This town, she is a temptress

A siren with gold eyes, she'll cut you with her kindness

She will lead you with her lies

She's been called a glistening devil

She's good at keeping score

If you make it she's your savior, if you don't she's a whore

The roads to and from her heart are littered with grave souls

They gave all of their all and all they got in return is empty holes

Sure we've all heard about Shell, and Chris, Willy and Bobby Bares

She'd smiled on the Johnny's, the Merle's and the Music Row millionaires

Like a beacon she goes seeking seed, her loins so fertile

To a free man she's a prison, to a caged one she's a fire

She's the reason there's a "Sunday Morning Coming Down"

"I Saw The Light", "A Boy Named Sue", "He Stopped Loving Her Today"

"The Pill" and "16th Avenue"

The Ryman, oh, she's a diamond in the crown of that wicked queen

She was Roy Acuff's castle and Elvis Presley's broken dream

It's not all bad it's not all dark it's not all gloom and crass

But to find gold in this silver mine it does take balls of brass

For she's seen 'em come and seen 'em go

And came herself a time or two

No matter how satisfied her screams sound she always wants someone new

The next him or them or her or all with stamina to last the night

To be a star in this lady's town, you can fuck or you can fight

You see, it all comes down to money

Not romantic art of days gone past

If you forget that rule, you can bet your backside she will bury it in your ass

A tramp, a slut, a bitch, a mutt, a thousand pawn shop guitars

A nasty little needle to a vein that feeds a singer's heart

She lurks in friendly shadows; but she's a junky with a limp

The agents are her bookie and the labels are her pimp

I'll tell you a well-known secret of a tiny place known far and wide

The devil walks among us folks and Nashville is his bride

Of all the chaos he has caused, and done

His greatest trick is to every guitar-totin' dreamer

The devil don't exist... but me, I shook his hand

And I know that he is real

So devil, you can go screw yourself, and then go straight to hell