the devil his due
Some of you may know Charlie Daniels. He lives around here, and you may go to church with him, shop at the same grocery store, or find yourself in the same social circles. You may have even emerged from your house early one morning to find him sleeping in the bed of your truck. He may even be there now, and you just haven't noticed him. Go and see.
At any rate, those of you who know or have access to Mr. Daniels should alert him to this piece by John Moe published earlier this month at McSweeney's. It appears that we have for too long given Charlie a free pass on the discrepancies found in "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and Mr. Moe is unafraid to finally ask the tough questions.
posted by Rex L. Camino at 3:56 PM
4 Comments:
I always thought the devil's fiddle playing was cooler too, but the McSweeney's article doesn't take into account the socio-political ramifications of Johnny winning the bet. The devil's playing was modern using the finest electronics while Johnny's playing is pure agrarian splendor at its best. It's Charlie's version of I'll Make My Stand; that famous work of Vanderbilt's Fugitives that included Robert Penn Warren. It was a last gasp attempt to hold off industrialization of the South through song. Johnny may have won against the devil, but the South didn't win against urbanity and industry.
Very insightful, Wally.
It occurs to me now that Mr. Daniels never upheld his declaration that "The South's Going To Do It Again". Perhaps "Devil Went Down To Georgia" is simply an excuse for why that never came to fruition.
I have always wondered if Johnny really shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, Merlynn. It would seem that he had better justification for shooting some folks around Nashville.
Merlynn,
You have got to read any one of the endless essays and discussions on Billy Joe McAllister!
This is but one:
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=1623
I've heard everything from the fact that the singer and Billy Joe were throwing their dead baby's body off the bridge earlier when the preacher saw them to the fact that Billy Joe was actually Billie Jo and the singer and she were caught in a lesbian relationship by the preacher to any other number of things.
And yes, at certain points in my life I've had too much time on my hands.
And yes, at certain points in my life I've had too much time on my hands.
I think that any of us with a blog can safely make that statement, Katherine.
Ha!
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