different, darker song from me than you might be use to. As I’ve explained above, this brooding ballad is about the many Evils that exist in the world today (the Christian Devil aside), both overt and disguised. Please enjoy, for what it is.
NOTE: Halfway through the writing process, I was approached by a film company to write a “dark and dismal” song for their upcoming web series. Umm, on it! With a few retrofitted tweaks, look for this song to appear in the opening scene of Drained World, coming soon!
SCREWTAPE:
by tyler stenson © 2014
I don’t believe there’s a single “Devil” in life
Cause in such a world, it seems everything has got a dark side.
Just look around, you’ll find
It’s in the floorboards,
On the rooftop,
On the highway
And every bus stop of every day.
Yes, the Devil don’t go by one name.
I don’t believe there’s a fiery Hell that you suddenly find
And the Road to Hell is not a cliff–
No, it’s a slow, damn steady decline,
Where gradually you find,
The trees are lifeless,
The birds are songless,
The sky is no longer endless—
Now there’s a ceiling at the top of your cage
And the Devil don’t go by one name.
It’s everywhere except where you thought
And gotten stronger the more lazy we’ve got
And it don’t have horns anymore.
I don’t believe there’s this single “Devil” in life
Cause in such a world, it seems everything’s opposed to the light.
Just look around, you’ll find
It’s in the concrete,
In the skyline,
In the scoundrels
And even the good guys caught in the game.
It’s in their wisdom when it’s wasted.
It’s in their power when it’s tasted (and then betrayed).
Yeah, the Devil don’t go by one name.