Friend of the Devil
Encyclopedia
"Friend of the Devil" is a song recorded by the Grateful Dead
. The music was written by Jerry Garcia
and John Dawson
and the lyrics are by Robert Hunter
. It is the second track of the Dead's 1970 album
American Beauty
.
"Friend of the Devil" is about an outlaw, on the run from the police. His crime is never explicitly stated. The Devil
helps him escape, but winds up chasing him just as the law does; several lines of the song are ambiguous, and could refer to either law enforcement or servants of Satan, such as "I was trailed by twenty hounds", which could refer to either police dog
s sniffing his trail, or mythical hellhound
s.
The song is acoustic
, like most of American Beauty. It is known for the riff
lead guitarist Jerry Garcia
plays in the bass
register
, which is a descending G major scale
(G F# E D C B A G). The song is among the most covered songs written by the Grateful Dead; Hunter later stated, "that was the closest we've come to what may be a classic song."
The song was introduced in concert on February 28, 1970 at the Family Dog
in San Francisco.
Later in the band's history, the song slowed down significantly in live performances. Loggins & Messina, whose version of the song was slowed down, might have inspired The Dead to do the same. In more recent history, Phil Lesh
with Phil's band Phil Lesh & Friends do a more up tempo version similar to the original.
Hunter plays a slightly different version on his album (released only in LP format) Jack O'Roses. He adds a final verse:
"You can borrow from the Devil/
You can borrow from a friend/
But the Devil'll give you twenty/
When your friend got only ten"
This version was performed live by the American Beauty Project http://flink.livedownloads.com/show.asp?show=3641 on 16 November 2007.
During the 1960s, 70s and 80s, many American Christian
groups railed against rock bands with perceived Satanic influences. This song was frequently cited as an example, due to its apparent sympathy to an outlaw who makes a deal, literal or not, with the Devil.
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
. The music was written by Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
and John Dawson
John Dawson (musician)
John Collins Dawson IV, nicknamed "Marmaduke" , was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the leader and co-founder of the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage.-Musical career:...
and the lyrics are by Robert Hunter
Robert Hunter (lyricist)
Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
. It is the second track of the Dead's 1970 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
American Beauty
American Beauty (album)
American Beauty is the fifth album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between August and September 1970 and originally released in November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records...
.
"Friend of the Devil" is about an outlaw, on the run from the police. His crime is never explicitly stated. The Devil
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
helps him escape, but winds up chasing him just as the law does; several lines of the song are ambiguous, and could refer to either law enforcement or servants of Satan, such as "I was trailed by twenty hounds", which could refer to either police dog
Police dog
A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...
s sniffing his trail, or mythical hellhound
Hellhound
A hellhound is a supernatural dog, found in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the ubiquitous dragon...
s.
The song is acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
, like most of American Beauty. It is known for the riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
lead guitarist Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
plays in the bass
Bassline
A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...
register
Register (music)
In music, a register is the relative "height" or range of a note, set of pitches or pitch classes, melody, part, instrument or group of instruments...
, which is a descending G major scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
(G F# E D C B A G). The song is among the most covered songs written by the Grateful Dead; Hunter later stated, "that was the closest we've come to what may be a classic song."
The song was introduced in concert on February 28, 1970 at the Family Dog
Family Dog
Family Dog is an American animated television series that only aired 10 episodes for one year on CBS, due to negative reviews. The plot of the story was about an average suburban family, the Binsfords, as told through the eyes of their dog, It first appeared as an episode of the TV show Amazing...
in San Francisco.
Later in the band's history, the song slowed down significantly in live performances. Loggins & Messina, whose version of the song was slowed down, might have inspired The Dead to do the same. In more recent history, Phil Lesh
Phil Lesh
Phillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
with Phil's band Phil Lesh & Friends do a more up tempo version similar to the original.
Hunter plays a slightly different version on his album (released only in LP format) Jack O'Roses. He adds a final verse:
"You can borrow from the Devil/
You can borrow from a friend/
But the Devil'll give you twenty/
When your friend got only ten"
This version was performed live by the American Beauty Project http://flink.livedownloads.com/show.asp?show=3641 on 16 November 2007.
During the 1960s, 70s and 80s, many American Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
groups railed against rock bands with perceived Satanic influences. This song was frequently cited as an example, due to its apparent sympathy to an outlaw who makes a deal, literal or not, with the Devil.
Cover versions
- Loggins & Messina, whose version of the song was slowed down
- Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Tom PettyTom PettyThomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
also both have coveredCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the song frequently in concert, including Petty's 1997 rendition of the track available on his Live AnthologyThe Live AnthologyThe Live Anthology is a live box set by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The box set was released by Reprise Records on November 23, 2009, in a number of formats, with the standard CD and download formats, composed of 48 tracks .The album's cover artwork and packaging was...
album. - In 2002, Norway's top country-rock band, HellbilliesHellbilliesThe Hellbillies are a Norwegian country rock group formed in 1990. As of 2010, they have released twelve albums—including a compilation and two live albums—as well as one live concert DVD...
covered the song on their live album, Cool Tur (Cool Tour). The song was performed with Norwegian lyrics by Arne Moslåtten and is known as "Hinnmann og eg". - In 2003, Counting CrowsCounting CrowsCounting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
included a slower-tempo cover of the song on their compilation album Films About Ghosts. While reproducing the acoustic riff, the Counting Crows version also adds electric keyboard and guitar instrumentation at about midway through the song. - Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
and Keller WilliamsKeller WilliamsKeller Williams is an American musician from Fredericksburg, Virginia, who began performing in the early 1990s. He is also known by the names K-Dub or just Keller, when performing. Williams' music combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, and...
have also covered this song in concert. - In 2008, the song was used in the introduction to an episode of Adult SwimAdult SwimAdult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
's Lucy, Daughter of the Devil, sung by The Devil (Lucy's father) and Terry, the Devil's sentient teratomaTeratomaA teratoma is an encapsulated tumor with tissue or organ components resembling normal derivatives of all three germ layers. There are rare occasions when not all three germ layers are identifiable...
. - A version by Lyle LovettLyle LovettLyle Pearce Lovett is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded thirteen albums and released 21 singles to date, including his highest entry, the number 10 chart hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Cowboy Man"...
exists on his Here I Am — The Lyle Lovett Collection compilation and on the Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead album. Both were released in 1991. - Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
based Rock trio Hot Ham & Cheese released a punk version of the song in 2008 - In 2011, Cosmo JarvisCosmo JarvisHarrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis , better known by his stage name Cosmo Jarvis, is an English singer-songwriter and filmmaker...
covered the songhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51bgnjEYqMo for the TheMusic in Australia.