I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I lit up from Reno
I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn't get to sleep that night
Till the morning came around
Set out running but I'll 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
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 running 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
I ran down to the levee
But the devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill
And it vanished in the air
I set out running 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
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
Second one is prison, baby
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
First one says she's got my child
But it don't look like me
Set out running 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
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
Second one is prison, baby
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
I set out running but I took my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
Just might get some sleep tonight
I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn't get to sleep that night
Till the morning came around
Set out running but I'll 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
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 running 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
I ran down to the levee
But the devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill
And it vanished in the air
I set out running 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
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
Second one is prison, baby
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
First one says she's got my child
But it don't look like me
Set out running 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
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
Second one is prison, baby
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
I set out running but I took my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
Just might get some sleep tonight
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Just an absolutely amazing song. It was written by Robert Hunter (the lyricist for the Dead - check out the original hand-written version - dead.net/RobertHunterArchive/files/HandwrittenLyrics/FriendOfDevil.html)
My thought has always been that this song is about the choices we make -- sometimes stealing from Peter to pay off Paul. Sometimes picking the wrong ally for the right reasons. Indebting ourselves to those that are negative influences in our lives.
There's a general feeling that the "hounds" are devil dogs, and that the writer can't sleep until he's in the "protection" of his home, or else the hounds of hell will steal his soul.
I also wonder if this song is about chosing to go against the status quo. "An enemy of my enemy is my friend." Kind of fighting against the church by siding with their enemy. Lashing out at "The Man," in a sort of protest against popular morality.