The Silver Tongued Devil and I

The Silver Tongued Devil and I
Studio album by Kris Kristofferson
Released 1971
Genre Country
Length 32:49
Label Monument
Producer Fred Foster
Kris Kristofferson chronology

Kristofferson
(1970)
Silver Tongued Devil and I
(1971)
Border Lord
(1972)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
The Village Voice C–[2]

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.

Track listing

All songs by Kris Kristofferson except as noted

  1. "The Silver Tongued Devil and I" – 4:18
  2. "Jody and the Kid" – 3:06
  3. "Billy Dee" – 2:57
  4. "Good Christian Soldier" (Bobby Bare, Billy Joe Shaver) – 3:22
  5. "Breakdown (A Long Way from Home)" – 2:44
  6. "Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)" – 3:47
  7. "The Taker" (Kristofferson, Shel Silverstein) – 3:16
  8. "When I Loved Her" – 3:03
  9. "The Pilgrim, Chapter 33" – 3:12
  10. "Epitaph (Black and Blue)" (Donnie Fritts, Kristofferson) – 3:23

Personnel

Additional personnel

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
Country Albums 4
Pop Albums 21

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
"Loving Her Was Easier" Country Singles 4
"Loving Her Was Easier" Pop Singles 26

In pop culture

A copy of the album appears in the 1976 film Taxi Driver, which also quotes a phrase from "The Pilgrim, Chapter 33": "He's a prophet, he's a pusher, partly truth and partly fiction, a walking contradiction."

References

  1. Ruhlmann, William. The Silver Tongued Devil and I at AllMusic
  2. Christgau, Robert (October 14, 1971). "Consumer Guide (19)". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved April 14, 2013.