Some songwriters have an affinity with the devil. As the personification of evil, the devil—or Satan, Lucifer, and Beelzebub, among other names the nefarious entity is bestowed with—is referenced in all sorts of songs to represent dark deeds or the deceitful nature of people.
But read the lyrics in a different way, and a song might instead be describing the devilish charm of an individual with an impossibly seductive manner. Either way, what songs best describe this generally hostile and destructive force?
1. Devil in a New Dress – Kanye West ft. Rick Ross is from the 2010 album ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.’ On it, Kanye West shares vocals with Rick Ross.
2. I Fell in Love with the Devil by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne’s 2019 album ‘Head Above Water.
3. Dance with the Devil. It appears on the exclusive and international deluxe edition of Katy Perry’s 2017 album ‘Witness.’
4. Little Devil. It was released as a single by Neil Sedaka in 1961 and taken from his album ‘Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil. ‘Little Devil’ was a hit, reaching no. 11 on the US Billboard chart.
5. Run Devil Run. It is one of just three McCartney originals on an album of rock and roll covers released by the former Beatle in 1999.
6. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. It was a huge hit in 1975, references Satan by way of the lyric, “Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me / For meee.” The song is track 11 on side two of ‘A Night at the Opera.’
7. Runnin’ with the Devil. Taken from their eponymous 1978 debut studio album, ‘Runnin’ with the Devil’ is one of Van Halen’s best-known songs.
8. Devil’s Radio. The 11th studio album by former Beatle George Harrison—and the final released in his lifetime—1987’s ‘Cloud Nine’ is opened on side two by ‘Devil’s Radio.’ Released as a promotional single, the song reached no. 4 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.
9. Talkin’ Devil. It appears on Bob Dylan’s ‘New York Sessions 1962’ album, released in 2013. The track was recorded on January 19, 1963 with Dylan going under the name of Blind Boy Grunt.
10. ‘Devil’ by the Welsh alternative rock band Stereophonics released their fifth studio album, ‘Language. Sex. Violence. Other?’ in 2005. The third single from the album was ‘Devil.’
11. Satan Rejected My Soul. Ex-Smiths frontman Morrisey debuted his sixth studio album, ‘Maladjusted,’ in August 1997, from which the third single ‘Satan Rejected My Soul’ was released.
12. Devil’s Dance. Written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, ‘Devil’s Dance’ is the third song on Metallica’s 1997 album, ‘Reload.’
13. Friend of the Devil’ – Grateful Dead. It was written by Jerry Garcia, John Dawson, and Robert Hunter, it is the second song on the band’s 1970 album ‘American Beauty.
14. Shout at the Devil. A heavy metal outfit Mötley Crüe released ‘Shout at the Devil’ in September 1983. Taken from their breakthrough album of the same name, the band embarked on the Shout at the Devil tour to promote it.
15. The Devil Has All the Best Tunes’. It is the second single released by English band Prefab Sprout, and the first to feature backing vocalist and guitarist Wendy Smith, it achieved moderate success in 1983.
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