Silver Tounged Devil/Kris Kristofferson

The Silver Tongued Devil and I
(1971)

The Silver Tongued Devil and I is the second album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1971 on Monument Records. In the spoken word intro to "The Pilgrim, Chapter 33", Kristofferson says he wrote the song about various celebrities. Two of those mentioned, Johnny Cash and Dennis Hopper, later performed the song on The Johnny Cash Show; Another is Donnie Fritts, Kristofferson's keyboardist, Bobby Neuwirth, and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. "Epitaph" is about Janis Joplin. In the documentary "Harry Dean Stanton, Partly Fiction" Kristofferson says that the song was inspired by Harry Dean Stanton.

Kris Kristofferson – guitar, vocals
Jerry Kennedy, Jerry Shook, Chris Gantry – guitar
Norbert Putnam, Bobby Dyson, Billy Swan – bass
Jerry Carrigan – drums
David Briggs, Donnie Fritts – keyboards
Norman Blake – dobro
Charlie McCoy – harmonica/vibes/trumpet
Farrell Morris – percussion
Billy Swan, Donnie Fritts, Rita Coolidge – vocals
Arrangements by Bergen White

Lyrics;


I took myself down to the Tally Ho Tavern
To buy me a bottle of beer
And I sat me down by a tender young maiden
Whose eyes were as soft as her hair
And as I was searching from bottle to bottle
For something unfoolish to say
That silver tongued devil just slipped from the shadows
And smilingly stole her away

I said hey, little girl don't you know, he's the devil
He's everything that I ain't
Hiding intentions of evil
Under the smile of a saint
All he's good for is gettin' in trouble
And shifting his share of the blame
And some people swear he's my double
And some even say we're the same
But the silver-tongued devil's got nothing to lose
And I'll only live 'till I die
We take our own chances, and pay our own dues
The silver tongued devil and I

Like all the fair maidens who've laid down beside him
She knew in her heart that he'd lied
Nothing that I could have said could have saved her
No matter how hard that she tried
'Cause she'll offer her soul to the darkness and danger
Of something that she's never known
And open her arms at the smile of a stranger
Who'll love her and leave her alone

And she know's he's the devil
He's everything that I ain't
Hiding intentions of evil intentions
Under the smile of a saint
All he's good for is gettin' in trouble
And shifting his share of the blame
And some people swear he's my double
And some even say we're the same

But the silver-tongued devil's got nothing to lose
And I'll only live 'till I die
We take our own chances, and pay our own dues
The silver tongued devil and I

Writer(s): Kris Kristofferson

Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He wrote and recorded the songs "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night". Kristofferson composed his own songs and collaborated with Nashville songwriters such as Shel Silverstein. In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash in forming the country music supergroup The Highwaymen. In 2004, Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He is also known for his starring roles in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and A Star Is Born, for the latter of which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.
Kristoffer Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann (née Ashbrook) and Lars Henry Kristofferson, a U.S. Army Air Corps officer (later a U.S. Air Force Major General). His paternal grandparents emigrated from Sweden, while his mother had English, Scottish-Irish, German, Swiss-German, and Dutch ancestry. Kristofferson's paternal grandfather was an officer in the Swedish Army. When Kristofferson was a child, his father pushed him towards a military career.

At the age of 17, Kristofferson took a summer job with a dredging contractor on Wake Island. He called it "the hardest job I ever had."

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