Lyrics for Sympathy for the Devil as interpreted by oofus

Sympathy for the Devil Lyrics
Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long long year stolen many a man's soul and faith
I was around 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 Tzar and his ministers; Anastaria screamed in vain
I rode a tank held a gen'rals rank when the blitzkrieg
raged and the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you hope your guess my name, oh yeah
Ah what's puzzling you is the nature of my game, oh yeah

I watched the glee while your kings and queens fought for
ten decades for the Gods they made
I shouted out "who killed the Kennedy's?" when after all it was you and me
Let me please introduce myself I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I lay traps for troubadors 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

Pleased to meet you hope you guess my name
But what's confusin you is just the nature of my game

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, um yeah

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down

Woo, who
Oh yeah, get on down
Oh yeah
Oh yeah!

Tell me baby, what's my name
Tell me honey, can ya guess my name
Tell me baby, what's my name
I tell you one time, you're to blame

oh, who
woo, woo
Woo, who
Woo, woo
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Oh, yeah

What's my name
Tell me, baby, what's my name
Tell me, sweetie, what's my name

Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Oh, yeah
Woo woo
Woo woo

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OpinionHead
12-16-2004

Rated 0 
I don't like this song because of the content not because it wasn't well-created. Now I think about it, this song is a classic because evil is present throughout the world and history. Well, I despise Satan but I sometimes wonder if Satan is just the personification of human nature. He only exists because we are fallen creatures.

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Philadelphia Eagles
12-17-2004

Rated 0 
Satan dosen't exist, dude.

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Cisite
12-28-2004

Rated 0 
This is an amazing song. It makes being evil sound cool.

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Chinup
12-29-2004

Rated 0 
I love waking up and having a cold glass of human blood while listening to this song...

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boomerstyle
01-04-2005

Rated 0 
I heard this song was inspired by "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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El Don
01-08-2005

Rated 0 
This song's lyrics are actually amazingly complex. We find ourselves being told by the Devil in first person, that we, humanity, should have some sympathy for him. But should we?

The juxtaposition of Satan's politeness ("Please allow me to introduce myself") and of Satan's 'deeds' (Christ's cruxifiction, the Bolshevik Revolution, Germany's aggression during World War II, and the death of John F. Kennedy) seems a little perplexing. Obviously, this spokesperson is not to be trusted. If any doubt still exists as to whether Satan's asking for sympathy is benign, we get a threat from Satan (Use all your well-learned politness or I'll lay your soul to waste). Thus, the lyrics are not to be taken at face values; Satan is evil, and his beg for sympathy is a ploy.

This ploy though, is a small set of a greater ploy; this ploy is brought up when Satan tells us, "But what's puzzling you is the nature of my game." In other words, Satan's ploy is to confuse us, to keep us from understanding evil, and in a sense, from making us committ evil for him. Who killed Kennedy? According to Satan, "after all it was you and me." Notice that the "you" came before the "me." Yeah, Satan played a role, but it was humanity that gave Satan a vehicle to actually commit the deed. Who decided Christ get cruxified? That's right Pilate, a human being did.

Still, the "false gods" section of the song bothers me. I'm not really sure if this is Satan at all; it might just be some general evil or the nature of evil. The "false god" line really undermines Christianity, seeing how the English word "king" highly relates to the belief of the Christian God appointing someone to look over his land on Earth.

Still, this song is unbelievably complex; it's almost like a novel in story song. It's definetely not to be taken at face value. Succinctly, the song is about how evil lulls us into a safe sense of security and apathy. We beleive we aren't to blame for the evil on Earth, but we are.

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El Don
01-08-2005

Rated 0 
Oh and btw, czar can be spelled either CZAR or TSAR. Both are correct.

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stuntman44
01-09-2005

Rated 0 
y'all read too much into this song. Bet Jagger whipped this out in 10 minutes; probably reflecting on the day he sold his soul. Who better to write a song about the devil than somone who has met him.
Song says the devil is alive and well and that we should respect this fact, or risk losing our souls to the mother-f*cker.

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OpinionHead
01-10-2005

Rated 0 
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was proving to the world that he didn't exist" - Keyzer Soze

I recant about this song, this is a great song. I still want to push the bastard in the balls, though.

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OpinionHead
01-11-2005

Rated 0 
Punch The Bastard In The Balls, Exsqueeze Me!

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ShadeCharade
01-11-2005

Rated 0 
Why would we have sympathy for the devil? Well, here's the reason. The devil is blamed for alot of the bad things that happen. When really, the devil doesn't exist. And the evil is part of us.The 'devil' is just a scapegoat. The person you blame things you did on.

The song gives several events that 'the devil had a hand in' when really, it was just the evil or greed of people. Basicly, the worse aspects of human nature. And here's what makes me think that:

"Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails"
He's making a point about about how most people are two faced. What you see is not what they really are.

"Tell me baby, what's my name"
Who am I?

"I tell you one time, you're to blame"
I'm you.

The politeness of the speaker leads me to believe that he is representing the evil of man. He's smiling and being very nice to you, but he's probably plotting to kill you. -- It's all about human nature.

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GoochyLittlePig
01-15-2005

Rated 0 
how many jesus freaks does it take to bash a song? go back to your huts, losers, and leave the internet for people with a brain.

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cheesepants
01-17-2005

Rated 0 
Hmm...my top 5 band list looks like this

1. Led Zeppelin
2. The Who
3. The Beatles
4. The Doors
5. Queen

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JosephWolf
01-31-2005

Rated 0 
The greatest trick the devil ever did was telling people he didn't excist.

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Chinup
02-08-2005

Rated 0 
cheesedickpants - no one gives a fuck about your predictable classic rock list. jeez.

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JosephWolf
02-13-2005

Rated 0 
And He's on A Rolling Stones List, and they aren't even on there.

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ZepHead379One
02-20-2005

Rated 0 
boomerstyle wrote:
------------------------------
I heard this song was inspired by "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
------------------------------
woah, i was just about to post something about that. when we read that story in english class, i thought of this song. my teacher let me print out a copies of the lyrics and bring in the song for everyone to listen to. an excellent short story, everyone should read it.

i also liked josephwolf's Usual Suspects reference...

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chrisb1
03-06-2005

Rated 0 
This song is suitably played at the end of the movie "Fallen" starring Denzel Washington. A classic!.

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johnny1031
03-09-2005

Rated 0 
how many jesus freaks does it take to bash a song? go back to your huts, losers, and leave the internet for people with a brain.

What the hell are you talking about? Who's bashing the song? Seriously, what a stupid thing to say. Here's a tip retard, follow your own advice.

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lvillagaray
03-11-2005

Rated 0 
I think shadecharade has come the closest to interpretting the lyrics(my humble opinion only). However, I think it goes a little deeper than just the evil in humans. I think it also has a lot to do with the duplicity of good and evil. I don't so much believe that it is the human race that is two faced as much as the divinity that is undefined. I get this impression the lyrics are telling us there is not a God and a devil but perhaps just a God and he is both good and evil.
"just as heads is tails just call me lucifer cause I'm in need of some restraint"
I think it is the duplicitous nature of our creator to be both.
then again, maybe I have too much god damn time on my hands.

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j_justice
03-15-2005

Rated 0 
hasn't anyone else noticed that the melody to "Are you gonna be my girl" (by jet, I think) was RIPPED RIGHT OUT OF THE GUITAR RIFF? Listen to this song, then "Be my girl" you'll see what i mean. They're identical.

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Timeaisis
03-31-2005

Rated 0 
ShadeCharade is correct in his assumption. In my opinion. anyway. I don't see this song to be so much about the devil, but instead the devilish nature of mankink. The devil is blamed for every evil event throughout the world, when really it is humankind who is the horrible devilish creature.

I believe this song is communicating the fact that every man represents 'satan', whether he truly is realy or not, mankind has made it so, through themselves. These are amazing lyrics, truly.

"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 "

Every man is just as evil as Satan, as he has sinned infinitely. Whether this song is actually religious in nature or not, I believe it still to point out that man has become what he has feared most: Satan.

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

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Detective
04-03-2005

Rated 0 
Youve got to be retarded to not know what this ones about!

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j_justice
04-09-2005

Rated 0 
i don't know if i've posted this already, but has anybody listened to this song and "Be my girl" by Jet? IT'S TOTALLY RIPPED OFF FROM THE GUITAR RIFFS IN SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL!

i also suggest listening to "sexy sadie" right before listening to their other song... i dont' remember what it's called at the moment.

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BrainStewed74
04-10-2005

Rated 0 
When I was younger and had no idea who the Rolling Stones were, this song came on the radio a lot. My bro and mom would sing the words, and I'd sing the "whoo whooooo" background part. So I guess that's why this is my favorite RS song..

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