JCHRamblings re: The Devil Went Down to Georgia
December 4th 2007 12:07
I am sitting on my bed, listening to Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" and man; once again I have been taken aback by narrative, the imagery and the instrumental. I have been inspired to ramble on - so here we go.
To lift from Wikipedia, here is the plot of the song:
"The song is a narrative about the devil, who comes to Georgia in desperation and "willin' to make a deal." He spies a young fiddle player named Johnny, who calls himself "the best there's ever been", and challenges him to a fiddle-playing contest. The terms are that if Johnny should win the contest, he will get a fiddle made of gold, but should he lose, he will forfeit his soul. Confident in his talent with the fiddle, Johnny accepts the challenge. The devil performs with the backing of a demon band, but is squarely beaten by the more talented Johnny. In the end, Johnny gets his golden fiddle, and with cocky bravado, even dares the Devil to return for a rematch."
This song is a perfect example of how the fiddle and the vocal can come together to create wonders. "Devil Went Down To Georgia" is actually based on a tune called "Lonesome Fiddle Blues" (written by Vassar Clements) with Daniels later adding lyrics to the instrumental. Daniels himself played the fiddle for both parts (the Devil and Johnny) and it can be grasped as the perfect example of why Daniels represents the true melding of musician and a vocalist.
Why did Johnny win? Because unlike the fire and demon backup singers that the devil made use of, in other words, smoke and mirrors - Johnny nailed a performance inspired by his routes in the deep south and country music.
Lesson of the day: country music will save your soul and make you a damn good fiddle player.
Check out some more Charlie Daniels here.
To lift from Wikipedia, here is the plot of the song:
"The song is a narrative about the devil, who comes to Georgia in desperation and "willin' to make a deal." He spies a young fiddle player named Johnny, who calls himself "the best there's ever been", and challenges him to a fiddle-playing contest. The terms are that if Johnny should win the contest, he will get a fiddle made of gold, but should he lose, he will forfeit his soul. Confident in his talent with the fiddle, Johnny accepts the challenge. The devil performs with the backing of a demon band, but is squarely beaten by the more talented Johnny. In the end, Johnny gets his golden fiddle, and with cocky bravado, even dares the Devil to return for a rematch."
This song is a perfect example of how the fiddle and the vocal can come together to create wonders. "Devil Went Down To Georgia" is actually based on a tune called "Lonesome Fiddle Blues" (written by Vassar Clements) with Daniels later adding lyrics to the instrumental. Daniels himself played the fiddle for both parts (the Devil and Johnny) and it can be grasped as the perfect example of why Daniels represents the true melding of musician and a vocalist.
Why did Johnny win? Because unlike the fire and demon backup singers that the devil made use of, in other words, smoke and mirrors - Johnny nailed a performance inspired by his routes in the deep south and country music.
Lesson of the day: country music will save your soul and make you a damn good fiddle player.
Check out some more Charlie Daniels here.
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