I'm leaning a bit more toward Herb's interpretation rather than hearing the verse's talking directly to anyone whereas by the end of the chorus, it's clear the speaker is talking to the devil.

For me, the first verse is spoken to the listeners of the song and not to or toward any specific person, particularly the devil. This is easily corrected in one of several ways, begin the song with the Chorus rather than a verse or my personal preference would be for the speaker rephrase the wording and name the devil in the verse such as:

"Devil, you took some too soon, gone before they started
Let's call it like it is, you're stealing lives
Leaving behind sad, and broken-hearted
Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives"

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