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Grateful Dead — Friend Of The Devil
Album: American Beauty
Avg rating:
7.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2133









Released: 1970
Length: 3:20
Plays (last 30 days): 2
I lit out from Reno, I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn't get to sleep that night 'til the morning came around

Set out runnin' but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills
I spent the night in Utah in a cave up in the hills

Set out runnin' but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

I ran down to the levee, but the devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill and vanished in the air

Set out runnin' but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night
The first one's named Sweet Anne Marie and she's my heart's delight
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriff's on my trail
And if he catches up with me, I'll spend my life in jail

Got a wife in Chino, babe, and one in Cherokee
The first one says she's got my child, but it don't look like me

Set out runnin' but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight
Comments (204)add comment
 mkane67 wrote:



The second one is "prison bait".  If it's any consolation,  Lyle Lovett was sure it was "prison babe" until he was handed the lyric sheet prior to recording it for Grateful Dead cover album.  


+ for prison babe
Our take from last week!

BJAM - Friend of the Devil
oh my...it's July 19, 2023:

the end is near
 DigitalJer wrote:

Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night
The first one's named Sweet Anne Marie and she's my heart's delight
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriff's on my trail
And if he catches up with me, I'll spend my life in jail




The second one is "prison bait".  If it's any consolation,  Lyle Lovett was sure it was "prison babe" until he was handed the lyric sheet prior to recording it for Grateful Dead cover album.  
Thanks. This one’s for my high school buddy Brian. Dancing bare foot on the shore of the St. George river in Maine. We were young and the world lay out in front of us!!
 Piranga wrote:

Boring. I don't get it or anything they've ever done.



please tell us more and more about all the other things you don't like. I could listen for days. Nothing could be more interesting. How do you feel about dentistry?
 ger-man wrote:



Ich bin aus Germany und mir geht es genauso


Like Jerry said "We are like licorice.  Not everyone likes licorice but the people who like licorice REALLY like licorice" (paraphrased)
 phantomsix wrote:
Being a Brit, I've never quite understood the phenomina that was/is The Greatful Dead. They're OK but for my ears there's a lot better out there. However I will listen and learn and maybe........ Who knows 



Ich bin aus Germany und mir geht es genauso
Being a Brit, I've never quite understood the phenomina that was/is The Greatful Dead. They're OK but for my ears there's a lot better out there. However I will listen and learn and maybe........ Who knows 
I've always felt that the Dead's live recordings are wonderful for their variety. American Beauty, however, is certainly my favorite of the studio recordings. The sound is simply pristine and the songs wonderful.
My favorite Dead song. Love the Lyle Lovett cover too.

Here's my favorite Grateful Dead joke-

What did one Deadhead say to the other Deadhead when they ran out of drugs at the concert?

"Hey man, this band sucks!"
this is a peppy song

and you can sing to it

and if you got a case of the fidgets... you can dance to it

This has the stink of patchouli all over it...
 albert11 wrote:

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. I'll never forget listening to this over and over when it came out. This and Working Man's Dead were how I found my way into the Grateful Dead.  Before judging the band - give a listen to some of their full sets out on Youtube. The brilliance of the band was taking these songs and turning them into longer tapestries live.  They're not the best at what they do, they're the only ones who do what they do.  Enjoy! 



Right? And what even better, is this song played after a blazing Radiohead song, off the Bends.  Where else do I get two of my favorite bands and albums - with that genre distance -  played back-to-back?  Thanks RP!
Boring. I don't get it or anything they've ever done.
Great dead leaders, well reworked by Counting Crows, and amply spread globally by free thinkers! Thanks Bec & Bill
Vocal track seems muted and echo-y on the Roku TV app. It's fine online.
I actually prefer Counting Crows rendition. 7/10.
This is great
More Dead . . . especially anything for Blues for Allah
10........Period......'nuf said!
I know you sometimes get grief for playing the Dead, but I just want to say for one that I really appreciate you playing just the right amount. Not too much, not too little.  
I enjoy the picking and pacing of this but LOVE Lyle Lovett's slow and mournfully cheerful (or is that cheerfully mournful?) cover.
 Webfoot wrote:

I don't like the Grateful Dead, but I HATE the term "over-rated"!
 I hate the term HATE, but what's wrong with the term over-rated? This is a prime example of it. Boring dross.

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. I'll never forget listening to this over and over when it came out. This and Working Man's Dead were how I found my way into the Grateful Dead.  Before judging the band - give a listen to some of their full sets out on Youtube. The brilliance of the band was taking these songs and turning them into longer tapestries live.  They're not the best at what they do, they're the only ones who do what they do.  Enjoy! 
 pinem wrote:
Vastly over-rated group as are all of their songs. IMO 

 
I don't like the Grateful Dead, but I HATE the term "over-rated"!
 fredriley wrote:
Bill: "Music now from the Grateful Dead". Thanks for the warning, Bill, and many thanks for providing an escape route. TFF PSD :)

 
LOL!      I am definitely not a deadhead but this song is a classic.  
 Kaisersosay wrote:


 
12 ,,, now 12,,,,,,,,,,
(where did I put that tiny doobie, in the night stand or was it the sock drawer... ?   : )  
Phil Lesh on bass Ladies & Gentlemen, make him feel welcome

{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}
Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night
The first one's named Sweet Anne Marie and she's my heart's delight
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriff's on my trail
And if he catches up with me, I'll spend my life in jail
Typasbed/JOTA.....
HA! {#Rolleyes}  {#Moon} {#Naughty} I just love all of the music critics on this site.  You're all so, ah, learned!  I was never a Dead fan, and didn't own any of their music.  However they created the genre fifty years on which you now can trash.  So Phish?  Or any other jam band in the world? Yeah, it's because of these guys.  OK, back to your Pandora or Ipod or Imax, or Tampax - U2 and Taylor Swift are singing a duet {#Cheesygrin}
 Easy master the sound.
If there was an absolute standard against which we could judge music, then "over-rated" would have meaning.  But there isn't, and it doesn't.
Must be an American thing of a certain generation.  They are dreadfully ordinary. 
 pinem wrote:
Vastly over-rated group as are all of their songs. IMO 

 
Q:  What did the Deadhead say the day after he ran out of pot?

A:  "Man, this band sucks!"

I like that joke  but it is almost sacrilege to state it in the context of anything played from this truly great album.

 
In 1970 I was 24, recently out of the USCG, and working as a lab rat at Intl Paper’s Sterling Forest research center where Bill and his wife introduced me to a substance now known for its medicinal properties today. The Grateful Dead’s American Beauty was on the turntable as a bottle of Boone’s Farm was passed around along with the fatty. Now 45 years later, this brings back memories of a wonderful time in my life and the lives of my friends. Cherish your friends, for they will not be around forever.
Ya know, for a jam band they wrote a few really good songs!
 pinem wrote:
Vastly over-rated group as are all of their songs. IMO 

 
The best on the road bar band with a lead vocalist that sounds like a honky tonk hick I've ever heard ,,,,, I agree, they are WAY over rated. I suppose you had to be have been there live with some sort of drug induced high going on for a couple of hours so it's palpable, {#Wink}
Fantastic lyrics...telling a story. Great instrument playing. Plenty of hooks.

I guess some folks don't like these basic elements in a song. Maybe they were brought up listening to the "thud and drone" formula of the 1990s. Too bad folks.     
mine goes to ELEVEN ,,,,ELEVEN..
Time to go to the loo!
Bill: "Music now from the Grateful Dead". Thanks for the warning, Bill, and many thanks for providing an escape route. TFF PSD :)
{#Guitarist} {#Jump} {#Dancingbanana}
 k-man wrote:


Actually, I think the only overrated song of theirs is What's Become of the Baby.

 
When has What's Become of the Baby ever been rated? Maybe you were listening to it under conditions similar to those of the musicians when they recorded it, in which case there may have been some commentary no one else heard? The sense of time slowing down to a trickle suffuses that "song". I guess it is easy to see why it got a bit less air play than Friend of the Devil, at least where I lived when it was released.
 pinem wrote:
Vastly over-rated group as are all of their songs. IMO 

 

Actually, I think the only overrated song of theirs is What's Become of the Baby.
Vastly over-rated group as are all of their songs. IMO 
Radio Paradise just makes me want to curse today...

Holy shit, fucking awesome!

Lots of 6's and 7's from the listeners today, but RP is always a 10 in my book. Just say'in... 
Actually like some other songs from this album more than this one.  And, this album and Workingman's Dead are my 2 faves of theirs.

As for the earlier comment about Dan and the Dead, I disagree that their musical influences were pretty much the same because the Dan were obviously heavily influenced by Jazz and the Dead had very little if any Jazz influence that I can tell.
Not a huge deadhead, but I love this song.
Was one of my favorites in high scholl and decades later, still is
Perfection.  Why hate?

11.
I disliked their music for many decades. As I have grown older I find the simple composition and understated singing to be a great match with lyrics that paint a fascinating story.

I thank Bill and Rebekah for this gradually increasing appreciation of many forms of music as well as my increasing enjoyment. This is the kind of thing that keeps me coming back to RP year after year and having a recurring monthly support payment.
Nothing harmful here...but it sure seems like this mediocrity needs a bath. Kinda like the instrumental parts. They should have left it that way...an instrumental.

harsh comments, folks.  ok, great, so you hate it.  keep your hate, hold on to it, it's probably your best friend.

no hint of irony here, given this particular song.
 


demon....that´s what happened to devils friends.....playing THIS dead-song.......
 westslope wrote:

Hey, a lot of us 'stoners' never were great Dead fans either.  Though I do like this song.

In any event, I prefer to listen to my favourite music stone-cold sober and sharp-minded.

 
Much prefer Lyle Lovett's version of this. I also have no love for the Dead and their whiney, noodly guitar and drab vocals. 
 jkhandy wrote:
never did 'Get' the Dead.  Guess it's cause' I'm not a stoner.  {#Ask}
 

Hey, a lot of us 'stoners' never were great Dead fans either.  Though I do like this song.

In any event, I prefer to listen to my favourite music stone-cold sober and sharp-minded.


This one goes with ANYTHING!
American Reality
 walk wrote:


no, they just wrote it like that.
 
{#High-five} as it's only a GDead song...
 zenhead wrote:
too bad no one in this band could sing on key.

 
Sorry, but they're not referred to as "this band."   It's the Grateful Dead.  And for some reason this has always been my favorite Dead album.  It was probably the place and time in my life.
{#Sunny}
{#Devil_pimp}You know it!

"their lyrics are annoyingly abstruse."

hail to the abtruse and the obsurd!!

"Crippled but free
I was blind all the time I was learning to see..."




 zenhead wrote:
too bad no one in this band could sing on key.

 

no, they just wrote it like that.
too bad no one in this band could sing on key.

 vicariance wrote:

I've enjoyed just about every psychedelic available to the normal fellow and I hate the grateful dead.  Their melodies meander mindlessly, their vocals are rustic, impure and grating, and their lyrics are annoyingly abstruse.

Though, unlike my most hated steely dan, I understand why someone might like them. It's chaotic but patterned.  Emotional but never too intense.  It's like the opposite of uptight and military.  That's probably why people like them, their music represents peace meshed with liveliness.
 



Well, you've certainly given the Dead more critical consideration then most Deadheads I've ever met. Not sure why you would hate both Steely Dan and the Dead based on your observations. If you hate The Dead's mindlessly meandering melodies wouldn't you appreciate the Dan's clearly defined musical structures, their homages to rock's roots, or their cynical and sarcastic take on 60's generational tropes and fads?

Personally, both bands appear to have much in common. Both comment extensively on the characters of the era, both draw on many of the same musical influences, and both experimented with different genres.

Perhaps you've placed the Dead and The Dan at separate ends of the bookshelf. If so, haven't you left your self with a limited library to chose from?
I've always liked the Dead, no apologies. 

Last night I had my 70 year old work "mentor" over for dinner and she casually mentioned how she was good friends with Danny Rivkin in Berkeley who became their first manager.  "Oh yeah, I was at their house lots of times...".  She's so cool.

Back to work and deadlines, thanks for the tunes.

 lemmoth wrote:
jkhandy wrote: never did 'Get' the Dead.  Guess it's cause' I'm not a stoner.  {#Ask}

 sirdroseph wrote:


Nah, I assure you that is not the case, I never got the Dead either and if you knew me, you would know that blows that theory out of the water.{#Cowboy} This is a great song though.{#Clap}
  
 
Enjoying the sweet air may not be sufficient to becoming a fan of the Dead.....but it certainly could enhance the experience
 
I've enjoyed just about every psychedelic available to the normal fellow and I hate the grateful dead.  Their melodies meander mindlessly, their vocals are rustic, impure and grating, and their lyrics are annoyingly abstruse.

Though, unlike my most hated steely dan, I understand why someone might like them. It's chaotic but patterned.  Emotional but never too intense.  It's like the opposite of uptight and military.  That's probably why people like them, their music represents peace meshed with liveliness.
hooray for hippies!
 lexica wrote:
Call me a heathen, but I have to say I prefer Lyle Lovett's cover version to the original. {#Rolleyes}

 
I can't say I prefer it, but they're pretty much tied, IMHO. I'm glad someone else appreciates the "Dedicated" album as much as I do! {#Wave}
just happened again.  oh god that was awful.

 
Hannio wrote:
Everytime I hear this on RP I have the subconscious expectation that the next song will be Sugar Magnolia.  Then comes the disappointment when it's something like the Squirrel Nut Zippers stupid "Hell" song.
 


I prefer the Garcia / Grisman version from their acoustic duo album
happy hump day {#Cowboy}
Call me a heathen, but I have to say I prefer Lyle Lovett's cover version to the original. {#Rolleyes}

jkhandy wrote: never did 'Get' the Dead.  Guess it's cause' I'm not a stoner.  {#Ask}

 sirdroseph wrote:


Nah, I assure you that is not the case, I never got the Dead either and if you knew me, you would know that blows that theory out of the water.{#Cowboy} This is a great song though.{#Clap}
  
 
Enjoying the sweet air may not be sufficient to becoming a fan of the Dead.....but it certainly could enhance the experience

FYI....I upgraded my sound card (ASUS) and it has this Dolby Virtual Speaker mode....
 jkhandy wrote:
never did 'Get' the Dead.  Guess it's cause' I'm not a stoner.  {#Ask}
 

Nah, I assure you that is not the case, I never got the Dead either and if you knew me, you would know that blows that theory out of the water.{#Cowboy} This is a great song though.{#Clap}
 kilroyjoe3 wrote:
It should be against the law to play studio versions of the Dead. ANYTHING Live recordings of their songs only please.  Preferrably ones with really long jams!  {#Bananajam}
  I just love live ! {#Wave}     {#Dancingbanana_2}


After reading a whole lot about the Beats —-the person in these lyrics sounds so much like Neal Cassady ( the wife and kid here, the other girlfriend and kid there and a prison-bait girlfriend somewhere else.) It's gotta be about him.


Everytime I hear this on RP I have the subconscious expectation that the next song will be Sugar Magnolia.  Then comes the disappointment when it's something like the Squirrel Nut Zippers stupid "Hell" song.
 jkhandy wrote:
never did 'Get' the Dead.  Guess it's cause' I'm not a stoner.  {#Ask}
 

Never to late to start.
never did 'Get' the Dead.  Guess it's cause' I'm not a stoner.  {#Ask}
Weird.... !
(5)

Laurissa 1974 - yummy...
 federico wrote:

agreed - it is often the case with dead songs

 
agreed. there are so many other versions that jerry does that are much better. some quieter, some funkier, some more atmospheric, some haunting.

Ana Maria ... forever a blade of sorrow
 LongGoneDaddy wrote:

The genesis of FOTD, from Robert Hunter (journal date: 2/23/06):

I was just remembering how Friend of the Devil got written. First off I wrote these four verses one afternoon back in 1969.

 https://www.hunterarchive.com/files/newjournal/56journal_2006.html

 
Y'think that band politics were only for the little guys. Think again...{#Propeller}

One of my fav songs ever. I wish I had one woman in one town and another in another.
The brain dead heads.
 jeffwaltman wrote:
Lyle Lovett does this song way better. Sounds like the Dead are just stoning it in.
 
Misquoted, with apologies.  It was just sitting there for the taking...

Must......take open adult ceramics course at local community college....must make bong.......can't....fight.....urge must....longer.....
 Ahnyer_Keester wrote:
Actually prefer other versions of this song.
 
Agreed, I like Lyle Lovett's version.

The genesis of FOTD, from Robert Hunter (journal date: 2/23/06):

I was just remembering how Friend of the Devil got written. First off I wrote these four verses one afternoon back in 1969.

 https://www.hunterarchive.com/files/newjournal/56journal_2006.html

I was living in Madrone canyon with the Garcias. The NRPS had asked me if I wanted to play bass with them and it seemed like a good idea at the time. So I worked up that song on bass, added a few verses plus a chorus and went over to where David Nelson and John Dawson were living in Kentfield and taught them the tune. The "Sweet Anne Marie" verse which was later to become a bridge was only one of the verses, not yet a bridge. The chorus went:
I set out running but I take my time
It looks like water but it tastes like wine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight.

I'd changed the fourth verse, about parlaying the twenty dollars into five thousand and, except for the all important Friend of the Devil hook, the lyrics were pretty much as they stand today minus a fifth verse which goes:
You can borrow from the Devil
You can borrow from a friend
But the Devil give you twenty
When your friend got only ten

We all went down to the kitchen to have espresso made in Dawson's new machine. We got to talking about the tune and John said the verses were nifty except for "it looks like water but it tastes like wine" which I had to admit fell flat. Suddenly Dawson's eyes lit up and he crowed "How about "a friend of the devil is a friend of mine." Bingo, not only the right line but a memorable title as well!
We ran back upstairs to Nelson's room and recorded the tune. I took the tape home and left it on the kitchen table. Next morning I heard earlybird Garcia (who hadn't been at the rehearsal - had a gig, you know) wanging away something familiar sounding on the peddle steel. Danged if it wasn't "Friend of the Devil." With a dandy bridge on the "sweet Anne Marie" verse. He was not in the least apologetic about it. He'd played the tape, liked it, and faster than you can say dog my cats it was in the Grateful Dead repertoire.
Although I learned all the tunes, I never did play a gig with the NRPS, who were doing strictly club dates at the time. For one reason or another I never quite fathomed, though I have my suspicions, I got shut out. Either that or I misread the signs and wasn't inclined to push. Nothing was ever said. In any event, a fellow named Dave Torbert showed up about that time. Just as well. One dedicated songwriter in the band was enough.

 *(NRPS=New Riders of the Purple Sage)




Friend of the devil, indeed.  I have it on good authority that Radio Hell plays the Dead every hour, on the hour (yes, the ones with the really long jams...sometimes they overlap and its just like a round).
 kilroyjoe3 wrote:
 Preferrably ones with really long jams!  {#Bananajam}
 

Wouldn't that be all of them? :-P
It should be against the law to play studio versions of the Dead.  Live recordings of their songs only please.  Preferrably ones with really long jams!  {#Bananajam}
 Ahnyer_Keester wrote:
Actually prefer other versions of this song.
 
agreed - it is often the case with dead songs

Actually prefer other versions of this song.
Aww, lets go and play something that has not had airtime since the 70s - like 'Dark Star' from Live Dead I.  That will really get the anti-Dead Heads going!  Or for something that the folky crew may enjoy, what about 'Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad'. 
 Ag3nt0rang3 wrote:

I'd like to hear as little Dead as possible, and preferably none, but that's just me.


 

And we wouldn't have it any other way!
:)
pbm
 esweazey73 wrote:
I'd love to hear some of the lesser known/heard stuff instead of the "songs everyone knows" stuff. But, that's just me.

 
I'd like to hear as little Dead as possible, and preferably none, but that's just me.

slowhand wrote:
I miss Jerry.
WHO?
To hear some great jam bands, and lots of Dead stuff, visit nugs.net and you'll enjoy!
I'd love to hear some of the lesser known/heard stuff instead of the "songs everyone knows" stuff. But, that's just me.
It sounds like driving to this song is a national law . . .
macadavy wrote:
Well there goes the farm! Sure glad I'm not in America. (Wait a minute! Which one? North, South or Central?) Golly - I'm hard put to think of one Dead song that's good enough for you to listen to - maybe 'Ripple' could edumacate you? (Live version, of course!) (please see below).
I'm good with Ripple, I love Box of Rain, and Truckin', Sugar Magnolia's all right. Anything that's a real song by the ex-Warlocks and not noodling around.
andrewimft wrote:
Favorite song of every homeless wino in America. Whenever someone's playing guitar on the street, you'll hear this song requested by the stumblers. Truly idiotic lyrics, though poetic, about some rich wino. Hey man, play FRIEND OF THE DEVIL-- by AC/DC? I think you can tell I hate this song, even more than I dislike live Dead noodling. I do like a lot of the Dead's songs-- real songs: the ones that aren't live versions, and have verses, choruses or refrains, and beginnings and endings, and aren't longer than 7 minutes. But not this one.
Well there goes the farm! Sure glad I'm not in America. (Wait a minute! Which one? North, South or Central?) Golly - I'm hard put to think of one Dead song that's good enough for you to listen to - maybe 'Ripple' could edumacate you? (Live version, of course!) (please see below).
Favorite song of every homeless wino in America. Whenever someone's playing guitar on the street, you'll hear this song requested by the stumblers. Truly idiotic lyrics, though poetic, about some rich wino. Hey man, play FRIEND OF THE DEVIL-- by AC/DC? I think you can tell I hate this song, even more than I dislike live Dead noodling. I do like a lot of the Dead's songs-- real songs: the ones that aren't live versions, and have verses, choruses or refrains, and beginnings and endings, and aren't longer than 7 minutes. But not this one.
More_Cowbell wrote:
Step 1: Tune Ears Step 2: Do not proceed until step 1 is accomplished. Step 3: If step 1 is not possible, zip mouth
Amen! Also: please engage brain before starting tongue... Bias disclosure: I'm a grateful dead head. Keep on truckin'!
i really disliked the dead growing up, dislike is an understatement actually. The word dislike does not do justice to what i really felt about the grateful dead. After seeing various dvd's of them live, i really like the dead now.... except for when bob weir sings... but jerry is a hell of a guitar player and i like his voice. its a shame it took me to be in my forties to appreciate the dead. But at least i see the light now!
ChrisInCT wrote:
amen
Now UR making me sad....even though listening to this song puts a big smile on my face!!
More_Cowbell wrote:
Step 1: Tune Ears Step 2: Do not proceed until step 1 is accomplished. Step 3: If step 1 is not possible, zip mouth
Hey that's funny stuff.
More_Cowbell wrote:
Step 1: Tune Ears Step 2: Do not proceed until step 1 is accomplished. Step 3: If step 1 is not possible, zip mouth
bokey wrote:
Musicians performance guide 101 1)Tune instrument 2)Do not proceed until step 1 is accomplished. 3)If step 1 is not possible due to "mitigating circumstances" refund the goddam money!!!!!!!!!!!!
Step 1: Tune Ears Step 2: Do not proceed until step 1 is accomplished. Step 3: If step 1 is not possible, zip mouth
WING DING WHOO DIP DAP DIDDILY DOO! 1/10.
I'm not a Deadhead, but I learned to like these guys when my dad asked me "why I played that Grateful Dead crap", and I had never actually listend to them. Thanks, Dad!
shevek wrote:
You're soooooooooo wrong.
Musicians performance guide 101 1)Tune instrument 2)Do not proceed until step 1 is accomplished. 3)If step 1 is not possible due to "mitigating circumstances" refund the goddam money!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lyle Lovett does this song way better. Sounds like the Dead are just phoning it in.