Run Down The Devil (Dirty Diamonds, 2005)

Alice’s 17th solo studio LP is Dirty Diamonds. Over the years, Alice has put together many different bands and created classic after classic. However, his current band may be the best he’s ever assembled.

Two members from his current ensemble, Chuck Garric (Bass) and Ryan Roxie (Guitar) co-wrote many of the tracks on this LP and played on almost every song.

Like its predecessor (The Eyes Of Alice Cooper), Dirty Diamonds returns to the roots of Rock – a throwback to the 70s and garage bands of yesteryears. The album is raw and straightforward – stripped of any signs or thoughts of overproduced music.

“This is definitely (The Eyes of Alice Cooper) part two. Not officially, but it’s the same theory on this one, which is write the song, record the song, put the song to bed. I’m a very big advocate, if you’re going to do an album like this, the first thing you’re getting from the band is going to be the best thing you get.” – Alice Cooper

Can’t help but agree with Alice here. The formula used on these two LPs sufficiently provides us with killer tunes and multiple stories unfolding through the music and lyrics. For us, here at “Fridays With Alice,” these albums are stellar.

“Run Down The Devil,” the eighth track on Dirty Diamonds, is an honest song about one’s disdain for the enemy.

It’s twelve o’clock in the mornin’
While everybody is sleepin’
I want him dead in my headlights
’Cause in the shadow he’s creepin’

Drive on down to lonely street
He’s always waitin’ there for me

Run down the devil, run the devil down
Run Down the devil, run him down, down, down
Run down the devil, run the devil down
Run Down the devil, run him down, down, down

I wanna take him to the mercury grill
I hope he’s ready for the big blast
He’ll be my ultimate roadkill
I’ll kick his future up his past

I’ll send him back to hell, alright
The world can sleep in peace tonight

For thousands of years, the enemy has deceived man into thinking there is no need for God or that He doesn’t exist. In fact, the devil is crafty enough to convince a good portion of humanity that he doesn’t even exist.

In turn, through temptation, trickery, and confusion, a decent size of society has removed itself from the presence of our Creator. Instead of searching for a relationship with Him, our Heavenly Father, the enemy has convinced the world that we are enough – that we are self-righteous deities and should worship ourselves.

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” – Ephesians 2:1-3

Stop and think about these verses for a moment.

We are made ALIVE in Christ, yet the enemy is the “prince of the power of the air.” How does that even make sense? If Christ was victorious over death and defeated the enemy through His Resurrection, how does the enemy maintain any “power?”

In a nutshell, the enemy’s power is only temporary, and even more importantly, he only rules over those that choose him – those that choose to be apart from Christ. Although life is complicated, our primary decision is relatively simple – do we choose life through Christ or death with the enemy?

3 Surely He will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life, I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

– Psalm 91:1-16 –

It’s awesome to see the correlation between the lyrics in the song and scripture. Notice how Alice pegs the enemy precisely as one that dwells in darkness, creeping in the shadows, ready to prey on loneliness and despair.

It’s twelve o’clock in the mornin’
While everybody is sleepin’
I want him dead in my headlights
’Cause in the shadow he’s creepin’

Drive on down to lonely street
He’s always waitin’ there for me

So, how precisely do we “run down the devil?” Notice how Alice’s words point to the devil being “dead in my headlights.” Couldn’t those headlights also be the Word of God? Just a thought.

The enemy is easily defeated in the Light – the Light of God’s Word. When we learn to recognize the battle being waged for our minds, hearts, and souls, we begin to turn to a higher power. We find refuge and strength in Him as we face the lower beings of this world.

God has equipped us with multiple ways to defeat evil. We’ve discussed the truth of God’s Word and many facets of our Faith on this “Fridays With Alice” journey – the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-17), the Fruit of the Spirit(Galatians 5:22-23), submission to God (James 4:7-10), and so on. However, we’ve been given one ultimate weapon – the atomic bomb of our Faith.

That weapon is Love. It may seem monotonous to constantly drive home that premise and narrative, but Christ was adamant about it. In fact, the word “Love” is spoken over 300 times throughout all of scripture, and Jesus personally declared LOVE over 50 of those times.

Perhaps the most critical time Christ declared Love was in Matthew 22 when He was confronted about the “greatest commandment in the Law.”

In verses 37-40, Christ answers the question listed above. Jesus states, “Love your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” He then goes on to note that we “shall love our neighbors as ourselves as well.” But what wraps this up perfectly is verse 40. We find “all law and prophecy” fulfilled on these two commandments – Love God, Love People.

Wrapping up this week’s post, nothing pisses off the devil more than Love. If you want to truly defeat evil, then be willing to love. Be ready to lift up your fellow man, woman, and child. Be prepared to restore a broken world absorbed by despair, fear, hate, and wickedness.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only Light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

The enemy desperately wants us divided and focused on what we dislike about each other. Darkness feeds on the misery of God’s creation. It wishes death upon us all. However, we’ve been given the gifts of His Spirit and His Love. We must learn to use them. 

NOTE: Growing up in the South, I was always taught to “kill them with kindness (or love).” As I’ve grown older, I’ve often thought, “what a weird thing to say.”

Kill them with kindness, seriously? Why on earth are the words “kill” and “kindness (or love)” uttered within the same sentence?

Some 30+ years later, I think I understand…

It’s not the person or our fellow man that we “kill” with kindness and love. Instead, our combative focus is on the darkness or misery that misguides our fellow brothers and sisters. Our attention must be drowning out the darkness with His Light.

For instance, how many times does one simple thing like being cut off in traffic ruin our day? When our thoughts become displaced, or our focus is shifted, we make way for the enemy and his minions to wreak havoc.

However, one simple act of kindness, one small display of love and compassion, can place us back on track. When we “kill” with kindness, we slay the enemy and his plans. We fight not against God’s creation but against the things that plague it – we slay evil with Love.

In conclusion, as we mentioned earlier, Dirty Diamonds and The Eyes of Alice Cooper are two of our favorite LPs. Not only do the songs tell quippy stories about life, love, and spirituality, they rock!

“It’s called Dirty Diamonds because that’s what they are. All of them are little gems that have been left unpolished…right now; I’d rather take the songs, and make it sound like a really good garage band.” – Alice Cooper

Alice has returned further and further to his roots since the release of The Eyes of Alice Cooper. Interestingly enough, it seems he’s having just as much fun now as he did 40 something years ago. It seems he’s found the formula not only for success but faith, hope, and Love as well.

That’s it for this week. We’ll catch you next Friday.

Until then, Keep Walkin’ in Faith and Rockin’ with Alice!