Sympathy for the Devil

:This article is about a song. For other meanings of Sympathy for the Devil see here.

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"Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by British rock group The Rolling Stones. The song first appeared as the lead-off track on the 1968 Stones album Beggars Banquet and immediately generated controversy for its lyrical content.

Related Topics:
British - Rock - The Rolling Stones - 1968 - Beggars Banquet

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The song, credited to Jagger/Richards, is sung with vehemence and swagger by Mick Jagger as a first-person narrative and commentary from the point of view of a suave and sophisticated Lucifer. It is often claimed that the lyrics were inspired by The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. At the beginning of Bulgakov's novel, an elegant stranger, later revealed to be Satan, says:

Related Topics:
Mick Jagger - Lucifer - The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov

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"'Please excuse me,' he said, speaking correctly, but with a foreign accent, 'for presuming to speak to you without an introduction.'"

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"Sympathy for the Devil" begins:

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:Please allow me to introduce myself

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:I'm a man of wealth and taste

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Backed by a constantly intensifying rock arrangement, the singer coolly recounts his exploits over the course of human history and warns the listener:

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:If you meet me, have some courtesy

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:Have some sympathy, and some taste

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:Use all your well-learned politesse

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:Or I'll lay your soul to waste

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At the time of the release of Beggars Banquet the Stones had already raised some hackles for sexually forward lyrics such as "Let's Spend the Night Together" and for dabbling in Satanism (their previous album, while containing no direct Satanic references, had been titled Their Satanic Majesties Request), and "Sympathy" brought these concerns to the fore. In addition to the very idea of a sympathetic view of the Devil, the lyrics included harsh references to the deaths of John and Robert Kennedy (the latter having occurred only months before the album was released). Ironically, the song may have been spared further controversy when the first single from the album, "Street Fighting Man" became even more controversial in the wake of the race riots occurring in many places in the U.S.

Related Topics:
Satanism - Their Satanic Majesties Request - John - Robert Kennedy - Street Fighting Man

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