Yow, yow
Yow
Mm-huh
Mm-uh

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith
And I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game

Stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank, held a general's rank
When the Blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
Oh, yeah
Ah, what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
Oh, yeah

I watched with glee while your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades for the gods they made
I shouted out, "Who killed the Kennedys?"
Well, after all, it was you and me
Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reach Bombay

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
Oh, yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
Oh, yeah
A-get down, baby

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
Oh, yeah
But what's confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Mm, yeah

Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint
So if you meet me, have some courtesy
Have some sympathy and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, mm, yeah

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
Mm, yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
Mean it
Get down

Woo-hoo
Ah, yeah
Get on down
Oh, yeah
Mm
Bum, ba-bum, bum, bum, ba-bum
Ba-bum, bum, bum, ba-bum
Bum, ba-bum, bum, bum, ba-bum
Bum, dum, bum, bum, ba-dum, da
Yeah
Ah, yeah

Tell me, baby, what's my name?
Tell me, honey, can you guess my name?
Tell me, baby, what's my name?
I'll tell you one time, you're to blame
Ooh-hoo, ooh-hoo
Ooh-hoo, alright
Ooh-hoo-hoo, ooh-hoo-hoo
Ooh-hoo-hoo, ah, yeah
Ooh-hoo-hoo, ooh-hoo-hoo
Ah yes, what's my name?
Tell me, baby, what's my name?
Tell me, sweetie, what's my name?

Ooh-hoo-hoo, ooh-hoo-hoo
Ooh-hoo-hoo, ooh-hoo-hoo
Ooh-hoo-hoo, ooh-hoo-hoo
Ooh-hoo-hoo, ah, yeah


Lyrics submitted by oofus, edited by goodnews, serious, hades735

Sympathy for the Devil Lyrics as written by Mick Jagger Keith Richards

Lyrics © Abkco Music Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Sympathy for the Devil song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

242 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +40
    Song Meaning

    I think this song is sung in the point of view of the Devil, and is saying to stop blaming the Devil for everything bad. There are alot of references, including the crucifixion of Jesus, world war 2, and the assasination of John F. Kennedy. But who crucified Jesus? Man. Who started WWII? Man. What killed J.F.K? Man. This song is saying that the Devil didn't cause these things, he just "watched" while man did all the work. That's why this song is called "Sympathy for the Devil". It isn't saying to really have sympathy for him, it is saying that maybe we should stop blaming him for all bad things, and maybe start taking a look at ourselves

    serg340on December 29, 2010   Link
  • +17
    Song Meaning

    The song taunts us over and over with "What's my name?" even after the narrator tell us to just call him Lucifer.

    His name is God. Not Lucifer, not Satan, but God. I used to think this verse was just bad grammar:

     As heads is tales
     Just call me Lucifer

    But the anwer is right there--cop is to criminal as God is to Lucifer.

    God in a bad mood is Satan. God in a bad mood lays our souls to waste:

     Just call me Lucifer,
     Cause I'm in need of some restraint.

    God in a good mood plays games with us:

     What's puzzling you
     Is the nature of my game.
    
     What's confusing you
     Is just the nature of my game.

    What a masterful song!

    DorianModeon March 09, 2012   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    It's not Lucifer speaking in this song, it's God.

    Just as every cop is a criminal And all the sinners saints As heads is tails

    This song is saying that God is the real devil. It's a maltheistic song.

    So if you meet me Have some courtesy Have some sympathy, and some taste Use all your well-learned politesse Or I'll lay your soul to waste, um yeah

    It's telling you to worship this evil totalitarian or you will suffer. The title "Sympathy for the Devil" is because people generally worship God and sympathize with him despite monstrous deeds. "Devil" is not a literal term.

    I don't actually believe God is this, just what I think the song is saying. I don't agree with it, but this is what I think it's saying

    PickleJelloon January 16, 2010   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    I think the meaning of this song is pretty obvious. This is clearly not a Satanic song. It's a cautionary tale.

    Evil is everywhere. It's a constant. Those who try to just go along with everything and ignore the fact that evil exists and do nothing about it are going to be consumed by the devil (Have some sympathy, and some taste/Use all your well-learned politeness/Or I'll lay your soul to waste). He is out to destroy us. To take us over. To remove our good. If we are apathetic to it or if we go along with it to save ourselves in the natural world, he will destroy our souls. We have to learn to recognize him (hope you guessed my name). He puts on a great disguise. We must sift through all the B.S. if we want to outsmart him.

    thecaterpillaron March 12, 2011   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    I understand this as an admonishment that evil is nothing new and can disguise itself in many forms, as it has thru history.Even Christ faced this dilemma (of course, HE recognized it for what it was) Sympathy is thinking like the devil, the ultimate enemy, to effectively recognize and resist. It's a warning to those who are naive and accept everything at face value. Writing this in the first person further drives home the point of entering the mind of the ultimate enemy. I find this song almost too profound for a robot, take- everything-literally Christian to comprehend.Few ever get past the knee-jerk reaction because it portrays the devil in the first person. mmmmmm......... makes ya think, huh?

    Laursauruson July 08, 2002   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    The man who wrote the article that a link was given to in the previous comment is a false prophet. The man is proclaiming hate, telling people to condemn these songs and singers for their lyrics, calling them prophets of Satan. The author of the article is saying that we are all weak minded and able to be swayed by these "satanic" lyrics if we listen to them. He says we should listen to christian songs only.

    The author is wrong. We sould be able to listen to whatever we want. We shouldn't be limited to only Christian music. This author is a prime example of why people are driven from Christianity. The author used misquoted lyrics in his article, the System of a Down lyrics read this:

    Father, Father, Father, Father, Father/ Into your hands/I/commend my spirit, Father, into your hands,

    Why have you forsaken me, In your eyes forsaken me, In your thoughts forsaken me, In your heart forsaken, me oh,

    not:

    Father (**) Brother (**) Father/ Into your hands/I/commend my spirit, Father, into your hands,

    Why have you forsaken me, In your eyes forsaken me, In your thoughts forsaken me, In your heart forsaken, me oh,

    In closing, I do not believe you should listen to this false prophet. Christ taught compassion, not hate.

    Gilthanison June 20, 2002   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    This song is a direct shot at people with religious beliefs. It was meant for certain people not to get. In short, it is saying, to blame all the bad things in the world on a "character", is naive and uneducated. The only thing that would be more rediculous than this belief, would be the actual belief that Mick Jagger is actually the devil. This song, not only is extremely cleverly written, and disguised, but has some of the best guitar licks, and rolls along with the best r&b ever written. For those who still don't get it, I'm sure think Ozzy Osbourne is the prince of darkness, Alice Cooper is the Devil's son, and Marilyn Manson is, well "mister scary". What these artists all have in common, is they get to travel world, and see first hand the atrocities caused by religion. All were brought up very religious, and began to mock this belief, after worldly education. For all you young music listeners, I was like you, and at 15 took the words to this song literally, after learning about popular music extensively, and the different bands, I was able to see through the simple lyrics of alot of songs, but believe this one is one of the most important. "Who killed the Kennedy's?" after all it was you and me, and the russian's, and the mafia, and the.................. Not some dude in a red cape.The end lyrics give it away, "I tell you one more time baby, your to blame". Meaning us, people. It's a shame that alot of people weren't sharp enough at the time to get it, and for those who didn't, John Lennon had to write a song with no hidden tongue in cheek meanings. The shame is, when he wrote that song , people got it, but stuck their heads in the sand. Though it doesn't rock like "Sympathy", it's just as important, and 200 years from now ,people will know , "Imagine ", was sending the exact same message to an ignorant and confused society.

    viper67on June 23, 2007   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    i really think that the line about the troubadours is a metephore - the lost of young musicians to drugs, alcohol, ect. before they really meet their potential. and it is possible that everyone is just reading too much into it.

    CeeJaion October 15, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Troubadours were people in the middle ages who would travel from France trying to reach out to Europe and Asia of Gods true message but were often killed by Church officials or others before they could finish their journey.

    hawaiipt1on February 28, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song is clearly about God being responsible for what goes on.

    "Just as every cop is a criminal And all the sinners saints As heads is tails Just call me Lucifer 'Cause I'm in need of some restraint"

    "I shouted out "who killed the Kennedy's?" when after all it was you and me"

    "Tell me baby, what's my name I tell you one time, you're to blame"

    it's as simple as that. People like to blame the worlds problems on a "devil" or "evil" when it is Man himself to blame.

    tukoon April 26, 2010   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Album art
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms. “Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.