“False Knight on the Road” cited in post #9
it is also called Fause Knight Upon the Road
it is referenced in a series of volumes English and Scottish Popular Ballads which was published between 1882 and 1898.
This list wouldn’t be complete without some Iced Earth. "Damien’ and “Dante’s Inferno” both fit the bill.
One more folkish song – The Dancers of Stanton Drew (or sometimes The Wedding at Stanton Drew).
I’ve heard it by Eileen McGann on her “Turn It Around” CD, but I’m not sure of the source.
Basic story is that the piper at a wedding stops at midnight Saturday because dancing is forbidden on Sunday. People beg him to continue but he says no. Finally a mysterious stranger with a fiddle steps up and volunteers to play. Turns out to be the devil, and the wedding party is forced to dance until they’re exhausted and then are turned to stone.
Kind of drearily moralistic, but redeemed somewhat if you know that Stanton Drew has a circle of standing stones and this is a legend that explains their presence.
Ah, I almost forgot that classic of Eighties Christian Hair Metal: “To Hell With the Devil” by Stryper.
You can’t get much more about Satan than Orbital’s classic.
Few more:
The Misfits - Devil’s Whorehouse
PJ Harvey - The Devil
The B-52s - Devil In My Car
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - The Devil’s Coachman
Camper Van Beethoven - Devil Song
Love Tractor - Satan
Morrissey - Satan Rejected My Soul
Teenage Fanclub - Satan
Sonic Youth - Satan Is Boring
What? The 3 Venom songs aren’t black metal? :dubious:
There’s a poignant little song written by Kris Kristofferson called “To Beat the Devil”. He says on the CD that it was inspired by Johnny Cash when Cash was at one of his low points.
It’s a story song about a musician meeting the Devil in a lonely barroom when the musician is down on his luck. The Devil borrows the musician’s guitar and sings a song about how the musician should give up on his songs because other musicians have tried and failed and died saying “…and their ashes have been scattered by the swirling winds of time because the truth remains that no one wants to know.”
The musician takes his guitar back and sings the Devil his answer, “…and if I never have a nickel, I won’t ever die ashamed, because I don’t believe that no one wants to know.”
Of course, this was when songs were supposed to have deep social meanings, but still, it’s a nice encouragment to folks who want to be artists to keep trying even if they fail.
Sorry, I started posting before yours was there, it took a couple of minutes to find the video.
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me
for me
for meeeeeee.
(seriously, it took 50 posts before anyone said this?)
I looked in a mirror, what did I see,
I saw thew devil he was looking at me
Ethyl Meatplow–“Smoking on the Devil’s Johnson”
Uncle Tupelo - Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down
Beck - Satan Gave Me A Taco
“Devil With A Blue Dress On” - popularized by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.
Up Jumped The Devil by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Also Red Right Hand.
Bound for Hell by Love and Rockets
It looks like you could make an entire playlist of songs called “The Devil Made Me Do It”… and most would be pretty depressing and a few would be funny.
I just wrote “Satan” in my li’l iTunes search box thingy and got 86 results.
… W-why yes, I am a black metal fan! How did you know?
I’d say the greatest “Satan song” of them all is Mayhem’s “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.” Six minutes of spine-tinglingly awesome faux-Gregorian chanting in Pig Latin. (C’mon, you know you want it.)
Damn, you’re right!
Didn’t know that, actually.
Ignorance fought, thanks.
"Satan Is My Master" by Ben Folds Five should be included, even though it’s basically a joke - complete with punchline.