The Devil went down to Florida
He was looking for a soul to steal
And he was in a bind
'Cause he was way behind
And was willin' to make a deal.
When he came upon this young man
wielding a racquet and playin' it hot.
The devil jumped up on a hickory
stump and said,
"Boy let me tell you what:
I bet you didn't know it
but I'm a tennis player too,
And if you care to take a dare
I'll make a bet with you
Now you play pretty good tennis boy
But give the devil his due
I'll bet a racquet of gold against your soul
'Cause I think I'm better than you."
The boy said, "My name's Roger
And it might be a sin
But I'll take your bet, you're gonna regret
'Cause I'm the best that's ever been."
Roger you pick up your stick and hit that first serve hard
'Cause hell's broke loose in Florida
And the devil deals the cards
And if you win you get this shiny racquet made of gold
But if you lose the devil gets your soul....
[Annoying fiddle music]
The devil opened up his bag and he said,
"Just look at me."
And fire flew from his fingertips
As an ace went down the T.
And he pulled the ball across the strings
And it made an evil hiss
Then a crowd of demons yelled from the stands
And it sounded something like this
[Another excrutiating fiddle break]
When the devil stood on the ad side Roger said,
"You're pretty good ol' son!
But serve it again, you'll never win
I'll show you how it's done!"
[Ethereal violin music, angels weep in gratitude]
He chipped and passed and smacked it deep
And the Devil's shots went out,
Ol' Lucifer went down in straights
(After a second set walkabout)
Fire on the mountain, run boys run
Devil's in the house of the rising sun
Chickens in the breadpan, picking out dough
Granny does your dog bite? No, child, no
The devil bowed his head
Because he knew that he'd been beat,
And he laid that golden racquet
On the ground at Roger's feet.
Roger said, "Devil, just come on back
if you ever wanna try again.
But if you come, you son-of-a-gun,
I'll tell you what you'll see -
There'll be a little Fed standing here
Who's even better than me!"
He played:
Fire on the mountain, run boys run
Devil's in the house of the rising sun
Chickens in the breadpan, picking out dough
Granny does your dog bite? No, child, no.
[More fiddle, guitar, square dancing, do-si-do, Nascar, you name it.]
[Fade Out]
