Running The Devil

I took to the bayou road at dusk
With a lantern low and an iron trust
Through cypress roots and Spanish moss
Where the devil roams and souls get lost

O, I run, I run, through mud and shade
With blood on hands and debts unpaid
He’s stalkin' close, in dark so thick
With eyes like coals and fingers slick

They say he waits on southern lands
With silver tongue and burned-black hands
He calls my name like a mournful hymn
And draws me down where light grows dim

O, don’t look back, and don’t slow down
Don’t heed his steps nor his whispered sound
For he’s got charms to snare the wise
And bayou lies in his darkened eyes

The swamp is deep, the river’s wide
The devil walks by the water’s side
His laugh like thunder, low and mean
And the moss drips red where his feet have been

I run, I run, with all my might
Through briar and thorn and pitch-black night
But he’s on my heels, with a grin so wide
And the swamp’s his bride, the dark, his pride

O Lord, O Lord, don’t let him win
For the devil knows where souls give in
But I’ll cross this water, I’ll make it through
And leave him lost in the bayou’s blue