The Devil Went Down to Georgia explained

The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Cover:The Devil Went Down To Georgia cover.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Charlie Daniels Band
Album:Million Mile Reflections
B-Side:Rainbow Ride
Released:May 21, 1979
Length:3:34
Label:Epic
Producer:John Boylan
Prev Title:Trudy
Prev Year:1978
Next Title:Mississippi
Next Year:1979

"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.[1]

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.[2]

Content

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".

Reception

Cash Box praised the "engaging narrative story line" and said the song has "thundering piano", "screaming fiddle work", "pounding drums and screeching guitar".[5] Record World said that Daniels "administers heavy doses of both [storytelling and fiddle-playing] with producer John Boylan capturing the excitement like no one else can."[6]

In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #120 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.[7]

Censorship

Johnny's final boast, from the album version of the song, goes, "I done told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been". But to accommodate radio airplay for Country and Top 40 formats, Daniels changed the lyric for the single release to, "'Cause I told you once, you son of a gun, I'm the best that's ever been", though AOR stations continued to use the unaltered version.

Musical references

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."[8] [9]

Personnel

Parodies and covers

The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Type:single
Artist:Nickelback
Recorded:2016–2017
Venue:Little Mountain View Studio
Genre:Hard rock
Label:Nickelback II Productions Inc.
Producer:Nickelback
Prev Title:After the Rain
Prev Year:2017
Next Title:San Quentin
Next Year:2022
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Type:song
Artist:Primus
Ep:Rhinoplasty
Studio:Prairie Sun (Cotati, California)
Genre:Alternative rock, funk rock
Label:Interscope, Prawn Song
Producer:Primus, Toby Wright

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.[32] The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 20, 1989, for sales of over one million copies in the United States. In 2003, the song was ranked at #69 on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music, and #5 on CMT's 20 Greatest Southern Rock Songs in 2006. Since it became available as a download in the digital era, it has also sold 2.49 million digital copies in the US as of November 2019.[33] 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.[34] It spent seven weeks on the chart and peaked at number 60.[32]

Weekly charts

Chart (1979)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[35] 14
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)5
Ireland (IRMA)[36] 14
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)14
US Cash Box Top 100[37] 4

Year-end charts

Chart (1979)Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)[38] 100
Canada [39] 56
US Billboard Hot 100[40] 50
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[41] 41
US Cash Box[42] 49

Sequel

The Devil Comes Back to Georgia
Type:single
Artist:Mark O'Connor featuring Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, Marty Stuart and Travis Tritt
Album:Heroes
B-Side:This Can't Be Love
Released:September 14, 1993
Genre:Bluegrass, country, country rock
Length:4:13
Label:Epic
Producer:Mark O'Connor and Jim Ed Norman

In 1993, a sequel to the song, "The Devil Comes Back to Georgia", was released by master violinist Mark O'Connor on his album Heroes. The song featured Daniels on fiddle, with Johnny Cash as the narrator, Marty Stuart as Johnny, and Travis Tritt as the devil. The song peaked at #54 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in 1994.

In the sequel, the devil, still furious ten years after being beaten, decides to take up Johnny's challenge to "c'mon back if y'ever wanna try again". Johnny is now grown with a wife and infant son, and the devil believes that Johnny's sinful pride will be his undoing, so he takes back the golden fiddle, forcing Johnny to practice with his old fiddle before their rematch – the same one he played when he defeated the devil. Though the song reiterates Johnny's bold claim that he is "the best that's ever been", the lyrics do not reveal who won the rematch. But in the video, the devil is shown defeated by Johnny again.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Million Mile Reflections - Charlie Daniels, The Charlie Daniels Band | Songs, Reviews, Credits . . 2016-10-14.
  2. Whitburn, Joel: "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits", p. 92,
  3. Web site: Ida Red lyrics chords Bob Wills. Classic-country-song-lyrics.com. 2017-01-20.
  4. Web site: Granny will Your Dog Bite . 28 February 2023.
  5. News: CashBox Singles Reviews. June 23, 1979. 18. Cash Box. 2022-01-01.
  6. Record World. June 23, 1979. 2023-02-11. Single Picks. 24.
  7. The 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time. Rolling Stone. May 24, 2014.
  8. Web site: Charlie Daniels : Songwriter Interviews . Songfacts.com . 2007-03-30 . 2016-10-14.
  9. Web site: Forty and Forward: The Devil Went Down to Georgia.
  10. Web site: The Charlie Daniels Band – Million Mile Reflections (1979, Vinyl) . Discogs. August 19, 1979 . 2021-06-21.
  11. Web site: The Levellers - One Way (CD) . Discogs.com . 2012-09-28 . 2016-10-14.
  12. Web site: David Allan Coe - Devil went down to jamaica (the complete song). https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/_dgQzgNLmpA . 2021-12-13 . live. October 26, 2021. YouTube.
  13. Web site: Muppet Songs: The Devil Went Down to Georgia. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/FC9X8Xf3XRc . 2021-12-13 . live. October 26, 2021. YouTube.
  14. Web site: K.M.C. Kru - The Devil Came Up to Michigan (CD) . Discogs.com . 2012-09-28 . 2016-10-27.
  15. [Coyote Ugly (film)|Coyote Ugly]
  16. Web site: Steve Ouimette - Radio King. 2020-12-27. Radio King. en.
  17. Web site: Archived copy . 2016-06-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121003070904/http://www.charliedaniels.com/soapbox-2008/soapbox-2008-040408.htm . 2012-10-03 .
  18. Web site: Rate This Boston Accent and Anti-Yankees Music Video . Steve . Annear . Boston Magazine . June 13, 2013 . October 11, 2021.
  19. Web site: The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Michelle Lambert (Official Video). https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/rPhONj9b8kk . 2021-12-13 . live. . 25 July 2015.
  20. Web site: The Devil Went Down To Georgia. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/40XcAmWxyb4 . 2021-12-13 . live. Youtube.com. 19 September 2015.
  21. Web site: Blues Traveler - Devil Went Down To Georgia . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/l83dArJkQzs . 2021-12-13 . live. . 2007-02-24 . 2016-10-14.
  22. Web site: Blues Traveler - ¡Bastardos en Vivo! Live . Discogs . 11 July 2022 . en.
  23. Web site: Spawn Went Down to Georgia. https://web.archive.org/web/20130201035425/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3KY46nXfH4 . 2013-02-01 . dead. Youtube.com. 20 December 2011.
  24. Web site: Primus - The Devil Went Down To Georgia. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/X9uk9IcoQ0w . 2021-12-13 . live. Youtube.com. 16 June 2009.
  25. Web site: Nature of Rebel Minds | Rock from Winston Salem, NC. Reverbnation.com.
  26. Web site: Nature Of Rebel Minds-The Devil Went Down To Georgia(OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO). https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/-NR9iGi1Jwo . 2021-12-13 . live. YouTube.
  27. Web site: Korn Unveils Cover of The Charlie Daniels Band's 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia'. Billboard.com. 28 June 2020.
  28. Web site: Frog Leap Studios - The Devil Went Down To Georgia (metal cover by Leo Moracchioli). https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/LTdeQIY0jjs . 2021-12-13 . live. YouTube. 2020-07-17. 2020-10-23.
  29. Web site: "Devil Comes Back to Georgia" feat. Mark O'Connor with Daniels, Cash, Tritt and Marty Stuart. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/L0XUTD7QYcs . 2021-12-13 . live. October 26, 2021. YouTube.
  30. Web site: Unsupervised - TMBW: The They Might Be Giants Knowledge Base . tmbw.net . 2020-09-05 . 2022-06-07.
  31. Web site: Zac Brown Band - Live From Bonnaroo 2009 EP . Discogs . 11 July 2022 . en.
  32. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. 2008. 114. 978-0-89820-177-2.
  33. Web site: Top 30 Digital Country Downloads Chart . Bjorke . Matt . Roughstock . November 6, 2019 . November 7, 2019.
  34. Jessen. Wade. 20 June 1998. Country Corner. Billboard. 110. 25. 34.
  35. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 82.
  36. Web site: Irish Singles Chart – Search for song . July 6, 2011 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090602061251/http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement . June 2, 2009 .
  37. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 9/08/79. tropicalglen.com. 1 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20150214184825/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19790908.html. 14 February 2015. dead.
  38. Web site: Kent Music Report No 288 – 31 December 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1979. Kent Music Report, via Imgur.com. December 9, 2019.
  39. Web site: Image : RPM Weekly. Library and Archives. Canada. July 17, 2013. bac-lac.gc.ca. April 1, 2018.
  40. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1979/Top 100 Songs of 1979. Musicoutfitters.com. April 1, 2018.
  41. Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1979. Billboard. July 17, 2021.
  42. Web site: Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1979. tropicalglen.com. 1 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20140713094315/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1979YESP.html. 13 July 2014. dead.

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