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

• Kris Kristofferson – guitar, vocals
• Jerry Kennedy, Jerry Shook, Chris Gantry – guitar
• Norbert Putnam, Bobby Dyson, Billy Swan – bass
• Jerry Carrigan – drums
• David Briggs, Donnie Fritts – keyboards
• Norman Blake – dobro
• Charlie McCoy – harmonica/vibes/trumpet
• Farrell Morris – percussion
• Billy Swan, Donnie Fritts, Rita Coolidge – vocals
• Arrangements by Bergen White
• Joan Baez sings on "The Taker", credited only as "The Lady"

Additional personnel

• Fred Foster – producer
• Gene Eichelberger – engineer
• Tommy Strong – engineer
• Mort Thomasson – engineer

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."

The de facto soundtrack for Kristofferson's first film, "Cisco Pike", which features many songs from the album.

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.