I heard The devil went down to georgia the other day after years of not hearing it. I have to say, IMO, the devil played better.
Johnny’s part plays more like a worn out square dance, but the devil’s section flat-out rocked.
I think the devil got a bum deal in that song.
Anyone else agree with me on this?
Bizarrely, this occurred to me just last week, when the song was on a BBC TV show. The fiddle playing blows.
Sounds like ole Beezlebub is having some sort of spastic episode when he’s playing. It’s like he’s trying to saw the fiddle in half.
I prefer the Band of Demons™ anyway.
That’s always bothered me about this song; I figured the only reason the devil “lost” was because he cheated by having the band of demons join in.
I haven’t heard that song in years but I totally agree. I always thought the devil should have one. I wonder if anyone has ever mentioned that to Charlie Daniels (is that who sung it?).
Have one what?
D’oh
“won”
No No No…
Remember, guys: it’s a country song (old school).
Johnny won because he was playing country fiddle. The devil played a sort of rock/disco cross thing. That’s why he lost.
Sorry, the Devil made me do it (he told me he’d get Charlie Daniels to play the fiddle again if I didn’t). 
Then you did the correct thing.
(but I still prefer when others errors are pointed out instead of mine)
Check out the Primus version sometime. It’s… different.
Well, as long as we’re drifting, let me mention Mono Puff’s re-working of the concept as “The Devil Went Down to Newport.” In that one, Jesus and the Devil have a surfing competition – and the Son of God wins by invoking some very politically incorrect lookism.
It’s a very different song, but listening to the two back-to-back is quite fun.
Devil. Definately.
Try to get a listen to David Allen Coe’s “The Devil Went Down to Jamaica” Now THAT’s different
Johnny Cash, bless his soul, collaborated with Charlie D on a sequel called “The Devil Went Back Down to Georgia” which AFAICT is almost exactly the same song. Johnny (in the song) wins again, of course, even though the Devil destroys his golden fiddle he won the last time.
Not one of Cash’s best.
-Ray Wylie Hubbard, Conversation with the Devil from Crusades of the Restless Nights.
Corrections:
“I said you know that song that Charlie Daniels did”
Crusades of the Restless Knights
It’s less of a talent contest and more a genre contest?
Well,. I think they should have pointed that out before the contest started. I don’t think the devil understood that.
The Devil was so great? Dude, I can make those noises with my fiddle. And my fiddle has a warped bow, the tuning knobs are stripped so they fall back out of tune as soon as you wind them, and I’ve never had a single lesson in my entire life. A spastic monkey could have played the Devil’s solo if he had a talented backup band, which is exactly what Old Scratch did with his band of demons joining in. Johnny, on the other hand, actually had to fiddle some.