It
really isn’t any mystery what, or perhaps who, “Sympathy for the Devil”
by the Rolling Stones is about. However, even though the who/what is a
relatively easy postulation, this song never actually tells listeners
what/who it is referring too. Instead, this song cleverly allows
listeners to draw supposition by referencing historical events that are
generally considered tragic in one sense or another. Having grown up
listening to this song, among many other artists from a variety of
genres, my appreciation for the historical context in which this what or
who is placed, and blamed for, only increased as I got older. For those
who do not believe in Lucifer, Satan, or the Devil, whichever title you
wish to give him, “Sympathy for the Devil” still contains suppositional
appeal. This song basically personifies evil by naming Evil as having a
hand in forlorn historical happenings; a sinister and manipulative
element or entity of some sort is presented as the ever- present
contender against good.
The
peculiar thing about “Sympathy for the Devil” is the music that
accompanies the song’s lyrics. The song is rather upbeat, containing a
certain attraction that, for me at least, makes this song very
memorable. What is odd about this song being so “catchy” is the supposed
subject of the song, evil personified; there is a happy beat for an
unhappy topic. To me, what is even more interesting is that this songs
charisma parallels that of its topic. Charisma is key to making
temptation tempting, a threat, and thus parallels the appeal that
performing evil deeds has to humans who, as “Sympathy for the Devil”
suggests, have been manipulated to do so by this charismatic character.
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