"Dinner with the Devil" is a song about trying to survive in the presence of powerful people. It's about how you have to sell out your community and yourself if you want a piece of that power. It's about how powerful people and institutions control our actions and shape our options and decisions and morals. It's about how those who actively oppress you are never going to respect you, no matter how smart or kind or perfect you are. I wrote it as a way of processing the ways in which I do and do not experience privilege as a bisexual, physically/mentally ill, mixed-race, woman.
lyrics
Lyrics:
The first course, of course, has to be your pride:
Swallow it until you feel good inside.
Next is the bodies of your sisters and your brothers
Garnished with the tears of your father and your mother.
Don’t talk too much and keep your elbows off the table.
Smile twice as much as you thought that you were able
In order to survive.
If you wanna stay alive
You have to stoop to his level
When you’re having dinner with the devil.
We preach love (love love love love love and life)
We teach life
But polite conversations don't end nobody’s strife.
We preach life (life)
We teach love (and love)
He says to turn the other cheek, she says I gotta push and shove
They say I gotta mind my manners (be polite)
Be glad I’m sittin’ here at all (be grateful, be glad)
And maybe they’ll accept me
They’ll love me and respect me
Or maybe they’ll bring forth my fall
So smile and watch your mouth
Before everything goes south
Try to believe his lies
(Cause you know that all he does is lie)
In order to survive
If you wanna stay alive
You have to stoop to his level
When you’re having dinner with the devil
Who set the table
And who will sit down
We do all we are able
But they own this town
They feed and entertain us but that’s just on the surface.
All we do is for the devil cause we’re his bread and circus
In order to survive
If you wanna stay alive (alive alive)
You have to stoop to his level
When you’re having dinner with the devil
credits
from Songs to the Monster Under My Bed,
released May 1, 2021
Mirabai Kukathas (she/they) - lyrics, melody, vocals
Michael Grant (he/him)- piano
Grafton Downs (he/him)- upright bass
Matt "Sabyu" Sablan (he/him) - electric guitar, drums (recording), production
If you have a fondness for expertly wrought roots-rock with sharp lyrics and aching vocals, look no further—“Strangers” is for you. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 8, 2022
The latest from Jessica Pratt retains the sense of mystery that characterized her previous albums, adding expansive arrangements. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 6, 2019
Introspective pop songs with transcendent melodies offer a joyful meditation on staying present in a world that often moves too fast. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 16, 2023
