The Devil's Got Credit Here

[Intro – 0:00 – 0:20] [Guitar (Resonator Slide): low A riff, bent notes, bottleneck growl.] [Banjo: muted chop on 2 \u0026 4.] [Foot Stomp + Snare Brush: porch percussion with room echo.] [Texture: radio static and distant dog bark fading in.] --- [Verse 1 – 0:21] [Chords: | Am | C | G | E7 |] [Vocal – gritty, dry-miked, half-spoken.] \u003e They shut the church, but the bar stayed open, Told me grace was just a loan I’d broken. My tab’s too high, my halo’s thin, I keep on promisin’, then I sin again. --- [Chorus – 1:00] [Chords: | Am | F | C | E7 |] [Fiddle doubles vocal melody, then answers with a slide.] \u003e Devil’s got credit here, and the interest never sleeps, He keeps my soul on layaway, cheap whiskey ain’t that cheap. I owe the Lord a Sunday, but I’m workin’ off my fear, World keeps spinnin’ crooked ’cause the devil’s got credit here. --- [Verse 2 – 1:45] [Upright Bass: plucked two-beat pulse.] [Banjo: rolls lightly under verse.] \u003e Payday comes and the money bleeds, Cross round my neck won’t cover these needs. Preacher says pray—well I tried that too, But heaven don’t answer like the liquor store do. --- [Bridge – 2:30] [Chords: | F | C | G | E7 |] [Fiddle and slide guitar trade licks; banjo drops out.] \u003e Got receipts in my Bible, debts in my songs, Every note I sing’s where I been wrong. If redemption’s cash on the barrel head, I’ll keep singin’ tabs till my credit’s dead. --- [Final Chorus – 3:15] [Full ensemble with foot stomp accent; vocals double-tracked.] \u003e Devil’s got credit here, and he knows my name by heart, He sent a bill in ashes and I signed it in the dark. If grace is worth a dollar, then mercy’s worth a tear, World keeps spinnin’ crooked ’cause the devil’s got credit here. --- [Outro – 3:55 – 4:20] [Guitar: slide fade, slow vibrato on low A.] [Fiddle: sigh of harmonics.] [Texture: record-crackle and footsteps leaving porch.]