Many breathe fire over ban of ‘Devil’ song IAN SHAPIRA; The Washington Post WASHINGTON – After the devil went down to Georgia, he got censored in suburban Washington. In preparation for a guest appearance at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, the marching band at Hylton High School in Prince William County, Va., had a logical and seemingly innocuous idea: play a Georgia-themed song. They decided on “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” by the Charlie Daniels Band. But early this month, a local newspaper, the Potomac News, published a letter by a concerned resident. The writer wondered, after watching Hylton’s Bulldawg Marching Band perform the country-western hit at a football game, how a song about the devil could be played at school events, because of the separation of church and state. Hylton’s longtime band director, Dennis Brown, pulled the song from the playlist. “I was just being protective of my students. I didn’t want any negative publicity for C.D. Hylton High School,” he said. But Brown’s strategy backfired. The decision has created a furor, and even Charlie Daniels has weighed in. “I am a Christian, and I don’t write pro-devil songs. Most people seem to get it. It’s a fun little song,” Daniels said Friday. “I think it’s a shame that the (band director) would yield to one piece of mail. If people find out that he can be manipulated that easily, he’s going to have a hard way to go.” Residents, alumni and parents have been fulminating in the Potomac News and on its Web site against censorship, the values of the media, the band director and, unsurprisingly, the writer of the letter, Robert McLean. In the paper’s online forum, people have written about a range of topics – abortion, presidential politics, whether Daniels rocks or not – that show how testy emotions have become. To paraphrase from the song, fire has flown from their fingertips: “God have mercy. How did we become a country full of weenies who give into the cranky nonsense of one voice?” one person posted. Another chimed in: “So what if the song does actually ‘revolve’ around Satan? Satan has its rightful place in history as does women’s suffrage, slavery, and every other subject bad or good!” Daniels’ song, which won a Grammy Award in 1979, is a tale about the devil heading to Georgia and challenging a young man named Johnny to a fiddling duel. The stakes are high: If the devil plays a better tune, he gets to keep Johnny’s soul. But Johnny is too talented. He beats the devil and wins a golden fiddle, making Daniels’ song a metaphor for the triumph of good over evil. The students are concentrating on less controversial fare as a replacement for their national performance in December: “Pick Up the Pieces” by the Average White Band. As for McLean, the letter writer? The defense contractor said he meant only to start a philosophical debate. Besides, he loves “Devil.” “It was one of the first 45s I had as a kid,” he said.
Ridiculous! OK I realize the devil is as much a part of religion as God is. But if we start to use separation of church and state to ban the devil in America there won't be anything 'fun' left. I say we leave the devil in America and just focus on getting God out. The devil is certainly a part of church but we can't afford to separate him from State. Why there might not be anything left!
I think it's really funny that the band director could be so stupid as to think that one letter questioning the song decision would make more publicity than him caving in and cancelling a song. I personally don't see any threat at all to church and state in playing the song at a football game. The devil went down to Georgia is no more an endorsement of state religion than teaching Greek mythology in 8th grade English or learning about the Aztec's worship of Quetzacotal (too lazy to look up the spelling) in history. This is truly much ado about nothing. But, on a positive note, at least the move sparked a public debate about the issue. The rest of America should take note, turn off the reality tv, and get involved in current issues as well.
If any given HS choir can sing religious music (because, let's face it, most chorale music is religious in nature, if not at least religiously inspired) then why can't a GEORGIAN HS band play the most famous song about Georgia, the whole idea being the devil went there and got his butt beat.
oops... or teaching the Ten Commandments in history or Psalm 23 in English class. Wait a minute- Greek religion in English class isn't the same as Jewish religion in English class. And Aztec worship has far more historical significance than the Ten Commandments in history. Separation of church and state that isn't politically correct isn't worth the lawsuit it gets filed under. I don't blame anyone for being upset with such a silly reaction to a letter complaining about Charlie's song, the devil is a good fiddler even if he lost in Georgia, I know alot of people who dance to his tunes every day.
This is silly. You might as well ban God Only Knows, by the Beach Boys, one of the first pop songs, supposedly, to have "God" in the title. A great pop tune, and I'll admit to being bothered by the religious reference back in 1966, when it came out, but I couldn't stop diggin' the song. Just too good. The Devil Went Down to Georgia isn't remotely in the same class as far as quality, imo, but to ban it is rediculous. Did I say silly yet? I did? Ok... silly and stupid. It's just pop music. Keep D&D Civil.
Wow, that is completely ridiculous. On a similar note, I saw Charlie Daniels perform a couple weeks ago, and he's still got it.
God Bless the USA - the titles fine, but c'mon the song sucks. And if God blessed the USA, how come we have taxes and three dollar gas and Ashlee Simpson and the Dallas Mavericks and Bud Adams and practically every know it all ESPN? Huh? answer me that. How are we blessed?
Couldn't have been Christians. The Bible makes that clear- 1 John 3:15 " Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him." So please re-phrase your statement as 'after murderers who thought they were Christians killed them?'
Not at all. Some might be though. Who gets to say who is what? Maybe there are just different types. None are exactly the same, I can tell you that.
