Lyrics to
The Devil Went Down To Georgia

This version of The Devil Went Down To Georgia was released by The Charlie Daniels Band in 1979.

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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.”

“I bet you didn’t know it, but I’m a fiddle player, too.
And if you’d care to take a dare I’ll make a bet with you.
Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the Devil his due.
I’ll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul ’cause I think I’m better than you.”

The boy said, “My name’s Johnny, and it might be a sin,
But I’ll take your bet; and you’re gonna regret ’cause 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.

The 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 ol’ son,
But sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how it’s done.”

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

The Devil bowed his head because he knew that he’d been beat.
And he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny’s feet.
Johnny said, “Devil, just come on back if you ever wanna try again,
‘Cause I’ve told you once–you son of a bitch–I’m the best there’s ever been.”
And he played:

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

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The Charlie Daniels Band has released many songs over the years besides The Devil Went Down To Georgia. The Charlie Daniels Band released songs from 1971 to 2002 spanning across albums like Charlie Daniels, Fire On The Mountain, Nightrider, High Lonesome, Saddle Tramp, Midnight Wind, Million Mile Reflections, Full Moon, Homesick Heroes, Fiddle Fire - 25 Years Of The Charlie Daniels Band, Road Dogs, and Redneck Fiddlin' Man. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by The Charlie Daniels Band.

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About Lyrics and The Devil Went Down To Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band

The lyrics for The Devil Went Down To Georgia are defined as the words making up the song released by The Charlie Daniels Band in 1979. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to The Devil Went Down To Georgia have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only The Charlie Daniels Band and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to The Devil Went Down To Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to The Devil Went Down To Georgia" means the words set to the music of The Devil Went Down To Georgia, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by The Charlie Daniels Band. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to The Devil Went Down To Georgia and the lyrics to The Devil Went Down To Georgia are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of The Charlie Daniels Band who came here looking just for the lyrics to The Devil Went Down To Georgia, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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