The Devil Went Down to Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band Song Info
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and recorded by music group Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album Million Mile Reflections. The song was the band's biggest hit, reaching #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. 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: "Fire on the Mountain," the name of an early 19th-century fiddle tune, and also the name of Daniels' 1974 album;"The House of the Rising Sun," a traditional American southern folk song; "Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough," which was famously used in Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys' song "Ida Red,"; and "Granny Will Your Dog Bite." 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".
