Friend of the Devil

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In this song, The Grateful Dead write about a life of crime and how it has affected the narrator—all contained in that beautiful downward melody with which the whole opens… Read More

Nov. 1, 19701 viewer93.7K views

Friend of the Devil Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I lit out from Reno, I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn't get to sleep that night 'til the morning came around

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

[Verse 2]
Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills
Spent the night in Utah in a cave up in the hills

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

[Verse 3]
I ran down to the levee but the devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill and he vanished in the air

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

[Bridge]
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, and the sheriff's on my trail
And if he catches up with me, I'll spend my life in jail

[Verse 4]
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

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

[Bridge]
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

[Verse 4]
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

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

About

In this song, The Grateful Dead write about a life of crime and how it has affected the narrator—all contained in that beautiful downward melody with which the whole opens and rolls along.

The main theme of the song is that a life of crime always sticks with you. That is to say, once you deal with the devil you will always deal with the devil. The song goes on to talk about all the measures the narrator must take and all the things that he (I assume it is a he) must endure/misses due to his life of crime.

The song was originally written by Robert Hunter for the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and was written along with NRPS’s John Dawson.