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 anywayCause 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 winsSee, 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
14 comments:
That's ... consistent with the observation that the greatest trick he ever pulled was convincing mankind he doesn't exist.
Brilliant! Now we just need an AI to extend the original version with the appended lyrics.
I happen to agree with Mr. Weir and I love his addition.
Oh, that was well done!!!
And here I never thought the Devil's solo was good at all, not melodic, not complex, just screechy. Then there's also this technicality:
https://share.google/cHOZIOeNEPJnqKqdb
There's an answer song "The Devil Went Back to Georgia," up on Youtube.
There is already a song out in the regards to Johnny, hell and another bet with the devil.
Nice rhyme and scansion to fit the music. Theology is potentially suspect, depending on how you parse things. As for the Devil's solo being better, find a video of Mr Daniels playing the two solos. The Devil's solo, although interesting, is far less technically complex (simpler bowing and fingering) than the frenetic effort required to reproduce Johnny's solo. Judging was clearly on technical aspects and not aesthetics. And honestly, the Devil cheats by summoning up a backup band, although the Devil cheating is unsurprising, to say the least.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1262818389334919
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0XUTD7QYcs
While the Devil setting Johhny up for a future fall does make thematic sense, the actual reason Johhny's solo won is because the Devil's only sounds better because he had a band of demons joining in.
Well done.
And because all talent is on loan from God. I like to think Johnny is so good because he hasn't cut himself off from the Lord and the source of all music.
When dealing with music and the devil, we can't forget Tenacious D's song, Tribute.
https://youtu.be/_lK4cX5xGiQ?si=HBB-Vo0zMBmvDghO
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