Because he knew that he'd been beat
I'm a fiddle player too
Johnny said, “Well, you're pretty good, old son
Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough
And it made an evil hiss
“Now you play pretty good fiddle, boy
The devil's in the House of the Rising Sun
And if you lose, the Devil gets your soul
But give the Devil his due
And he laid that golden fiddle
The Devil's in the House of the Rising Sun
And if you win you get this shiny fiddle made of gold
Sawin' on a fiddle and playin' it hot
Well, I'll make a bet with you”
But sit down in that chair right there
Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard
And said, “Boy, let me tell you what”
When he came across this young man
But I'll take this bet, you're gonna regret
And it sounded somethin' like this, here we go
And if you'd care to take a dare
Johnny said, “Devil, come on back
Fire on the mountain, run, boys, run
Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, no
If you ever want to try again
As he rosined up his bow
And he said, “I'll start this show”
Hell broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals his cards
And the Devil jumped up on a hickory stump
I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul
“I guess you didn't know it, boy
When the Devil finished
And it just might be a sin
And a band of demons joined in
'Cause I think I'm better than you”
The devil opened up his case
I'm the best that's ever been”
Fire on the mountain, run, boys, run
And let me show you how it's done”
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind
Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough
Well, I told you once, you son of a gun
And fire flew from his fingertips
The boy said, “My name's Johnny
And he was willin' to make a deal
I'm the best that's ever been”
Well, the Devil bowed his head
When he pulled the bow across the strings
On the ground at Johnny's feet
