Ashley McBryde Reflects On The Meaning Behind 'The Devil I Know'

Nearly three years after writing it, Ashley McBryde unleashed a tribute to trusting your gut and sticking with “The Devil I Know.”

“I walked in and sat down with Bobby Pinson and Jeremy Stover August 12, 2020 and THIS song came out,” McBryde reflected in an Instagram caption as she introduced the song on Friday (April 7). “We're all the time time hearing somethin’ from somebody who thinks they know what's best for us. Lose weight, your hair's too curly, change this, change that. When things just seems to go better when you trust your own lens to see what's good for you, stick to the devil you know.”

“A little outside of Elizabethtown/ There’s a little bar where I’d sit down/ And trade a couple country songs for Kentucky bourbon/ A little ol’ gal in the middle of the night/ Learnin’ how to love and learnin’ how to fight/ And learnin’ how to like my brand of hurting/ Hell, there’s hell everywhere I go/ I’m just sticking with the devil I know/ Mama says get my a** to church/ Daddy says et my a** to work/ Doctor says I gotta give up on these smokes/ Everybody’s got something to say/ About how I gotta change my ways/ But I got something to say of my own/ Hell, there’s hell everywhere I go/ I’m just sticking with the devil I know”

McBryde’s latest anthem follows her heartfelt “Light On In The Kitchen,” which she debuted after two sold-out nights of performing Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. “The Devil I Know” adds to “One Night Standards,” “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega,” “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” and other previously-released fan-favorites throughout the Grand Ole Opry member’s career. Listen to her latest song here: