"The Devil Went Down To Georgia" lyrics

"The Devil Went Down To Georgia"
("Fiddle Fire - 25 Years Of The Charlie Daniels Band" Version)

Well, the Devil went down to Georgia. He was lookin' for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind. He was willing to make a deal
When he came across this young man sawin' on a fiddle and playin' it hot.
And the Devil jumped upon a hickory stump and said, "Boy, let me tell you what."

"You probably didn't even know it, but I'm a fiddle player, too.
And if you'd care to take a dare I'll just make a bet with you.
Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but let's give the Devil his due.
I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul I think I'm better than you."

The boy said, "My name's Johnny, and it might be a sin,
But I'ma take your bet. You're gonna regret I'm the best there's ever been."

Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard.
'Cause Hell's broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals the cards.
And if you win you get this shiny fiddle made of gold,
But if you lose the Devil gets your soul.

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.
And he pulled the bow across the strings and it made an evil hiss.
And a band of demons joined in and it sounded something like this.

When the Devil finished, Johnny said, "Well, you're pretty good, old son,
But you just flop down in that chair right there, I'ma me show you how it's done."

"Fire on the Mountain". Run, boys, run!
Devil's in the house of the rising sun;
Chicken in the bread pan picking out dough.
Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, no.

Well, that old Devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat.
And he laid that golden fiddle down on the ground at Johnny's feet.
Johnny said, "Devil, come on back, if you ever wanna try again,
I done told you once, you son of a gun, I'm the best that's ever been."
And he played:

"Fire on the Mountain". Run, boys, run!
Devil's in the house of the rising sun;
Chicken in the bread pan picking out dough.
Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, no.


Thanks to Jessica, Deborah, sinead, Krystofer Hyche, Percy J Evans for correcting these lyrics.
Writer(s): William J. Digregorio, Charlie Daniels, John Crain, James W. Marshall, Charles Fred Hayward, Fred Edwards
Charlie Daniels described "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" as such in 2008, "It's kind of our signature song. I have other songs that are just as good. They just didn't capture the imagination of the American public as much. That's a whole new generation of kids that's discovering it. It's just kind of amazing, really."
The fiddle for both the Devil and Johnny was played by Charlie Daniels. He told, "The Devil's just blowing smoke. If you listen to that, there's just a bunch of noise. There's no melody to it, there's no nothing, it's just a bunch of noise. Just confusion and stuff. And of course Johnny's saying something, 'You can't beat the Devil without the Lord.' I didn't have that in the song, but I should have."
Steve Ouimette performed a heavy metal version of this song for the video game "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock". The fiddle part was performed on electric guitar.