The Devil's Real

The devil ain't a legend, the devil's real
 In the empty way he touched me, where I hardly feel
 In the empty hole inside me, the nothing that'll ride me
 Down into my grave, it does not heal
 Nothing is as something, it'll suck you dry
 As the whisper you can hardly hear that tells you why.
 They told me "You ain't got no problems, you're self-deceived"
 These seeming contradictions, well they make believe
 It was then that I decided my life was being guided
 By a second-rate dependence on first-class thieves
 They told me I was breaking through, I was breaking down
 By the time I learned the difference they had long left town.
 You know that they ain't so malicious, they ain't mean
 They're just vaguely well-intentioned with no love I've seen
 And it's the emptiness that kills you, cold comfort that'll fill you
 With a sense of dread that maybe things are worse than they seem
 They don't tell you nothing you don't already know
 They just keep holding out the promise but they don't let go
 You know they don't let go.
 Well, it was hard luck and trouble, bad times too
 I know I had 'em coming, but I got through
 It was advice that you gave me in a dream that saved me
 You said "Get a new life contract that spells out your dues."
 Took good will to find it, a clear conscience to sign it
 Now I dream about the good times and it all comes true.