I lit out from Reno
I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn't get to sleep that night
'Till the morning came around

Set out running
But I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

Ran into the devil, babe
He loaned me twenty bills
I spent the night in Utah
In a cave up in the hills

Set out running
But I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

I ran down to the levee
But the devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill
And vanished in the air

Set out running
But I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

Got two reasons
Why I cry away each lonely night
The first one's named Sweet Anne Marie
And she's my hearts delight

The second one is prison, babe
The sheriff's on my trail
And if he catches up with me
I'll spend my life in jail

Got a wife in Chino, babe
And one in Cherokee
The first one say she's got my child
But it don't look like me

Set out running
But I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

Got two reasons
Why I cry away each lonely night
The first one's named Sweet Anne Marie
And she's my hearts delight

The second one is prison, babe
The sheriff's on my trail
And if he catches up with me
I'll spend my life in jail

Got a wife in Chino, babe
And one in Cherokee
The first one say she's got my child
But it don't look like me

Set out running
But I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight