1970Released
3:21

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Friend of the Devil. By Songfacts®.

Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter told Relix that "Friend of the Devil" was the closest that the Grateful Dead ever came to creating "what may be called a classic song." Many Deadheads may disagree, but it's an interesting perspective from the man who penned the words for the majority of the Dead's most iconic pieces. Whether or not "Friend of the Devil" is the sole "classic" Dead tune, it's hard to argue that the band tapped into the outlaw's zeitgeist to find a timeless song with this one. Dead chronicler extraordinaire David Dodd, for one, agrees. "No other Dead tune gets played quite so often," Dodd writes in Greatest Stories Ever Told.

Jerry Garcia and John Dawson of New Riders of the Purple Sage (NRPS) wrote the music for "Friend of the Devil." Hunter wrote the lyrics, but Dawson played a critical part in that area, as well. In his online journal, Robert Hunter recounted writing the lyrics for "Friend of the Devil" in a single afternoon in Madrone Canyon. He actually created the song with the intent of playing it with NRPS, after the band had asked him to be their bassist. This is why he first unveiled the song to David Nelson and John Dawson in their home in Kentfield. At that point, Hunter explains, "The 'Sweet Anne Marie' verse which was later to become a bridge was only one of the verses, not yet a bridge." Where things get really interesting in this story is where Hunter tells us that the chorus originally 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 Notice how the line "A friend of the devil is a friend of mine" doesn't play into that chorus? This is where Dawson comes in. After showing the guys the song, Hunter explains, the band went down to the kitchen for espresso. "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 [sic] 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." It's interesting to wonder whether or not the song would still have become a staple if Dawson hadn't popped those lyrics. The line, "a friend of the devil is a friend of mine" isn't the only great thing about the song, but it's definitely a critical part. Hunter dipped out of NRPS almost as fast he dipped in, and so the song became a Dead tune.

In regards to the song's lyrics, Dodd's indispensable Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics makes an interesting connection between the "Friend of the Devil" line "trailed by twenty hounds" and the line "there's a hellhound on my trail" from Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail." It's not very likely that that is purely a coincidence, considering Hunter's musical scholarship and penchant for filling his lyrics with allusions to folk songs, blues, poetry, and mythology. The possible connection is doubly interesting because Johnson's legend goes that he sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads to become a great bluesman. At the very least, it's an intriguing piece to the story told in the song. Hunter also wrote that there was a fifth verse written for the song. It went: You can borrow from the Devil You can borrow from a friend But the Devil give you twenty When your friend got only ten

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Friend of the Devil.
GKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
103BPM

Album

The album Friend of the Devil is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Friend of the Devil.
Rhino/Warner Records
© 2001 Warner Records Inc. Manufactured and Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing.
℗ 2001 Warner Records Inc. Manufactured and Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing.

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