Keep the Devil Away

When I was setting out from the town where my family settled,
My grandma gave me her St. Benedict medal.
She said, ‘You don't have to pray, and you don't have to kiss me.
You don't have to write, but I sure hope you miss me.
And anyway, may this medal keep the devil away.'

Keep the devil away. Keep the devil away.
Listen to what I say: keep the devil away.
You don't have to get on your knees and pray, just know when to call it a day
To keep the devil away.

I'd been doing pretty good, hadn't been drunk in a couple of years,
When I made the mistake of having a couple of public beers.
An old buddy of mine heard I was drinking again,
He drove over so fast it'd make your head spin.
He showed up with that stuff he'd been known to commandeer.

Keep the devil away.

I met this girl the other night, we got as far as her room.
That's where I learned she was mostly into cartoons.
She insisted she had something to show me.
I resisted, but, well, you know me.
On her hip she had a Tasmanian Devil tattoo.

Keep the devil away.