The Devil Went Down to Georgia Lyrics
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind
And he was willin' to make a deal
And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump
And said, "boy, let me tell you what"
And if you'd care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you
Now you play pretty good fiddle, boy
But give the devil his due
I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul
'Cause I think I'm better than you"
But I'll take your bet, you're gonna regret
'Cause I'm the best there's ever been"
'Cause Hell's broke loose in Georgia, and the devil deals the cards
And if you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold
But if you lose, the devil gets your soul
And fire flew from his fingertips as he rosined up his bow
And he pulled the bow across the strings
And it made a evil hiss
Then a band of demons joined in
And it sounded something like this
But sit down in that chair right there
And let me show you how it's done"
The devil's in the House of the Rising Sun
Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough
Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, no
And he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny's feet
Johnny said, "Devil, just come on back if you ever wanna try again
I done told you once you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been"
Devil's in the House of the Rising Sun
The chicken in the bread pan are pickin' out dough
Granny, will your dog bite? No child, no
Everyone gets this one wrong. Johnny lost his soul. In the very first verse, the song tells us that the devil was "looking for a soul to steal". Not "a soul to win fairly in a fiddling contest", a soul to STEAL. Of course the devil isn't exactly the honorable sort and shouldn't be expected to honor a bargain anyway. He's spent thousands of years perfecting the art of tricking men. He offers Johnny a deal. The "deal" is crafted such that it appeals to johnny's pride (one of the 7 deadly sins), and dangles a golden fiddle before Johnny to appeal to his greed (another deadly sin) in case his pride wasn't enough. Johnny acknowledges that "it might be a sin" before issuing the brash, prideful statement "I'm the best there's ever been" and accepts the deal. Sure, Johnny wins the fiddling contest, but the contest was never the devil's true interest. The devil lost on purpose, just to further inflate Johnny's pride. The devil's true interest was to STEAL Johnny's soul by tricking Johnny into agreeing to the deal at all, and our poor Johnny's soul was doomed from the moment he fell into the devil's trap and accepted the deal.
Although, the devil is 'way behind', and 'willing to make a deal'.
Although, the devil is 'way behind', and 'willing to make a deal'.
@Volponi I always interpreted the "sin" was participating in betting. \r\n\r\nThe sin of pride drew him into the sin of gambling. \r\n\r\nOne sin begets another.
@Volponi I always interpreted the "sin" was participating in betting. \r\n\r\nThe sin of pride drew him into the sin of gambling. \r\n\r\nOne sin begets another.
OK let me tell you what this is really about. It's about Charlie Daniels' inner struggle between his rock and roll spirit and his country boy roots. Back when Charlie was young, rock was still called the "Devil's Music", and what's the first thing you hear when the devil "starts this show"? An electric guitar! The very symbol of rock and roll. And the devils' fiddle solo sounds like if AC/DC played the fiddle. Then comes Johnny's solo and what do we hear? "Chicken in the bread pan pickin out dough Granny will your dog bite no child no" I'm from East Tennessee and trust me, it just don't get anymore country than that. So the devil represents rock and roll and Johnny represents hillbilly mountain music. Ultimately, Charlie decides he can't turn his back on his roots and Johnny wins out. Great story-song. One of my favorites.
I just want to point out one thing... The devil was "lookin' for a soul to steal," but it looks to me like he offered Johnny a legitimate bet, lost it, and then held up his end of the deal honestly. No stealin' involved. It's not like Johnny was coerced or the devil tried to cheat!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA FUCK YAHHHHHHHHHHH
just cool
i can't believe this song wasn't added sooner...but definitely a cool song...
this song is great.
A great story
primus did a good job covering it....listen to it you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
wow and haha...what else is there to say?