The Devil Went Down to Georgia

"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
Single by Charlie Daniels
from the album Million Mile Reflections
B-side	"Rainbow Ride"
Released	May 21, 1979
Genre	Country rock, southern rock
Length	3:37
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Charlie Daniels Tom Crain "Taz" DiGregorio Fred Edwards Charles Hayward James W. Marshall
Producer	John Boylan
Certification	Platinum
Charlie Daniels singles chronology
"Trudy" (1978) "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (1979) "Mississippi" (1979)

"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979^[1] album Million Mile Reflections. The song is written in the key of D minor. Vassar Clements originally wrote the basic melody an octave lower, in a tune called "Lonesome Fiddle Blues". The Charlie Daniels Band moved it up an octave and put words to it. The song's verses are closer to being spoken rather than sung (i.e. chant or Sprechstimme), and tell the story of a boy named Johnny, who one day is challenged by the devil to a battle of fiddle-playing: If Johnny triumphs, he claims a golden fiddle; losing the battle will forfeit his soul. The performances of Satan and Johnny are played as instrumental bridges.The song was the band's biggest pop hit, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100.^[2] It is featured in the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy, whose choreographer, Patsy Swayze, claims that she set the song's tempo. "How fast can you dance it?" Daniels asked. "How fast can you play it?" Swayze replied.

Content

The song is a narrative about the Devil, who comes to Georgia to procure souls. He has not obtained any recently, and is willing to "make a deal" out of desperation. He happens upon a young fiddle player named Johnny, who is minding his own business and playing impressively. The Devil approaches Johnny, and informs him that he, too, plays the fiddle. He then challenges Johnny to a fiddle-playing contest, confident that he is more skillful than the young boy. The terms of the duel are that should Johnny win, he will be given a fiddle made of solid gold, but should the Devil triumph, he gains Johnny's soul. Although he fears that taking the Devil's bet might be sinful, Johnny accepts the terms, proudly telling the Devil that the Devil will regret it as Johnny is "the best there's ever been". The duel commences, with the Devil performing a sinister and powerful piece with the backing of demon musicians. Despite this, the Devil is squarely defeated when Johnny takes his turn to perform. The Devil acknowledges being bested and, true to his word, the Devil presents Johnny with a beautiful golden fiddle. Johnny boastfully informs the Devil that he is welcome anytime to come back for a rematch.

The original line in the song "I done told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been" was altered to "I done told you once, you son of a gun, I'm the best that's ever been" for airplay on country music radio.^[3]

Musical references

The narrative is a derivative of the traditional deal with the Devil motif. Charlie Daniels has stated in interviews, "I don’t know where it came from, but it just did. Well, I think I might know where it came from, it may have come from an old poem called 'The Mountain Whippoorwill' that Stephen Vincent Benét wrote many, many years ago (1925), that I had in high school. Either that or Jersey."^[4]

Johnny's song itself is an amalgamation of traditional tunes:

• Fire on the mountain, run boys run- from Fire on the Mountain, a bluegrass fiddle tune dating to at least the early 19th century.^[5]
• The devil's in the house of the rising sun- reference to The House of the Rising Sun, an American folk song
• Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough/Granny does your dog bite? No, child no is an old folk rhyme.

Parodies

• It is parodied by Cledus T. Judd as "Cledus Went Down to Florida". And by a Christian parody group calledApologetiX as "The Devil Went Down to Jordan".

Music video

A live music video was released in September 1979. It was directed by Corlew & Grimes.

Chart performance

The original version of the song spent fourteen weeks on the Hot Country Singles charts in 1979, peaking at number 1 and holding the position for one week. It spent two weeks at a peak of number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[6]

In June 1998, Epic Records re-released the song to country radio, but accidentally sent out the version in which the line "son of a bitch" was uncensored. This error was quickly corrected, and the song re-entered the country charts at number 62 for the chart dated June 20, 1998.^[3] It spent seven weeks on the chart and peaked at number 60.^[6]

Chart (1979)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	30
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian Singles Chart	5
New Zealand Singles Chart	13
U.K. Singles Chart	14
Irish Singles Chart	14
Dutch Top 40	34
Chart (1998)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	60

Sequel

A sequel to the song, titled "The Devil Comes Back to Georgia", was recorded by Daniels and fiddle player Mark O'Connor in 1993, featuring guest performances by Travis Tritt (as the devil), Marty Stuart (as Johnny) and Johnny Cash as the narrator. In the sequel, the now-adult Johnny is married and has a child. Hoping to take advantage of Johnny's sinful pride, the Devil challenges him to a rematch. The Devil snatches the Golden Fiddle from Johnny, and demands that he practice with his old fiddle to play against him.

The ending does not state the victor outright, though the music video suggests Johnny won, as does the line "Johnny's still the best that's ever been". In addition, Daniels objected to the Guitar Hero 3 version of "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" on the grounds that the devil often wins the contest, which he referred to as "violating the very essence of the song"^[7]. This further suggests that Daniels intended the devil to lose in the sequel as well.

The song can be found on Mark O'Connor's album, Heroes.

See also

• Charlie Daniels Band
• Cross Road Blues
• The Devil and Daniel Webster
• Faust

References

1. ^ "Million Mile Reflections."^{[dead link]} Allmusic.
2. ^ Whitburn, Joel: "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits", p. 92, ISBN 0-8230-7518-4
3. ^ ^{a b} Jessen, Wade (20 June 1998). "Country Corner". Billboard 110 (25): 34. 
4. ^ "www.songfacts.com/int/2007/05/charlie-daniels.html". http://www.songfacts.com/int/2007/05/charlie-daniels.html. 
5. ^ "www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/bluegrass-songbook/003470.HTM". http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/bluegrass-songbook/003470.HTM. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 114. ISBN 0-89820-177-2. 
7. ^ "2008 Soapbox Archives". http://www.charliedaniels.com/soapbox-2008/soapbox-2008-040408.htm. 

External links

• Songfacts "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" entry

Preceded by "Coca-Cola Cowboy" by Mel Tillis	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single August 25, 1979	Succeeded by "Heartbreak Hotel" by Willie Nelson and Leon Russell
Preceded by "Suspicions" by Eddie Rabbitt	RPM Country Tracks number-one single September 8-September 15, 1979	Succeeded by "'Til I Can Make It on My Own" by Kenny Rogers and Dottie West