The Devil’s Christmas
Well they taught me in church
That the devil was red
He was ugly as sin with those horns on his head
Now they never told me everyone can decide
And when they get to drinking they get angry inside.
Chorus:
We were just little kids my sister and me.
We both woke up early to the gifts by the tree
Now I couldn’t name it but I remember it well
We were living in Waco, about a half mile from hell.
At noon we’d all gather ‘round the table to dine
There were tall shots of liquor, eggnog and some wine
My grandma put a bow from a gift in her hair
Everybody seemed happy, no one had a care.
But the drinks kept on coming and voices were raised
My step-dad was shouting, angry words were exchanged
My sister and me, we did not understand
But our momma knew things would soon get out of hand.
Every year was the same, our momma would sigh
She took us away from the chaos inside
In the car she would drive us and for the rest of the day
The dark of the movies kept the demons at bay.
Some say that Christmas is a day that they love
Their family together blessings come from above
But me, I know better and it’s a damn shame
Though the devil is pouring it’s not him that’s to blame.
Another Christmas in Waco, about a half-mile from hell.
Another Christmas in Waco, about a half-mile from hell.
With only a few weeks left before we started recording this album, I was in bed one night and woke up around midnight. I took our dog out and came back to bed. Then a melody got into my head and as I lay there it kept going around. A few minutes later I heard a verse and knew I had to get up to record it, otherwise it would be gone forever. I came down to my studio and recorded it on GarageBand on my Mac. I typed up the first verse and chorus and then came back to bed. Leslie was still up, so I gave her the sheet of paper. It had a pretty emotional effect on her and I felt a bit bad about that. I worked on it the next morning and it was finished by the end of that day. I heard it as a John Prine-type song and I use his cadence and tone when I sing it. Jennifer did a nice harmony throughout the song and fit it perfectly. The initial reason I wrote this song was that I heard a Christmas song on KSUT a few days before. The song was “So Much Wine.” The version I heard was by Phoebe Bridgers. Instead of a happy Christmas song it was a very dark and sad song about alcoholism. I was impressed that a Christmas song could be dark like that. After this rolled around in my mind for a couple of days this song came out almost fully formed. I think this song captures things that happen all too often around the holidays. I love the line, “the dark of the movies kept the demons at bay.” The kids in this song are young, maybe seven and five, too young to name what is happening, but knowing somehow that it was bad. This seems normal to them because it’s all they’ve ever known. This song won’t excuse alcoholism or how it affects families. I’m not one who thinks alcoholics have a disease and aren’t responsible for their actions. I’ve had alcoholics in my family and I always believed they were responsible, not the alcoholism. The devil pouring the liquor seemed appropriate.
