Lyrics
Well, 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 willing to make a deal
When he came across 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"
"You probably didn't even know it, but I am a fiddle player too
And if you'd care to take a dare, I'll just make a bet with you
Now you're playin' pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the Devil his due
I'll bet a fiddle o' gold against your soul, I think I'm better than you"
The boy said, "My name's Johnny and it might be a sin
But I'm gon' take your bet and you're gonna regret
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 then he pulled his bow across the strings and it made a evil hiss
And then a band of demons joined in and it sounded something like this
When the Devil finished, Johnny said
"You know, you're pretty good ol' son
But you just flop down in that chair right there
I'm gon' show you how this stuff's done"
Fire on the mountain, run, boys, run
The Devil's in the house of the risin' sun
The chicken in the bread-pan pickin' out dough
Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, no
Well, that ol' Devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat
And he laid that golden fiddle down on the ground at Johnny's feet
Johnny said, "Devil, come on back if you ever wanna try again
I done told you once, you son of a gun, 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 risin' sun
The chicken in the bread-pan pickin' out dough
Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, no