Originally from New York, Elliott grew up in a Jewish family and had always wanted to be a cowboy. Pressured by his parents to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor, Elliott resisted and inspired by the rodeos he attended at Madison Square Garden, he ran away from home at the age of 15 and joined the J.E. Ranch Rodeo. Although he was only with the rodeo for three months (before his parents tracked him down and he was sent home), Elliott was exposed to his first singing cowboy, a rodeo clown who played guitar and banjo and sang songs.
Returning home, Elliott taught himself to play guitar and started busking for a living. Eventually he hooked up with Woody Guthrie and lived with him as a kind of student.
With banjo player Derroll Adams, he later toured Great Britain and Europe and had a lasting effect on the music scene there. By 1960, he had made three folk albums for the British label, Topic. Playing in the small clubs and pubs of London by day, he would then take his act to the smart, west end night clubs. Upon arriving back in the U.S., Elliott discovered he had become well-known within the folk scene.
Elliott's greatest influence was Woody Guthrie. Guthrie's son, Arlo, has said that because of his dad's illness and early death, he never really got to know him. Arlo acknowledged that he learned his dad's songs and musical style through Elliott.
Elliott's musical style influenced Bob Dylan so heavily that Dylan's first gig in New York City was billed as "Son of Jack Elliott." While Dylan rose to prominence through his compositions, Elliott continued as an interpretive troubadour, bringing old songs to new audiences in an idiosyncratic manner.
Elliott appeared on Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue and played Longheno de Castro in Dylan's Renaldo and Clara.
Jack Elliott's style is distinctive in its use of excellent guitar technique matched with laconic, humorous storytelling and an emotional intensity in the singing.
Elliott's nickname is due not to his travel habits, but rather to the countless stories he would relate before answering the simplest of questions. Folk singer Odetta claims that it was her mother who gave him the name by remarking, "Oh Jack Elliott, yeah, he can sure ramble on!"
He was famously parodied in on the BBC in the 1960s by Kenneth Williams as Rambling Syd Rumpo who was a recurring character on Round the Horne. His claims of authenticity as a folk artist (despite being a Jewish doctor's son from New York City) and disparagement of other folk artists were also parodied by the Folksmen (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer) in A Mighty Wind both in the name of their "hit" Ramblin' and in their claims that their version was more authentic than the New Main Street Singers's version.
Jack Elliott's first recording in 20 years, "South Coast", earned him his first Grammy in 1995. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1998. Ramblin' Jack's long career and strained relationship with his daughter Aiyana were chronicled in her 2000 documentary, "The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack".
At 75, he has recently changed labels and released "I Stand Alone" on the Anti- label, with an assortment of guest backup players including members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers; again, an idiosyncratic collection of little-known music delivered with humor and intensity. He is on record as saying his intention was to title the album "Not For The Tourists" because it was recorded in response to his daughter's request for songs he loved but never played in concert. When she asked why he did not play them in public, he replied "These songs are not for the tourists".
Friend of the Devil
Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn't get to sleep that night
Till the morning came around
chorus:
I set out running but I take my time
A friend of the Devil is a friend of mine
I just might get some sleep tonight
I ran into the Devil, babe
He loaned me twenty bills
I spent that night in Utah
In a cave up in the hills
I ran down to the levee
But the Devil caught me there
He took my twenty-dollar bill
And he vanished in the air
Got two reasons why I cry
away each lonely night
First one's named sweet Ann 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 Cheno, babe
And one in Cherokee
First one says she's got my child
But it don't look like me
You can borrow from the Devil
You can borrow from a friend
But the Devil will give you twenty
When your friend only got ten
The lyrics to "Friend of the Devil" by Ramblin' Jack Elliott tell the story of a man on the run, trailed by twenty hounds, and who encounters the Devil who loans him twenty bills. The man spends the night in Utah in a cave and eventually makes his way down to the levee, only to have the Devil take his twenty-dollar bill and vanish into the air. The chorus repeats the phrase, "A friend of the Devil is a friend of mine," indicating that the man is not necessarily a bad person but perhaps in a situation where he must make difficult choices. He has two reasons why he cries each lonely night, the first being a woman named sweet Ann Marie who is his heart's delight, and the second being that the sheriff is on his trail and he may end up spending his life in jail. Finally, the man admits to having a wife in both Cheno and Cherokee and one of them claims to have his child, but it does not look like him.
One can interpret the lyrics in many ways, but one possible interpretation is that the song is about a man who is caught in a difficult situation and must make tough choices to survive. His encounters with the Devil may represent the temptation he faces, and the fact that he borrows from both the Devil and a friend suggests that he is willing to do whatever it takes to get by. The chorus may indicate that the man doesn't necessarily want to be associated with the Devil, but he will accept help from anyone he can get it from. In this way, the song may be a commentary on the desperation that can arise from certain circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
I lit out from Reno
I left Reno in a hurry
I was trailed by twenty hounds
I was being pursued by the authorities
Didn't get to sleep that night
I was too worried to sleep
Till the morning came around
I didn't fall asleep until sunrise
I set out running but I take my time
I am in no rush to reach my destination
A friend of the Devil is a friend of mine
I am not afraid to associate with shady characters
If I get home before daylight
If I arrive at my destination early enough
I just might get some sleep tonight
I might be able to finally rest
I ran into the Devil, babe
I encountered a dangerous person
He loaned me twenty bills
He gave me some money
I spent that night in Utah
I stayed in Utah for the night
In a cave up in the hills
I took shelter in a cave in the mountains
I ran down to the levee
I went to the riverbank
But the Devil caught me there
But I was caught by someone dangerous
He took my twenty-dollar bill
He stole my money
And he vanished in the air
And he disappeared quickly
Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night
I have two things that make me feel sad at night
First one's named sweet Ann Marie and she's my heart's delight
One is a woman named Ann Marie who I care for deeply
Second one is prison, baby the sheriff's on my trail
The other is the fear of being caught by the police
And if he catches up with me
And if he finds me
I'll spend my life in jail
I will be in prison for the rest of my life
Got a wife in Cheno, babe
I am married to someone in Cheno
And one in Cherokee
And I am also married to someone in Cherokee
First one says she's got my child
My first wife claims to have my child
But it don't look like me
But I am not sure if the child is really mine
You can borrow from the Devil
You can get money from a dangerous person
You can borrow from a friend
You can get money from a trustworthy person
But the Devil will give you twenty
But the dangerous person will give you more money
When your friend only got ten
When the trustworthy person only has a little to spare
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jerome J. Garcia, John C. Dawson, Robert C. Hunter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind