DEVILS AND DUST

I got my finger on the trigger
But I don't know who to trust
When I look into your eyes
There's just devils and dust
We're a long, long way from home, Bobbie
Home's a long, long way from us
I feel a dirty wind blowing
Devils and dust

I got God on my side
And I'm just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a powerful thing, baby
It can turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
And fill it with devils and dust

Well I dreamed of you last night
In a field of blood and stone
The blood began to dry
The smell began to rise
Well I dreamed of you last night, Bobbie
In a field of mud and bone
Your blood began to dry
And the smell began to rise

We've got God on our side
We're just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a powerful thing, baby
It'll turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust
It'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust

[Harmonica solo]

Now every woman and every man
They wanna take a righteous stand
Find the love that God wills
And the faith that He commands
I've got my finger on the trigger
And tonight faith just ain't enough
When I look inside my heart
There's just devils and dust

Well I've got God on my side
And I'm just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a dangerous thing
It can turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust
Yeah it'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust

[Harmonica solo]

Title track of Devils & Dust. It was written in 2003 around the start of the war in Iraq. An acoustic rendition of the song filmed in Feb 2005 in New Jersey was included on the DVD side of the album.

Bruce Springsteen - Devils & Dust

Sound-checked during The Rising tour on 11 Apr 2003 at Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada, but not played during the show. Also rehearsed for the Vote For Change tour on 27 and 28 Sep 2004 at the Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ. Reported to be rehearsed for the Devils & Dust tour on 11 Mar and 20 Apr 2005 at the Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ.

Also played on 04 Apr 2005 at the Two River Theatre, Red Band, NJ, during the taping of the Storytellers series for VH1. Bruce played it twice, and then explained the lyrics line by line, talking about the meaning and symbolism in each. The footage was broadcasted on VH1 on the 23rd and 25th of Apr.

Played during the warm-up shows for the Devils & Dust tour on 20, 21, and 22 Apr 2005 at the Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ. Played during each of the first 50 shows of the tour till now (the last update of this page).

The song was reported to be rehearsed by Bruce with his Seeger Sessions Band on 05 and 07 Apr 2006 at the Paramount Theater, Asbury Park, NJ, and 12 Apr 2006 at the Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ. Some comments from the people who listened to the rehearsals:

"They said it sounded really nice. Had a harp and a violin and nice vocals from the female backup singers. They also said it was real nice to hear this with a band and Bruce at one point told the band he was "looking for a Civil War sound." [07 Apr]

Played during the first of the 4 public rehearsal shows for The Seeger Sessions tour -- 20 Apr 2006 at the Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ.

The title track is released on a "limited edition" one-track CD single that comes in a cardboard picture sleeve featuring a photo by Anton Corbijn on front (see cover below) and lyrics on the back.

The Devils & Dust single cover

Track credits:
Vocals, guitar, keyboards - Bruce Springsteen
Bass - Brendan O'Brien
Drums - Steve Jordan
Strings - Nashville String Machine
Horns - Susan Welty, Thomas Witte

Springsteen talking about the song:

It works as a metaphor for all the music underneath it, the individual stories of people wrestling with their demons... A lot of it is set in the west, in what feels like a rural setting... It's about people working through their confusions, sometimes well and sometimes tragically.

From RollingStone.com:

The inspiration for reviving the solo material, Springsteen says, was a new song, "Devils and Dust," that he wrote in 2003 at the start of the Iraq War. ("I've got my finger on the trigger/But I don't know who to trust," it begins.) "It is basically a song about a soldier's point of view in Iraq," Springsteen says. "But it kind of opens up to a lot of other interpretations."

Springsteen tried recording the title track as both an angry rock song and an acoustic ballad, but it took the help of producer O'Brien -- who also worked on The Rising -- to bridge the gap. "Brendan found something that put it in the middle, where it picks up a little instrumental beef as it goes," says Springsteen.

Springsteen's "Devils & Dust" hints at power of upcoming CD (from Boston.com News):

By Steve Morse, Globe Staff | Mar 29, 2005

The new Bruce Springsteen single, "Devils & Dust," is a stripped-down acoustic ballad in the vein of his 1995 disc, "The Ghost of Tom Joad." Although the singer hasn't yet commented on it, the song appears to deal with a crisis of faith experienced by an American soldier in Iraq. It was written around the time when the war in Iraq began but doesn't choose sides other than to reconfirm a poignant, war-is-hell motif.

The Boss' tapes VH1's 'Storytellers (from www.miami.com):

Posted on Tue, Apr. 05, 2005
Associated Press

...Springsteen launched the program with "Devils and Dust," the title track to his new disc, which is to be released Apr 26. He said the song was written when U.S. troops entered Iraq, and deals with the struggle between the personal and the political. "What if we do destroy our ideals?" he asked.