The Devil Went Down to Georgia

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"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
The Devil Went Down To Georgia cover.jpg
Single by Charlie Daniels Band
from the album Million Mile Reflections
B-side "Rainbow Ride"
ReleasedMay 21, 1979
Studio Woodland (Nashville, Tennessee) [1]
Genre
Length3:34
Label Epic
Songwriter(s)
  • Charlie Daniels
  • Tom Crain
  • "Taz" DiGregorio
  • Fred Edwards
  • Charles Hayward
  • James W Marshall
Producer(s) John Boylan
Charlie Daniels Band singles chronology
"Trudy"
(1978)
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
(1979)
"Mississippi"
(1979)
Music video
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" on YouTube

"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 . [4]

Contents

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. [5]

Background and recording

Daniels was inspired to write the song when he realized that the album he and his band was recording was lacking a song that featured fiddle. He wrote the song on the spot at the Woodland Sound Studios where the band was recording. [6]

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". [9] 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." [10]

In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #120 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking. [11]

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." [12] [13]

Personnel

Parodies and covers

"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
Single by Nickelback
ReleasedAugust 14, 2020 (2020-08-14)
Recorded2016–2017
VenueLittle Mountain View Studio
Length3:58
Label Nickelback II Productions Inc.
Songwriter(s)
  • Charlie Daniels
  • Tom Crain
  • "Taz" DiGregorio
  • Fred Edwards
  • Charles Hayward
  • James W Marshall
Producer(s) Nickelback
Nickelback singles chronology
"After the Rain"
(2017)
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
(2020)
"San Quentin"
(2022)
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
Song by Primus
from the EP Rhinoplasty
ReleasedAugust 11, 1998 (1998-08-11)
Studio Prairie Sun (Cotati, California)
Genre Alternative rock, funk rock
Length4:35
Label Interscope, Prawn Song
Songwriter(s)
  • Charlie Daniels
  • Tom Crain
  • "Taz" DiGregorio
  • Fred Edwards
  • Charles Hayward
  • James W Marshall
Producer(s) 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. [37] The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 20, 1989, for sales of over one million copies in the United States. [38] 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. [39] 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. [40] It spent seven weeks on the chart and peaked at number 60. [37]

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [53] Silver200,000
United States (RIAA) [54] Platinum1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Sequel

"The Devil Comes Back to Georgia"
Single by Mark O'Connor featuring Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, Marty Stuart and Travis Tritt
from the album Heroes
B-side "This Can't Be Love"
ReleasedSeptember 14, 1993
Genre Bluegrass, country, country rock
Length4:13
Label Epic
Songwriter(s)
  • Charlie Daniels
  • Tom Crain
  • "Taz" DiGregorio
  • Fred Edwards
  • Charles Hayward
  • James W Marshall
Producer(s) 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

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