Where's the Devil (When You Need Him?)

Album: Believe (2004)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Where's the Devil" tells the story of a young man who has died and is now spinning in his grave because his beloved is about to marry another man. While lead singer JD Wilkes describes it as "another one of those 'nobody loves me, boo hoo hoo' kind of songs," he acknowledges that what sets it apart from other "girl left me, found someone new" tunes is the way the story is told.

    In our interview with Wilkes, he said, "That's the story, but it's all in the turns of a phrase. Tom Waits, what he does is he has all these clever one-liners and wordplay, and I'm also doing that. 'The warlord of all bloodshed's under the floorboard of the woodshed.' That's one of those 'I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy' things. Those kind of things float my boat and I'm always looking for new ones, those little sayings that are fun to play with."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Howard Jones

Howard JonesSongwriter Interviews

Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.

Def Leppard Quiz

Def Leppard QuizMusic Quiz

Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.

Trucking Songs That Were #1 Hits

Trucking Songs That Were #1 HitsSong Writing

The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.