Conversation with the Devil – Ray Wylie Hubbard

A good friend of mine described Ray Wylie Hubbard‘s famous track “Snake Farm” as “dirty old man music.” I have to say, he’s pretty spot on. I happen to really enjoy some of the more grimy tunes in RWH’s catalog when I’m in the right mood. Today, however, I decided to go a different route to highlight his work. The more I listen to RWH, the more I understand why he is considered by many to be a generational songwriter.

The song I chose today, “Conversation with the Devil,” is a hypothetical conversation, in a dream, with a man who was sent to hell. Almost every verse in this song is pure songwriting gold. I chose to highlight a few here, but I highly encourage everybody to listen to the song in full.

There is some humor –

And he said, “What about all that whiskey and the cocaine”
I said, “Well, yeah, but that’s no reason to throw me in Hell
‘Cause I didn’t use the cocaine to get high
I just liked the way it smelled”

Some truth –

“Now the murderers and the rapists they go in this fiery lake
As well as most of the politician and the cops on the take
And all the mothers who wait till they get to K-Mart to spank their kids
And instead of showing what to do what’s right
They just hit ’em for what they did
And all the daddy’s who run off and abandon their daughters and sons
Oh, anybody who hurts a child is gonna burn until it’s done”

Some philosophy –

Now I said, “I’ve made some mistakes, but I’m not as bad as those guys
How can God do this to me or can’t He sympathize
He said, “You’re wrong about God being cruel and mean
Oh, God is the most loving thing that’s never been seen”
I said, “Hotshot tell me this which religion is the truest”
He said, “There all about the same
Buddha was not a Christian, but Jesus woulda made a good buddist”

I am confident in saying that “Buddha was not a Christian, but Jesus woulda made a good buddist” is one of my favorite lines of all time across all genres.

One thing I have noticed about RWH, he loves to name drop other artists and groups in his songs, with this one being no exception.

Well, it looked like I was gonna be stuck here as far as I could tell
I thought I might as well suck up, you know what the hell
I said you, “You know that song that Charlie Daniels did
About how you went down to Georgia and played fiddle against that kid”
He said, “Yeah it broke my heart but you know what are you gonna do
I said, “To tell you the truth
I thought your solo was the better of the two”

Is it my favorite RWH song? I honestly don’t know. He has plenty of great ones to choose from; it’s hard to pick a favorite. I will, however, firmly maintain that this is my favorite hypothetical conversation with the Devil.

Song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygTsN_sr4k8&list=RDygTsN_sr4k8&start_radio=1