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The Devil Went Down To Georgia ~ The Charlie Daniels Band  

Starting his music career in 1959, virtuoso fiddle player Charlie Daniels had enjoyed moderate success as a session musician and songwriter. He was known in music circles but the Charlie Daniels Band couldn’t get much airplay — he was too country for rock stations, too hard rock for country stations.

In 1979, Daniels decided to write the “ultimate fiddle song.”  While brainstorming for ideas, he remembered a Stephen Vincent Benet poem he had learned in school called “The Mountain Whippoorwill”. In the poem, Hill-Billy Jim enters a fiddlin’ contest and then “all hell breaks loose in Georgia.”

Daniels modernized the words, but went into the studio without and music.  Armed only with a poem about a boy who beats the devil, Daniels and his band did something improbable — they created a hit right there on the spot.

The record company knew it, too, and released it as a single.  The song was a hit on country and rock stations, turned Daniels into a star, and was named the Country Music Association’s Single of the Year for 1979.

The Devil Went Down To Georgia

The devil went down to Georgia
He was lookin’ for a soul to steal
He was in a bind ’cause he was way behind
And he was willin’ to make a deal
When he came across this young man
Sawin’ on a fiddle and playin’ it hot.
And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump
And said, boy, let me tell you what

I guess you didn’t know it, boy
I’m a fiddle player, too
And if you’d care to take a dare
Well, I’ll make a bet with you
Now, you play pretty good fiddle, boy
But give the devil his due.
I’ll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul
‘Cause I think I’m better than you
The boy said, my name’s Johnny
And it just might be a sin
But I’ll take this bet, you’re gonna regret,
I’m the best that’s ever been

Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard
Hell broke loose in Georgia
And the devil deals his cards
And if you win you get this shiny fiddle made of gold
And if you lose, the devil gets your soul

The devil opened up his case
And he said, I’ll start this show
And fire flew from his fingertips as he rosined up his bow
When he pulled the bow across the strings
And it made an evil hiss
And a band of demons joined in
And it sounded somethin’ like this
Here we go

When the devil finished
Johnny said, well, you’re pretty good, old son
But sit down in that chair right there
And let me show you how it’s done

Chorus:
Fire on the mountain
Run, boys, run
The devil’s in the House of the Rising Sun
Chicken in the bread pan pickin’ out dough
Granny, does your dog bite?
No, child, no

Well, the devil bowed his head
Because he knew that he’d been beat
And he laid that golden fiddle
On the ground at Johnny’s feet
Johnny said, devil, come on back
If you ever want to try again
Well, I told you once, you son of a gun
I’m the best that’s ever been

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