A haunting dialogue in the realm of sin and salvation: โConversation With the Devilโ
When you listen to Ray Wylie Hubbardโs Conversation With the Devil, youโre not just hearing a song โ youโre entering an old manโs dream, a fiery tour through hellโs bureaucracy, and a soul wrestling with faith, hypocrisy, and redemption.
โConversation With the Devilโ was released on July 20, 1999, as part of Hubbardโs album Crusades of the Restless Knights. Although this deeply poetic and narrative song didnโt chart on mainstream national charts, it earned a very special recognition: in his own discography, Hubbard notes that it won Song of the Year at the 1999 Austin AMP Awards.
The Story Behind the Song
The song unfolds like a vivid, satirical parable, styled as a conversation between the narrator (a flawed, soulful songwriter) and the Devil himself. Hubbard, now a sage figure in the outlaw country and Americana world, draws from the well of his own life โ mistakes, regrets, spiritual longing โ to paint a picture of an overcrowded hell, inhabited by the sinners weโd expectโฆ and by the sinners weโd rather not admit are sinners.
In his dream, the Devil greets him with wry humor:
โYou wonโt need no lightning rod โฆ Youโre not gonna need that leather jacket, it gets kinda warm โฆ Thereโs one way in, no way out.โ
The Devil then gives him a walking tour, pointing out the souls whoโve landed in torment: corrupt preachers, crooked politicians, compromised police officers, negligent parents, and even Nashville record executives. Hubbard uses this imagery to skewer not just individual vice, but institutional hypocrisy โ pointing out that those who preach holiness sometimes commit the very sins they condemn.
In one of the most unforgettable lines, the narrator justifies his own faults:
โI didnโt use the cocaine to get high / I just liked the way it smelled.โ
This twisted innocence in the face of vice is classic Hubbard: blunt, wry, deeply human.
Later, the conversation turns philosophical. The narrator asks: โWhich religion is the truest?โ The Devilโs surprising answer:
โTheyโre all about the same. โฆ Buddha was not a Christian, but Jesus would have made a good Buddhist.โ
Itโs a gentle, almost mystical message: in his view, division and dogma are less important than the love, compassion, and sincerity behind faith.
When the narrator pleads for a second chance โ perhaps through reincarnation โ the Devil shrugs:
โItโs not any more unusual to be born twice than it is to be born once.โ
Itโs as if this journey through hell is not just a judgment, but a mirror โ one that reflects our failings, our longings, and perhaps even our hopes.
The Meaning and Significance
For older listeners, especially those who have lived through decades of change, this song carries a deeply nostalgic resonance. Itโs not just a story about damnation; itโs a meditation on morality, aging, and spiritual ambiguity. As Hubbard himself has said in interviews, with age comes a sharper awareness of mortality. The devil in his song may be a metaphor, but he also stands for time passing, for the relentless weight of regrets, and for the long shadows cast by our choices.
This song is especially powerful because it refuses simple moralizing. The Devil isnโt just a monster โ heโs an ironic tour guide, part critic, part philosopher. By putting sinners in hell โ and pointing out that some of the most sacred-seeming people donโt make the cut โ Hubbard is raising uncomfortable questions about who deserves grace, and why.
At the same time, Hubbard doesnโt exempt himself. He confesses his own flaws honestly (โI made some mistakes, but Iโm not as bad as those guysโ), acknowledges his vices, and yet still seeks connection โ through prayer, through love, through the innocent act of kissing his sleeping child in his dream. Thereโs humility here, yes, but also defiance โ a refusal to accept easy answers.