[JAKE]
I'm not gonna tell you
You're making a mistake
Tell you not to go
No I won't
I'll only say
What I've learned along my way
The devil you know
Beats the devil you don't

We don't work
In the best of situations
We don't live very well
We don't live in the neighborhood of heaven
We live somewhere closer to hell

Now we have learned
To work around the situation
Learned to hide
'Til the heat has passed
You will learn a promise of salvation
Can mask another inferno's blast

The devil you know
Beats the devil you don't
That promised land
Could turn out to be dry
Once you're gone
You might ask yourselves why
Maybe you will
Or maybe you won't
But the devil you know
Beats the devil you don't
Oh yeah

[ROUSTABOUT #1]
You don't know
The world beyond the sideshow

[ROUSTABOUT #2]
You don't know
What Satan can plan

[BEARDED LADY]
You don't know
The safety you'd be leaving

[SHEIK]
We're your family
We're your clan

[SNAKE GIRL]
Here we're got
Each other to depend on
[HAREM GIRL #2]
Here you've got
The best home you'll ever find

[BEARDED LADY]
Other folk
Don't know how to take us

[JAKE]
The world out there can be so unkind[JAKE]
The devil you know




Beats the devil you don't





His game of chance


Just might be a scam 
[ROUSTABOUT #1]
Devil you know

[ROUSTABOUT #2]
Devil you know

[SNAKE LADY, BEARDED LADY, HAREM GIRL #2, ROUSTABOUT #2]
Beats the devil
The devil you don't

[SHEIK]
Don't take that chance

[SHEIK, HAREM GIRL #2, SNAKE LADY]
It's just a scam[JAKE, ROUSTABOUT #3]
You can't play
Then decide you should scram

[JAKE, ROUSTABOUT #1 & 3, SHEIK]
Maybe you'll win
Or maybe you won't
But the devil you know

[BEARDED LADY, HAREM GIRL #2, JAKE, ROUSTABOUTS #1, 2, 3, SHEIK, SNAKE LADY]
Beats the devil you don't

[6th EXHIBIT]
How can you
Say that man's a devil?

[ROUSTABOUT #4]
How can you
Say he's wicked and bad?

[GEEK]
How can you
Criticize an angel

[6th EXHIBIT, GEEK, ROUSTABOUT #4)
Promising more heaven
Than they've ever had

[FORTUNE TELLER]
I'm a fortune teller
I can see the future
I can look at people
See what's lying ahead

Violet and Daisy
I see you're bound for glory
That man who was here
Will do all that he said

That man's not a devil
No—believe it I won't
He's not a devil
No—miss this chance?
I hope that they don't
No don't
No don't
No don't

[THE "NO" GROUP]
What if he's a devil?

[THE "YES" GROUP]
What if he's not?
He could be an angel

[THE "NO" GROUP]
That heaven forgot

[FORTUNE TELLER]
I think you may be jealous

[JAKE]
Hah! Jealous of what?

[ALL]
That Violet and Daisy
Might give him a shot![THE "NO" GROUP]
The devil you know

Beats the devil you don't


That promised land

Could turn out to be dry

So dry—
Once you're gone
You might ask yourselves why

Maybe you will

But the devil you know

But the devil you know

But the devil you know 
[THE "YES" GROUP]
—He's not a devil

I won't believe it
Believe it I won't!

Understand

He could be a good guy



Why?

Or maybe you won't

No no, he's not a devil

No no, he's not a devil

No no, he's not a devil[JAKE]
Alright!
Now we could argue all night
Because we care about you two
Maybe you will go
Or maybe you won't
But I hope you will remember
That that mean old
Money-grubbin'
Gin-guzzlin'
Name-callin'
Devil you know
Might be better than
That smooth talkin'
Fine-lookin'
Dream-spinnin'
Promise makin'
Devil
You don't[THE "YES" GROUP]
No, no, no
Don't call him a devil!
No, no, no
Don't call him a devil!
No, no, no
Don't call him a devil![THE "NO" GROUP]

Beats the devil you don't

Beats the devil you don't

Beats the devil you[ALL]
Don't!