Thursday, April 10, 2014

I'm A Fiddle Player Too

I was raised in an ultra-conservative environment. The devil was to be eschewed and feared above all else; avoided at any cost. I remember the first time I heard the song “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgvfRSzmMoU

We moved to New York State in November of 1979. (I've confirmed this with my mother, who never forgets anything) The song was released in May of ’79, so it was a few months old when I heard it for the first time; in the elementary school library. You may wonder, as do I, why it was being played (quite loudly) in the school library. I do not know, but I remember thinking, with all my 6 year old wisdom, “Wow, this IS THE BEST SONG EVERRRR!”
Johnny, had the backbone not only to challenge the devil, but to defeat him in a fiddle playing contest. Then the story got even juicier with the best, most succinct dis from Johnny a 6 year old could imagine: “I've told you once you son-of-a-bitch, I’m the best there’s ever been”

Hoo-whee- my conservative little heart loved it and I sang it mightily under my breath out in the barn where my mother could never hear me say the naughty word. I personally liked the devil’s solo a bit better, but since he caved first and “knew that he’d been beat,” I was proud for Johnny and the coup he got away with by kicking the devil's booty in a hard-core fiddle contest.

Last week, when I walked into the kitchen to hear my boys having a serious discussion about whether the devil’s solo was actually better than Johnny’s, that moment in the library came back to me crystal clear. Still a relevant discussion after all these years. Laters.