# Q about a line in "Sympathy For The Devil" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060 "2016-08-26T21:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/1 "2016-08-26T21:52:59Z")
I think I have all the historical allusions in the song down, but I always wondered about the line: “And I lay traps for troubadours, who get killed before they reach Bombay” What the heck does it mean? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/2 "2016-08-26T22:01:39Z")
In general, Satan lays in wait for hippie-searcher types who are looking for higher truths in Eastern lands. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/3 "2016-08-26T22:10:00Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > In general, Satan lays in wait for hippie-searcher types who are looking for higher truths in Eastern lands. With all respect, is that your personal interpretation or the generally accepted reading? I can buy it, it makes sense in the cultural and historical context, but I’ve always had a hunch that it alluded to actual historical events. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/4 "2016-08-26T22:26:30Z")
Oh, hey, no worries. I typically am going from memory. On NME’s music blog site, I found this: > [@](#): > > 1. The “troubadours who got killed before they reach Bombay” line has caused much debate amongst fans trying to work out who it could refer to, the best conclusion being hippies travelling the ‘Hippy Trail’ to India by road, many of whom would be killed or robbed by drug smugglers in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Two words – Air India. > Read more at [http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-sympathy-for-the-devil#cur7BPPTctvfUxyb.99](http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-sympathy-for-the-devil#cur7BPPTctvfUxyb.99) And found a similar bit on Songfacts. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/5 "2016-08-26T22:34:37Z")
I’ve also heard explanations that it somehow refers to the Beatles (and their India trip) or even about the Dacoit or Thuggee cults. Mind you, I’m not exactly sure _how_ it refers to either of those (ETA: actually, maybe the Hippie trail explanation ties in with the latter), but that’s two other explanations I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/6 "2016-08-26T23:52:00Z")
Maybe it doesn’t mean anything. I just sounds cool. Contrary to what your English teacher told you, many lines in songs have no real meaning other than to find an interesting phrase that rhymes. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/7 "2016-08-26T23:59:49Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Maybe it doesn’t mean anything. I just sounds cool. > > Contrary to what your English teacher told you, many lines in songs have no real meaning other than to find an interesting phrase that rhymes. Well of course I know that (though my English teachers never uttered a word about that, I figured it all out by myself ;)), but the song has so many direct historical references and is all in all very straightforward, so I don’t think this line is pure abstraction ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/8 "2016-08-27T00:26:16Z")
Why not? If he couldn’t think of a line that fit from actual events, why not just make something up? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/9 "2016-08-27T00:37:08Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Why not? If he couldn’t think of a line that fit from actual events, why not just make something up? Because, based on the rest of the lyrics, that explanation is less likely. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/10 "2016-08-27T00:47:42Z")
My perception was always that it was a reference to the 1948 assassination of Gandhi. That would fit in with the general references to the Tsar, Nazis and Kennedys. Technically, it would have been better if the line had been “who get killed before they reach Delhi” but I won’t quibble. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/11 "2016-08-27T00:56:57Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > My perception was always that it was a reference to the 1948 assassination of Gandhi. That would fit in with the general references to the Tsar, Nazis and Kennedys. > > Technically, it would have been better if the line had been “who get killed before they reach Delhi” but I won’t quibble. That’s what I’ve always thought too, that it was a Gandhi reference, but I don’t know much more of his biography than the bits from the Attenborough movie and didn’t know if he ever was marching for Bombay. And I don’t think he ever had a reputation for being a singer ;). ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/12 "2016-08-27T01:31:46Z")
I always assumed it was something from British history regarding soldiers fighting in (or occupying) India. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/13 "2016-08-27T10:20:57Z")
The lyrics were inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov’s [The Master and Margarita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_and_Margarita). I always assumed that the “troubadours” line was a reference to something in the book. If someone wants to take the time to read it and report back, that’d be great. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/14 "2016-08-27T10:39:45Z")
I’ve read that in the '60s, there were various bus tours that would take young Brits on a tour from London to southeast Asia, sampling all the big cities (and the drugs they had to offer) along the way. I assume those merry travelers were the ones the Stones were referring to. IIRC, Rush’s song “A Passage To Bangkok” is about the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/15 "2016-08-27T13:08:25Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > The lyrics were inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov’s [The Master and Margarita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_and_Margarita). > > I always assumed that the “troubadours” line was a reference to something in the book. If someone wants to take the time to read it and report back, that’d be great. I read the book about a decade back, so it’s not exactly fresh in my mind, but I do not recall anything that would fit the reference. Great book, by the way, easily top five for me. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/16 "2016-08-28T03:59:24Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’ve read that in the '60s, there were various bus tours that would take young Brits on a tour from London to southeast Asia, sampling all the big cities (and the drugs they had to offer) along the way. I assume those merry travelers were the ones the Stones were referring to. > > IIRC, Rush’s song “A Passage To Bangkok” is about the same thing. Well, in Rush’s song they’re starting in the New World: Bogota, Jamaica, Acapulco, before getting on a train in Morocco that stops in Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Kathmandu before going to Bangkok. Looking at it now I’m impressed that they managed to get the geography correct. The train isn’t mentioned until they’ve checked off all the places in the Americas, avoiding any definite implication they’ve taken the train from the Americas to Africa, and the stops mentioned from Morocco to Bangkok are in order going from the west to the east. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-a-line-in-sympathy-for-the-devil/764060/17 "2016-08-28T08:41:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve also heard explanations that it somehow refers to the Beatles (and their India trip) or even about the Dacoit or Thuggee cults. Mind you, I’m not exactly sure _how_ it refers to either of those (ETA: actually, maybe the Hippie trail explanation ties in with the latter), but that’s two other explanations I’ve heard. I’ve always thought it had something to do with the Thugee cults since it seemed to fit best with the other references to notorious groups of people (e.g., Nazis, Communists) in the song.