Been run off more than once for goin' underground
Where I met an old bluesman with a walking cane
He wore a stripe suit and used someone else's name
He said son I've seen it all
And it's not what you think
He said there's some tough choices to be made
Then he took a little drink
And I heard him say
I do not play no rock and roll
Would not be moved to sell my soul
The demons are out tonight
Rock you sinners
The demons are out tonight
Roll you sinners
Straight down the line
I passed an old church on my way back East
Heard a gospel choir singing of war and peace
I was deeply moved so I stepped inside
I just stood in the back where I could easily hide
A woman in a black robe stood up
And pointed me out
She said Hallelu Hallelu
Oh then she began to shout
And I heard her say
I do not play no rock and roll
I would not be moved to sell my soul
The demons are out tonight
Rock you sinners
Oh the demons are out tonight
Roll you sinners
Straight down the line
Now he could croon a tune as good as anyone
And if he sings a song then that song's been sung
Some things have tradition, some shine like new
Some things you can't change no matter what you do
He said my friend I've done it all
Either for love or money
And if I laugh at your jokes
Oh that means his jokes are funny
And one more thing
I do not play no rock and roll
I would not be moved to sell my soul
The demons are out tonight
Rock you sinners
The demons are out tonight
Roll you sinners
Straight down the line
Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician. He was lead guitarist for Bob Dylan in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s, guitarist and songwriter with the Band from their inception until 1978, and a solo artist.
Robertson's work with the Band was instrumental in creating the Americana music genre. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as a member of the Band, and into Canada's Walk of Fame, with the Band and on his own. He is ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitarists. He wrote "The Weight", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and "Up on Cripple Creek" with the Band and had solo hits with "Broken Arrow" and "Somewhere Down the Crazy River", and many others. He was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Songwriters.
Robertson collaborated on film and TV soundtracks, usually with director Martin Scorsese, beginning in the rockumentary film The Last Waltz (1978) and continuing through dramatic films including Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1983), Casino (1995), Gangs of New York (2002), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Silence (2016), The Irishman (2019), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), scoring the latter shortly before his death. The film was dedicated to his memory, and garnered him a posthumous nomination for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards.
