The Devil Went Down to Georgia

"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and recorded by American music group Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album Million Mile Reflections.^[3]

"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"

"Rainbow Ride"

May 21, 1979

3:34

Epic

Charlie Daniels
Tom Crain
"Taz" DiGregorio
Fred Edwards
Charles Hayward
James W Marshall

John Boylan

The song is written in the key of D minor. Although uncredited, Vassar Clements originally wrote the basic melody an octave lower, in a tune called "Lonesome Fiddle Blues" released on Clements' self-titled 1975 album on which Charlie Daniels played guitar. 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., recitation), and tell the story of a young man named Johnny, in a variant on the classic deal with the Devil. The performances of the Devil and Johnny are played as instrumental bridges. The song was the band's biggest hit, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, prevented from further chart movement by "After the Love Has Gone" by Earth, Wind and Fire and "My Sharona" by The Knack.^[4]

"Fire on the Mountain," the name of an early 19th-century fiddle tune, and also the name of Daniels' ,

1974 album

"," a traditional American southern folk song,

The House of the Rising Sun

"Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough," which was famously used in ' song "Ida Red,"^[5] and

Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys

"Granny Will Your Dog Bite."

[6]

The song tells a story about the Devil's failure to gain a young man's soul through a fiddle-playing contest. The song begins as a disappointed Devil arrives in Georgia, apparently "way behind" on stealing souls, when he comes upon a young man named Johnny who is playing a fiddle, and quite well. Out of desperation, the Devil, who claims to also be a fiddle player, wagers a fiddle of gold against Johnny's soul to see who is the better fiddler. Although Johnny believes taking the Devil's bet might be a sin, he fearlessly accepts, confidently boasting "I'm the best that's ever been."

The Devil plays first, backed by a band of demon musicians. When he has finished, Johnny compliments him ("Well, you're pretty good, old son.") and takes his own turn, rendering at least four old-time songs, named (though not played) in the Charlie Daniels Band recording—the third of the four being identified not by title, but by an excerpt of its lyrics:

Realizing he has been defeated, the devil lays his golden fiddle at Johnny's feet. Johnny then invites the devil to "c'mon back if y'ever wanna try again" before repeating his claim to be "the best that's ever been".

Musical references[edit]

The ballad's story 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."^[9]^[10]

- guitar, fiddle, vocals

Charlie Daniels

Tom Crain - guitar, vocals

- keyboards, vocals

"Taz" DiGregorio

Fred Edwards - , percussion

drums

James W. Marshall - drums, percussion

Charles Hayward - ^[11]

bass