Does the Devil beat Johnny after all?

 

In one of his most recent articles on Substack, Glenn Reynolds linked to an article by Andy Weir on Facebook a few years ago, commenting on the Charlie Daniels song "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" (which I'm sure almost all my readers know - if you don't, it's on YouTube).  I thought you might enjoy Mr. Weir's thoughts too.

You know what always bothered me?

The song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band features the Devil and a Georgia boy named Johnny having a fiddlin' contest. If Johnny wins he gets a fiddle made of gold but if the Devil wins he gets Johnny's soul.

In the song, we hear both the Devil and Johnny play. The Devil concedes that Johnny's fiddlin' was superior. 

Am I the only one who thought the Devil's solo was WAY better than Johnny's? I mean, it's not even close. 

So, as a big supporter of fanfiction, I decided to write some fan lyrics. Consider these to be appended to the end of the song:

Well the Devil headed back to Hell and grinned an evil grin
Cause he knew right from the outset that the fiddle boy would win
The Devil’s song was better, it was clear as night and day
But he gave that golden fiddle to ol’ Johnny anyway

Cause he didn’t just give that Georgia boy a fiddle made of gold
He fed young Jonny’s sin of pride, which he’ll carry ‘till he’s old
And one fine day, when Johnny dies, he’ll pay for all his sins
And only then will Johnny see that the Devil always wins

See, the Devil plays the long game, and he plays the long game well
He knows just what to do to make a fella land in hell
He’ll make you think you beat him, then he’ll watch you fall to sin
But he had to admit: that little shit was the best that’s ever been.

If you're on Facebook, click over there and read the comments following Mr. Weir's article.  They're fun, too.

Peter