The devil went down to Georgia
He was lookin' for a soul to steal
He was in a bind
'Cause he was way behind
And he was willin' to make a deal

When he came upon this young man
Sawin' on a fiddle and playin' it hot
And the devil jumped
Up on a hickory stump
And said, "boy, let me tell you what

I guess 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

Then 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 sit down in that chair right there
And let me show you how it's done"

He played Fire on the Mountain run boys, run
The devil's in the House of the Rising Sun
Chicken in a bread pan pickin' 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 want to try again
I done told you once you son of a bitch
I'm the best that's ever been"

He played Fire on the Mountain run boys, run
The devil's in the House of the Rising Sun
Chicken in a bread pan pickin' out dough
Granny, does your dog bite? No child, no


Lyrics submitted by Blackhart_Antihero

The Devil Went Down to Georgia Lyrics as written by Charlie Daniels Charles Fred Hayward

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

The Devil Went Down To Georgia song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

10 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    its says to me if u have faith in God nothing is impssible

    Godlover42on May 30, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I told you once you son of a bitch I'm the best there ever been

    thefmon August 09, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song so much. It is like one of the pimpinest songs in the world. I can't Belive I'm the first one to make a comment

    Supersmarton February 13, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    WHY THE HELL DO YOU EVEN NEED TO LOOK UP THIS SONG?!?! THE MEANING IS IN THE TITLE!!!

    metalimunchon February 24, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    metalimunch do you even know what you are on about?

    The meaning of this song (how I see it) is more indepth to the strong friendship of Charlie Daniels and Johnny Denver. The way this works is that Charlie Daniels interpretates the Devil to be himself where as Johnny Denver is Johnny. As this story goes the devils loses and gives Johnny the golden fiddle, this means that Charlie is saying that Johnny is a better fiddle player then himself though he can not professionally play the fiddle (though he can play the electric viola).

    There may also be small notes of how Charlie thinks of himself in the actions that the devils done including Johnny though that is no major part to the story or over all meaning to myself.

    tidus04on March 04, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    and you do why?.. because you looked up this song and replied to it?

    Peoples interests are different and also by saying I have no life just because I enjoy this song and the meaning of it is shallow as on your behalf, open up man. Your a disgrace.

    tidus04on June 21, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I also saw this song as more of a stab at human arrogance. While all humans are arrogant in some ways, some people's talents arise above their well-deserved arrogance.

    Anyone have any idea where teh song that Johnny sings came from?

    And also I thought it was, "hell's broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals the cards."

    thewalrusamion June 27, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    thewalrusami, It IS "The Devil deals the cards.

    The lyrics are just wrong that's all.

    As for the lyrics, isn't it self explainitory?

    greengiant360on September 07, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Ok, first of all, this is a Charlie Daniels song, not Steve Ouimette. But aside from that, Johnny's song is "Fire on the mountain, run boys, run. The devil's in the house of the risin' sun. Chicken in the bread pin, pickin' out dough. 'Granny, does your dog bite?' 'No, child, no.'"

    "Fire on the mountain, Run, boys run" is apparently a popular fiddle tune. House of the Rising Sun is a great song by The Animals. I have no idea about the rest. However, the rest of the song, written out is a very good story.

    ClassicRock5on September 13, 2010   Link
  • -3
    General Comment

    obviously you don't have a life if you care that much about this song anyway there are better songs to give a shit about.

    metalimunchon April 02, 2008   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Jesse with the long hair....
Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Classic love story true to his western tx roots. One of my favorites as a story, but I think there are alot of songs that are amazing not even listed on this site. I guess I should figure out how to add them, because I have about 8 REK cd's.
Album art
Siberian Kiss
Glassjaw
its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Album art
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Album art
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone). And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Album art
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.