Artist: Band of Skulls
Song: The Devil Takes Care of His Own
Lyrics:
If you fed the rock then you reveal an ugly scene
But the strength of 10 000 will never weaken me
Witches like a razor blade you carve me half and half
Oh I’d better wait to kill the time

Didn’t you read it in the detail
That if you’re idle in your welfare
Now you wanna know an answer
But if you’re dancing you’re a dancer

The devil takes care of his own

Do you dare to speak his name there’s evil at the root
Crueler plan it’s on your mind, go on and give the dice a roll
Never did believe in saying fortunes are foretold
Easy come and easy they will go

Didn’t you read it in the detail
That if you’re idle in your welfare
Now you wanna know an answer
But if you’re dancing you’re a dancer
Didn’t you read about it?

The devil takes care of his own

Didn’t you read it in the detail?
That if you’re idle in your welfare
Now you wanna know an answer
But if you’re dancing you’re a dancer
Didn’t you read it in the detail?
That if you’re idle in your welfare
Now you wanna know an answer
But if you’re dancing you’re a dancer

The devil takes care of his own

The saying "the devil takes care of his own" often refers to the trend of the least worthy getting the most sought after goals. "If you fed the rock then you reveal an ugly scene" may refer to those who have the least artistic integrity and lyrical depth being the most popular and successful. In addition, "Didn't you read it in the detail" can possibly signify that the trend of unoriginal and non artistic "artists" garnering fame and success is not just a trend, but a fact about the music industry that many do not see because it is in a form of fine print. "But if you're dancing you're a dancer" can, similarly, be interpreted as "if you work towards success, then you are simply a spectacle not worthy of any significant recognition." My take on the song is that it is a carefully worded metaphor for the perceived descent of the music industry into a chaos of unoriginal musicians and marketability.
I like the song because, in addition to having a good sound and a rather impressive visual metaphor for the music industry in the official video, the lyrics represent my personal opinions on the music industry. No longer, it seems, do deep and meaningful songs regarding a wide variety of topics make it to the mainstream. In stead, we see a flood of meaningless drivel about pseudo problematic existences, repetitive songs about nothing but drugs, booze, and women, and the occasional sad song about problems that everyone deals with and that everyone gets over in a month or so. Meanwhile, intelligent (although arguably objectively good) songs regarding real life situations written by actual artists get thrown to the side and are kept constricted to fringe and underground music scenes.
As far as Band of Skull's similarities to older blues artists, there is little to compare. Robert Johnson relied significantly less on other artists and instruments, and other blues artists like Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters have no where near the "rock and roll" sound that is incorporated, rather impressively, by Band of Skulls. The only significant parallels would be the general range of vocals, the tempo of the instruments can at times reveal some of the history, and the patterns of syntax and diction within the lyrics, although minor, due show that Band of Skulls (whether knowingly or not) drew from the blues artists of the past.