The singing doesn't sound exactly demonic, though I suppose the devil could conceivably be taken with the affectless chill of bluegrass harmonies.Īlex Bradford, "Don't Let Satan Turn You Round"ĭour country singers wail about the devil all the time, but Old Nick is noticeably absent from the African-American gospel tradition. The most famous example is probably the Louvin Brothers' " Satan Is Real," but this 1993 track from the Seldom Scene is also a worthy entry in the genre. There's a long bluegrass gospel tradition of warning listeners off Satan. It seems a bit odd that a saint like Hildegard would let Satan get the last word, but perhaps she was feeling especially pessimistic that day. "Sed Diabolus" is thought to be the conclusion, in which the devil, "who would leave no work of God intact and undiminished," sneers and jibes at Ursula. Ursula, who was slaughtered along with thousands of accompanying virgins after making a pilgrimage to Rome. There are three songs here the middle one is "Sed Diabolus," or "Only the Devil Laughed." It's part of a cycle dedicated to St. Hildegard von Bingen has been subjected to some unfortunate New Age renditions, but this is a pleasingly low-fi setting for voice, cello and recorder. Shelley Faulkner and Hildegard von Bingen, "Sed Diabolus" So the number of the beast in this case is 18, unless you want to list another 648 in comments. To do this as it should be done, I should probably list 666 of them, but even my patience doesn't extend that far (to say nothing of my editor's). Still, Satan has inspired a legion of melodies. That may or may not be the case, but it's certainly true that pound for pound there are way more songs about God than about his adversary. But while plenty of songs about the Devil are life-affirming and cool, only some of them feel tailor-made to chase the clouds away.It's often said that the Devil has the best tunes. As such, when they blast a song about evil and damnation, they're not stewing in gloom and doom, they're having their spirits lifted and being made to feel less alone. If holiness involves being a judgmental puritan, then Satan is just the ultimate bar buddy, the kind of sweaty, good-natured dude who just wants to skull a cold beer.
Rock fans know that our love of the Devil isn't about devotion to darkness and misery, it's a rebellion against the stuffy, regimented moral code of society at large. What these people don't seem to realise is how much of sin and blasphemy is based in simple human behaviour, and that by associating good times and killer tunes with Lucifer, they only drove young rockers further into his arms. Because rock's bass-heavy rhythms make people want to dance, laugh, and eventually have sex, squares and evangelists hear Satan in every twanging guitar, and vilify provocative rock stars for being minions of the adversary himself.
Since its inception, rock’n’roll has been thought of by moral authorities as 'the Devil’s music'.