The Devil Went Down to Georgia

Otra de las canciones que me obsesiona: "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", de la Charlie Daniels' Band, un grupo de country de la América profunda. Me iba a hacer fan, pero descubrí que eran republicanos... lo cual, por otra parte, era normal. Debí haberlo imaginado. La canción es brutal, tanto por la letra como por la música. Habla del Diablo, que se desplaza hasta Georgia buscando almas, y reta a Johnny, un violinista que hay por allí. El trato con el muchacho es claro, y está basado en la tradición folklórica del pacto con el diablo: si Johnny gana se lleva un violín de oro, y si pierde, guess what!, el Diablo se queda con su alma. Pero Johnny resulta ser un jefe, y "the best there's ever been". Me encanta la parte en que le vacila, cuando el diablo ha terminado de tocar, con su banda de demonios, y le dice: "Well you're pretty good ol' son."But sit down in that chair, right there, and let me show you how it's done." Ahí, vacilándole al mismísimo Diablo. Estos yankis...

Destaco, también las versiones de la canción, respecto a un insulto: "son of a bitch/son of a gun". Hay versiones con los dos insultos, el ligero y el fuerte, también muy típico de los sureños, el cambiar exclamaciones que al parecer, les resultan blasfemas, como "For Christ's sake" por el "For crying out loud!", o "Fudge!" por Fuck!". Súper divertido y absurdo, algo así como el "¡miér...coles!" por "¡mierda!" de nuestros abuelos, o el "¡me ca... chis en la mar!" por "¡me cago en la madre que te parió!". Todo ello a base de cambios de sonidos y significados, omisiones y otros recursos para no blasfemar ni tomar el nombre de dios en vano.

Parece que Charlie Daniels se inspiró en parte para hacer esta canción en un poema que leyó en la escuela, The Mountain Whippoorwill, de Stephen Vincent Benet, por si os interesan las fuentes. Además, las partes en las que tocan el Diablo y Johnny están hechas por el propio Charlie Daniels y como él mismo explica: "The Devil's just blowing smoke. If you listen to that, there's just a bunch of noise. There's no melody to it, there's no nothing, it's just a bunch of noise. Just confusion and stuff. And of course Johnny's saying something: You can't beat the Devil without the Lord. I didn't have that in the song, but I should have." Vale, mensaje Amoalaura-style. Pero mola.

A continuación, aquí tenéis la canción. Es muy divertida, realmente es como un pequeño cuento para antes de ir a dormir... soñar que eres Johnny y que vences a The Fucking-Devil-Motherfucker:

The devil went down to Georgia, he was looking for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind 'cos he was way behind: he was willin' 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 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 bet a fiddle of gold against your soul, 'cos 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, your gonna regret, 'cos I'm the best that's ever been."

Johnny you rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard.
'Cos hells broke loose in Georgia and the devil deals it hard.
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 resined up his bow.
And he pulled the bow across his strings and it made an evil hiss.
Then 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 with the risin' sun.
Chicken in the bread pen, pickin' out dough.
"Granny, does your dog bite?"
"No, child, no."

The devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat.
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 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 with the risin' sun.
Chicken in the bread pen pickin' out dough.
"Granny, will your dog bite?"
"No, child, no."

PS: para los flipados del Guitar Hero, sepan que hay una versión de esta canción para tocar.