They Caught The Devil And Put Him In Jail In Eudora, Arkansas

(album: Tony Joe White. - 1971)

I was walking down a dirt road
And the night was coming on fast
I had gone to for some corn meal for our supper
By the time I got to miss Johnson's house
I knew there was something wrong
By the worried look she had upon her face
I said: Miss Johnson could you tell me
What are you shaking for
She said: Lord, they caught the devil
And they got him in jail in Eudora, Arkansas

And he's got a mean that looked like leather
And a long and foggy tail
And when he touches it against the sepbars
Sparks would fly

I did not know of what she spoke
But I believed every word she said
And I burned the souls of my feet on my way back home
Well, the next day a crowd had gathered
Out in front of the Eudora jailhouse
But there was not a chase to be seen of the devil
Now the jailer had been a poor man
And now his pockets were stuffed with money
And he was sitting outside in a brand new Continental Lincoln
With famous skirts on it

He would not say where he got the money
Was he a part of the devils bargain?
And did he set him free that night in Eudora, Arkansas?
Now who's to say