The 1993 Sequel to “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” Featured Charlie Daniels, Johnny Cash, and Travis Tritt

In 1993, violinist Mark O’Connor revisited Charlie Daniels‘ hit song “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”. You might know that classic original tune by its intense fiddle breakdowns and excellent, memorable storytelling. O’Connor recruited several country legends for the new song and video, including Johnny Cash, Travis Tritt, Marty Stuart, and Charlie Daniels himself. And it’s quite a sequel, to say the least.

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“The Devil Comes Back To Georgia” is a sequel that creates a new narrative based on the main character, Johnny, and his challenge to the devil, “come on back if y’ever wanna try again.” In the original song, Johnny beats the devil in a fiddle match, taunting him with a rematch.

Charlie Daniels returned on the fiddle, while Johnny Cash served as the deep-voiced narrator. Additionally, Marty Stuart portrayed Johnny, and Travis Tritt appeared as the devil.

The New Narrative Behind the Sequel to Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”

In this continuation of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”, Johnny is now an adult with a family. The devil appears to accept Johnny’s rematch and believes that he can best Johnny this time. Essentially, says the devil, sinful hubris will be Johnny’s downfall.

The devil takes the golden fiddle that Johnny won in the last match, forcing him to practice with an old instrument. However, the devil fails to acknowledge that it’s the same old fiddle that Johnny beat him with the first time.

In a turn of the tables, hubris is the devil’s downfall instead. The two go on with their match, exhibiting skill and talent reminiscent of the original classic song. While the lyrics don’t explicitly state that Johnny beats the devil in the tumultuous rematch, the music video fills in the gaps of the narrative. In the end, Johnny can once again exclaim that he’s “the best there’s ever been.”

While this may seem like an obscure piece of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” lore, the song actually charted decently. In 1994, “The Devil Comes Back To Georgia” reached no. 54 on the Hot Country chart. This cemented that, no matter the year, a song about beating the devil at a fiddle contest will always be beloved in one way or another.

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