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Total ratings: 2249
Length: 3:20
Plays (last 30 days): 2
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
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
the end is near
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.
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?
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)
Ich bin aus Germany und mir geht es genauso
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!"
and you can sing to it
and if you got a case of the fidgets... you can dance to it
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!
I don't like the Grateful Dead, but I HATE the term "over-rated"!
I don't like the Grateful Dead, but I HATE the term "over-rated"!
LOL! I am definitely not a deadhead but this song is a classic.
12 ,,, now 12,,,,,,,,,,
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
HA! 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
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.
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,
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.
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.
Actually, I think the only overrated song of theirs is What's Become of the Baby.
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...
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.
11.
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.
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.
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.
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.
no, they just wrote it like that.
as it's only a GDead song...
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.
"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..."
no, they just wrote it like that.
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?
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.
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. This is a great song though.
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.
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!
Hannio wrote:
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. This is a great song though.
Enjoying the sweet air may not be sufficient to becoming a fan of the Dead.....but it certainly could enhance the experience
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. This is a great song though.
Never to late to start.
(5)
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.
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...
Misquoted, with apologies. It was just sitting there for the taking...
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)
Wouldn't that be all of them? :-P
agreed - it is often the case with dead songs
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
I'd like to hear as little Dead as possible, and preferably none, but that's just me.