They Caught the Devil and Put Him in Jail in Eudora, Arkansas

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 wings that look like leather

and a long and forky tail

And when he touches it against the cellbars

Sparks would fly

I did not know of what she spoke

but I believed every word she said

And I burned the soles 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 trace

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 fender skirts on it