Kris Kristofferson (65,69 %)

The Silver Tongued Devil and I (71,79 %)

In collection

Kris Kristofferson - The Silver Tongued Devil and I
Released: 1971
Type: Studio

Ranking:
Artist:
2

Year (1971):
25

Decade (1970's):
151

Overall:
764

1.
The Silver Tongued Devil and I
04:18
2.
Jody and the Kid
03:04
3.
Billy Dee
02:56
4.
Good Christian Soldier
03:21
5.
Breakdown (A Long Way from Home)
02:42
6.
Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)
03:47
7.
The Taker
03:13
8.
When I Loved Her
03:01
9.
The Pilgrim, Chapter 33
03:10
10.
Epitaph (Black and Blue)
03:24
 
Album length:
32:56

Lyrics

1.
The Silver Tongued Devil and I
I took myself down to the Tally-Ho Tavern to buy me a bottle of beer
I sat me down by a tender young maiden whose eyes were as dark as her hair
And as I was searchin' 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 a devil he's everything that I ain't
Hidin' intentions of evil under the smile of a saint
All he's good for is gettin' in trouble and shiftin' 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
But nothing that I could've said could've saved her no matter how hard that I tried
Cause she'll offer her charms to the darkness and danger
Of something that she's never known
And open her arms at the smile of a stranger\r
Who'll love her and leave her alone

And you know he's a devil he's everything that I ain't
Hidin' intentions of evil under the smile of a saint
All he's good for is gettin' in trouble and shiftin' 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
2.
Jody and the Kid
She would meet me in the morning on my way down to the river
Waitin' patient by the chinaberry tree
With her feet already dusty from the pathway to the levee
And her little blue jeans rolled up to her knees
I paid her no attention as she tagged along beside me
Trying hard to copy everything I did
But I couldn't keep from smiling when I'd hear somebody saying
Looky yonder, there goes Jody and the kid

Even after we grew older we could still be seen together
As we walked along the levee holding hands
For as surely as the seasons she was changing to a woman
And I'd lived enough to call myself a man
And she often lay beside me in the coolness of the evening
Till the morning sun was shining on my bed
And at times when she was sleeping I would smile when I'd remember
How they used to call us Jody and the kid

Now the world's a little older and the years have changed the river
Cause there's houses where they didn't used to be
And on Sundays I go walking down the pathway to the levee
With another little girl who follows me
And it makes the old folks smile to see her tag along beside me
Doin' little things the way her mama did
But it gets a little lonesome when I hear somebody saying
Looky yonder there goes Jody and the kid
3.
Billy Dee
Billy Dee was seventeen when he turned twenty-one
Fooling with some foolish things he could've left alone
But he had to try to satisfy a thirst he couldn't name
Driven toward the darkness by the devils in his veins
All around the honky tonks searching for a sign
Gettin' by on gettin' high on women, words and wine
Some folks called him crazy Lord others called him free
But we just called us lucky for the love of Billy Dee

Busy goin' his own way and speakin' his own words
Facin' and forgettin' every warning that he heard
Making friends and takin' any crazy chance he could
Gettin' busted for the bad times and believin' in the good
Billy took a beatin' from a world he meant no harm
The score was written in the scars upon his arm
Some felt he was paying for the life he tried to lead
But all we felt was sorry for our good friend Billy Dee

It may be his soul was bigger than a body's oughta be
Singin' songs and bringin' laughter to the likes of you and me
Cause the world he saw was sadder than the one he hoped to find
But it wasn't near as lonesome as the one he left behind
Yesterday they found him on the floor of his hotel
Reachin' toward the needle Lord that drove him down to hell
Some folks called it suicide others blamed the speed
But we just called it crucified when Billy Dee O.D.'d
4.
Good Christian Soldier
Not so long ago in Oklahoma the son of an Okie preacher knelt to pray
He said Lord I wanna be a Christian soldier just like you
And fight to build a new and better day
Now many years and miles from Oklahoma
That same young Okie boy still kneels to pray
But he don't pray to be no Christian soldier anymore
He just prays to make it through another day

Cause it's hard to be a Christian soldier when you tote a gun
And it hurts to have to watch a grown man cry
But we're playin' cards writin' home havin' lots of fun
Telling jokes and learning how to die

Now the things I've come to know seem so confusin'
It's gettin' hard to tell what's wrong from right
I can't seperate the winners from the losers anymore
And I'm thinking of just giving up the fight

Cause it's hard to be a Christian soldier when you tote a gun
And it hurts to have to watch a grown man cry
But we're playin' cards writin' home and ain't we havin' fun
Turning on and learning how to die
5.
Breakdown (A Long Way from Home)
The clubs are all closed and the ladies are leaving
There's nobody nobody knows on the street
A few stranded souls standing cold at the station
And nowhere to go but to bed and to sleep

Lord would you look at you now that you're here ain't you
Proud of your peers and the long way you've come
All alone all the way on your own who's to say
That you've thrown it away for a song\r
Boy you've sure come a long way from home

So it's so long to so many so far behind you
Fair-weather friends that you no longer know
You still got the same lonely songs to remind you
Of someone you seemed to be so long ago

Lord would you look at you now that you're here ain't you
Proud of your peers and the long way you've come
All alone all the way on your own who's to say
That you've thrown it away for a song\r
Boy you've sure come a long way from home
6.
Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)
I have seen the morning burning golden on the mountain in the skies
Aching with the feeling of the freedom of an eagle when she flies
Turning on the world the way she smiled upon my soul as I lay dying
Healing as the colors in the sunshine and the shadows of her eyes
Waking in the morning to the feeling of her fingers on my skin
Wiping out the traces of the people and the places that I've been
Teaching me that yesterday was something that I never thought of trying
Talking of tomorrow and the money love and time we have to spend
Loving her was easier than anything I'll ever do again

Coming close together with a feeling that I've never known before in my time
She ain't ashamed to be a woman or afraid to be a friend
I don't know the answer to the easy way she opened every door in my mind
But dreaming was as easy as believing it was never gonna end
And loving her was easier than anything I'll ever do again
7.
The Taker
He's a giver - he'll give her the kind of attention that she's never known
He's a teacher - he'll teach her to open the doors that she can't on her own
He's a lover - he'll love her in ways that she never has been loved before
He's a getter - he'll get her by gettin' her into the world she's been hungerin' for
He's a charmer - he'll charm her with money and manners that I never learned
He's a leader - he'll lead her across pretty bridges he's plannin' to burn
He's a talker - he'll talk her right off of her feet but he won't talk for long
Cause he's a doer and he'll do her the way that I never damned if he won't do her wrong

Cause he's a taker - he'll take her to places and make her
Fly higher than she's ever dared to
He'll take his time before takin' advantage takin' her easy and slow
And after he's taken the body and soul that she gives him
He'll take her for granted
Then he'll take off and leave her, taking all of her pride as she goes

Yes he's a taker - he'll take her to places and make her
Fly higher than she's ever dared to
He'll take his time before takin' advantage takin' her easy and slow
And after he's taken the body and soul that she gives him
He'll take her for granted
Then he'll take off and leave her, taking all of her pride as she goes
8.
When I Loved Her
Well she didn't look as pretty as some others I have known
And she wasn't good at conversation when we were alone
But she had a way of making me believe that I belong
And it felt like coming home when I found her

Cause she seemed to be so proud of me just walking holding hands
And she didn't think that money was a measure of a man
And we seemed to fit together when I held her in my arms
And it left me feeling warm when I loved her

Cause she brightened up the day like the early morning sun
And she made what I was doing seem worthwhile
It's the closest thing to living that I guess I've ever known
And it made me want to smile when I loved her

I know some of us were born to cast our fortunes to the winds
And I guess I'm bound to travel down a road that never ends
But I know I'll never look upon the likes of her again
And I'll never understand why I lost her

Cause she brightened up the day like the early morning sun
And she made what I was doing seem worthwhile
It's the closest thing to living that I guess I've ever known
And it made me want to smile when I loved her
9.
The Pilgrim, Chapter 33
See him wasted on the sidewalk in his jacket and his jeans
Wearin' yesterday's misfortunes like a smile
Once he had a future full of money, love and dreams
Which he spent like they was going out of style

And he keeps right on a changin' for the better or the worse
And searchin' for a shrine he's never found
Never knowin' if believin' is a blessin' or a curse
Or if the going up is worth to coming down

He's a poet, he's a picker, he's a prophet, he's a pusher
He's a pilgrim and a preacher and a problem when he's stoned
He's a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction
Taking every wrong direction on his lonely way back home

He has tasted good and evil in your bedrooms and your bars
And he's traded in tomorrow for today
Runnin' from the devil Lord and reachin' for the stars
And losin' all he loved along the way

But if this world keeps right on turning for the better or the worse
All he ever gets is older and around
From the rocking of the cradle to the rolling of the hearse
The going up was worth the coming down

He's a poet, he's a picker, he's a prophet, he's a pusher
He's a pilgrim and a preacher and a problem when he's stoned
He's a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction
Taking every wrong direction on his lonely way back home
There's a lot of wrong directions on that lonely way back home
10.
Epitaph (Black and Blue)
Her close friends have gathered Lord ain't it a shame
Grieving together, sharing the blame
But when she was dying Lord we let her down
There's no use crying it can't help her now
The party's all over drink up and go home
it's too late to love her and leave her alone
Just say she was someone Lord so far from home
Whose life was so lonesome she died all alone
Who dreamed pretty dreams that never came true
Lord why was she born so black and blue
oh why was she born so black and blue