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
Playin' a guitar and pickin' 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 guitar, boy
But give the devil his due
I'll bet a guitar 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 finger and play that guitar hard
'Cause hell's broke loose in Georgia, and the devil deals the cards
And if you win, you get this shiny guitar 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 thing"
And fire flew from his fingertips
As he started tuning his strings
He put that finger down on strings
And it made an evil sound
And him and his demons all got together
And started their music down
When the devil finished
Johnny said, "well, you're pretty good, big old son
But pull up a chair and sit down 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
And I'm afraid the devil just bowed his head
Because he knew that he'd been beat
And he laid that golden guitar
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