The Devil Went Down To Georgia

In 1979 Charlie Daniels released The Devil Went Down to Georgia.  It's remained popular for nearly 30 years, and there's no sign that people will ever grow tired of singing it.

The Devil Went Down To Georgia

The song's roots are in a melody called “Lonesome Fiddle Blues.”  Charlie raised the song an octave and put words to the melody.  The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, making The Devil Went Down to Georgia the band's most popular hit.  The RIAA says that amongst songs with a state name in the title, this is the top seller of all time. 

Here's the plot.  The devil goes to Georgia to look for some souls.  He'll make a deal.  He offers a deal to a young fiddler named Johnny.  It takes the form of a fiddle contest.  If Johnny wins he receives the golden fiddle upon which the devil plays.  It has great value.  Johnny bets his soul.

The Devil Went Down To Georgia

The Devil begins the contest with a tremendous performance.  He performs with a host of demons in a big production that sounds like something out of a rock opera.  It seems Johnny, a simple boy with a fiddle, is doomed.  But Johnny's simple and pure fiddle work is even better.  When he's finished playing, there's no argument.  The devil gives him the golden fiddle.  Johnny teases is the devil, telling him he's open for a rematch at any time.  In early versions of the song Johnny curses the devil.

There have been countless remakes and parodies of the song.  The Spanish version is“El Diablo bajo a Georgia”.  In the cartoon “Futurama” the heroes challenge the robot devil to a similar fiddle contest to save their robot friend.  But after the robot devil plays they beat him in the head with the golden fiddle so they can escape.  Primus  posted a very good video of The Devil Went Down to Georgia on YouTube.  The story is well animated.  Even Charlie Daniels got back in on the fun by recording a sequel with Johnny Cash.  Daniels named it “The Devil Comes Back to Georgia”.

The Devil Went Down To Georgia

The Devil Went Down to Georgia  is a song that people sing.  Give it a try, you'll know why the title has a ring.