As a teenager, DeVille had a band named Billy and the Kids. He moved to London looking to form a band, but was unsuccessful in finding like-minded musicians. Eventually he landed in San Francisco where he formed a band with bassist Ruben Siguenza and drummer Tom "Manfred" Allen. The band played under the names Billy DeSade & the Marquis and the Lazy Eights before settling on the name Mink DeVille. Later, DeVille took the band to New York City, where they helped to pioneer punk rock music and were one of the original house bands at CBGB, the New York nighclub where punk rock music was born in the mid-1970s.
The typical DeVille song -- if any of his songs can be called "typical" -- is filled with romantic conviction and yearning. Latin rhythms, Blues riffs, and strains of country music can be heard in DeVille songs. Spanish Stroll was a hit in the U.S. and the UK in 1978; Storybook Love (nominated for an Academy Award in 1987) is the theme song of the movie The Princess Bride.
DeVille suffered from drug addiction for many years, which stifled his career. Among fellow musicians and songwriters, he was widely respected. Songwriter Doc Pomus said about Deville, "He knows the truth of a city street and the courage in a ghetto love song."
DeVille died of pancreatic cancer during the night of August 6, 2009 in a New York hospital.
DeVille had homes in New Orleans and Mississippi.
Hound Dog
Willy DeVille Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cryin' all the time.
You ain't nothin' but a hound dog
Cryin' all the time.
Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit
And you ain't no friend of mine.
When they said you was high classed,
When they said you was high classed,
Well, that was just a lie.
You ain't never caught a rabbit
And you ain't no friend of mine
The lyrics to Willy DeVille's rendition of the classic song "Hound Dog" tell the story of a man dismissing a woman who he views as not worth his time. The repeated line "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog cryin' all the time" is a direct reference to the original Elvis Presley version but highlights the man's view of the woman as weak and emotional. The line "Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit, and you ain't no friend of mine" can be interpreted in a few different ways. It could simply mean that the woman is not skilled enough to catch a rabbit, which would have been a common activity in rural areas of the United States where hunting and trapping animals for food or sport was practiced. However, the line could also be a metaphor for the woman's inability to attract or keep a man, as "catching a rabbit" could represent successfully finding and keeping a partner.
Line by Line Meaning
You ain't nothin' but a hound dog
You are nothing more than a lazy and useless dog
Cryin' all the time.
You whine about everything and are always unhappy.
Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit
You have never achieved anything great or accomplished anything meaningful.
And you ain't no friend of mine.
I don't want anything to do with you because you are unreliable and useless.
When they said you was high classed,
When people claimed that you were sophisticated and elegant,
Well, that was just a lie.
It turned out to be completely false and untrue.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind