The Devil Went Down to Georgia


"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 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" 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, and tell the story of a young man named Johnny, in a variant on the classic deal with the Devil. The performances of Satan and Johnny are played as instrumental bridges. The song was the band's biggest hit, reaching number three 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.

Content

The song is an uptempo bluegrass song about the Devil's failed attempt to gain a young man's soul through a fiddle-playing contest that involves enticing the young man's participation with a worldly prize. The song begins as a disappointed Devil arrives in Georgia, apparently "way behind" on stealing souls, when he comes upon a fiddle-playing young man named Johnny. At that moment, Johnny happens to be playing his fiddle impressively "hot." Out of desperation, the Devil, who as it turns out also plays the fiddle, offers Johnny the wager which involves challenging the young man to a fiddle-playing contest. The Devil offers to give Johnny a golden fiddle if the young man plays better than he does; otherwise, the Devil will gain Johnny's soul. Although Johnny believes taking the Devil's bet might be a sin, he wagers his soul without fear, confidently boasting that he is "the best that's ever been."
The Devil plays his fiddle first, to a contemporary rock music theme with the backing of demon musicians. When the Devil's performance ends, Johnny compliments him and takes his own turn, making reference to four songs. Two are traditional songs of Appalachia -- "Fire on the Mountain" and "Granny Does Your Dog Bite?". The third is an unnamed square dance melody that includes the patter, "Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough." The last is a traditional American southern folk song "The House of the Rising Sun." The four songs are not performed but are only mentioned by reference. The Devil is impressed, admits defeat, and lays the golden fiddle at Johnny's feet. Johnny repeats his claim to be the best player ever and dares the Devil to a rematch in the future.
Johnny's final boast, as originally recorded for the Million Mile Reflections album, goes "I done told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been." To accommodate radio airplay, the 45 RPM single release overdubbed that portion of the lyric as "'Cause I told you once, you son of a gun, I'm the best that's ever been." Thus, Johnny maintains his virtue, keeping his soul from the Devil by displaying his musical virtuosity in performing traditional songs of the Southern United States.

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, that I had in high school."

Parodies and covers

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. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 20, 1989, for sales of over two 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. 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. It spent seven weeks on the chart and peaked at number 60.

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position

Year-end charts

Sequel

In 1993, a sequel to the song, titled "The Devil Comes Back to Georgia", was recorded and released by Daniels and fiddle player Mark O'Connor, featuring guest performances by Travis Tritt, Marty Stuart and Johnny Cash as the narrator. The song can be found on Mark O'Connor's album, Heroes.
In the sequel, the devil, his anger still unabated ten years after his defeat at young Johnny's hands, decides to take up the boy's challenge to "c'mon back if you ever wanna try again". The devil is convinced that Johnny's sinful pride will be his undoing, so he takes back the golden fiddle he lost to Johnny, now married and with an infant son, and forces him to practice with his old fiddle before their rematch.
Though the lyrics of the song state that "Johnny's the best that's ever been", reiterating his bold claim in the original song, the sequel's lyrics do not reveal who won the rematch. However, the music video shows that Johnny again prevails.