Sympathy for the Devil

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This article is about the song. For other uses, see Sympathy for the Devil (disambiguation).

"Sympathy for the Devil"

Song by The Rolling Stones
from the album Beggars Banquet
Released	6 December 1968
Recorded	17 March - 25 July 1968
Genre	Rock
Length	6:18
Label	ABKCO
Writer(s)	Mick Jagger Keith Richards
Producer(s)	Jimmy Miller
Beggars Banquet track listing
	"Sympathy for the Devil" (1)	"No Expectations" (2)

""Sympathy for the Devil" Remix"

Single by The Rolling Stones
Released	September 16 2003
Recorded	March - June 1968
Genre	Rock
Length	38:24
Label	ABKCO
Producer(s)	Jellybean Benitez, The Neptunes, Fatboy Slim, Full Phatt
The Rolling Stones singles chronology
"Don't Stop (Rolling Stones song)" (2002)	"Sympathy for the Devil" Remix (2003)	"Streets of Love / Rough Justice" (2005)

"Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by The Rolling Stones. The song first appeared as the opening track on the 1968 Stones album Beggars Banquet.

1 The song
2 Film
3 References to the song
4 Covers and remixes
- 4.1 Track Listing: Sympathy For The Devil Remixes
5 External links

[edit] The song

The song is sung by Mick Jagger as a first-person narrative and commentary from the point of view of a suave and sophisticated Lucifer. The lyrics have been said to be inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita.[1] At the beginning of that novel, an elegant stranger, later revealed to be Satan, is introduced in this way:

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

The style of the stanzas also bears resemblance to a passage in The Devil and Daniel Webster.

"Sympathy for the Devil" begins:

Please allow me to introduce myself

I'm a man of wealth and taste

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

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

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, provoking media rumors and fears among some religious groups that The Rolling Stones were indeed devil-worshipers and a corrupting influence on youth. It should be noted, however, that one interpretation of this song is that "The Devil" is in fact mankind. The lyrics are a brief history of some of the most notable atrocities committed by man against man, including The Hundred Years War (I watched with glee while your Kings and Queens fought for ten decades for the Gods they made), the October Revolution (I stuck around St. Petersburg when I saw it was a time for a change, killed the Czar and his ministers), and World War II (I rode a tank, held a gen'ral's rank while the blitzkrieg raged, and the bodies stank). In that light, the song would appear to be a criticism of the immorality in Western Civilization perceived by the songwriter.

In addition to the very idea of a sympathetic view of the Devil, the lyrics include references to the deaths of John and Robert Kennedy (the latter having occurred only months before the album was released). 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 cities in the U.S. The line 'Hope you guess my name' is thought to pertain to the fairy tale Rumplestiltskin, who gives the main character three days to guess his name or he'll take her baby.

Additional personnel included Nicky Hopkins - piano, Rocky Dijon - congas, Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg - backup vocals.

[edit] Film

Sympathy for the Devil is also the title of a 1968 film by Jean-Luc Godard. The film, a loose documentary of the late 1960s American counterculture, also featured the Rolling Stones in the process of recording the song in the studio.

[edit] References to the song

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The journal National Review listed Sympathy as the third greatest "conservative rock song" of all time.

In the Alan Moore graphic novel V for Vendetta (at the end of Volume 2 chapter 7), V introduces himself to a corrupt, doomed bishop he is about to assasinate by quoting word-for-word, "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste" while revealing devil horns from under his hat.

The song was used as the theme music to one of director Michael Mann's earliest works, the 1979 made-for-television film The Jericho Mile, written by Patrick J. Nolan and starring Peter Strauss.

In Hal Ashby's Coming Home (1978), Robert Carradine commits suicide under the increasingly overpowering "Sympathy for the Devil."

In Carl Hiaasen's first novel Tourist Season, Sympathy for the Devil is sung by Skip Wiley at the Miami Orange Bowl, both as a distraction and as a comment on the city of Miami in general.

In the 1988 movie 'Alien Nation', Jane's Addiction's cover of this song is played in the "New Encounters" night club.

In the Stephen King book Dreamcatcher, a military unit's theme song is "Sympathy for the Devil".

The title of an episode of La Femme Nikita is the name of the song, though the music is not used.

The name of the song is also used for session 6 of the popular anime Cowboy Bebop, in a tribute to the original (many sessions of Bebop are named for famous songs). Another anime, Witch Hunter Robin also used "Sympathy for the Devil" as a title for one of the later episodes in the series.

In the Hunter S. Thompson novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, it is the only tape cassette that Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo have in the car, mentioning "..grappling with a tape recorder turned all the way up on Sympathy for the Devil. That was the only tape we had, so we played it constantly, over and over as a kind of demented counterpoint to the radio."

In the Brazilian soap opera Vamp, this song is the main character, the vampire popstar Natasha's main hit that propels her to stardom.

In the James Patterson novel, "Along Came a Spider", Gary Soneji introduces himself to a corrupt detective, Miles Devine, with "Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm a man of wealth and taste." When Devine does not recognize the allusion, Soneji continues with, "Sympathy for the Devil? The Rolling Stones?"

The version of the song performed by Guns N' Roses is used in the ending credits for the movie adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire.

The song is used in the ending credits for the movie Fallen, starring Denzel Washington and John Goodman. The movie features another Stones song, "Time Is on My Side", as a plot device.

In the mini-series adaptation of The Stand by Stephen King, Randall Flagg introduces himself to a character with the phrase "Pleased to meet you, Lloyd, hope you guess my name." Upon receiving a befuddled response, Flagg responds "Never mind. Classical reference."

Argentinian Spanish pop ska group The Refrescos released an album named Simpatía por el débil (Sympathy for the weak one), a pun on the song title, in 1991.

The heavy metal band Witchery released a CD in 2000 called Symphony For The Devil.

The band PIG released a song entitled "Symphony for the Devil" on their 1993 album, The Swining.

The band Type O Negative released a live DVD in 2006 called Symphony For The Devil.

The Character of Satan sings "Pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name" in an episode of the Radio Comedy Old Harry's Game then goes on to say "Its true, I do have all the best tunes."

Jarrad Russell Has been quoted to say that Sympathy For The Devil was the song that truly made him a Rolling Stones fan.

On the sophomore album of the band OK Go, Oh No, the fourth track "A Good Idea At The Time" is a direct response to the Rolling Stones song and contains recognizable phrases from the original.

In a 2002 episode of The Sopranos, "Whoever Did This" Ralph says "Please allow me to introduce myself." and later in the same episode is asked by Father Phill "Were you there when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain?"

In the Jeff Long novel The Descent, a sniper watching Satan appear is singing: "Pleased to meet you... hope you guessed my name."

In the James Morrow novel Only Begotten Daughter, Satan (Andrew Wyvern) responds to Julie Katz, "I'm a man of wealth and taste," when she remarks on his opulent schooner, Pain.

In Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Thief of Time, Lu-Tze introduces himself to milkman Ronald Soak/Kaos with the line "Pleased to meet you. Let me guess your name".

In Glen Duncans's novel I, Lucifer Lucifer refers to him self as "a man of wealth and taste"

The character of Karen Walker wanted to walk down the aisle to this song at her wedding to Lyle Finster.

In Episode 2.08, "Agatha Ripp," of Nip/Tuck, the song is played as the doctors surgically remove a vestigial tail from a baby.

[edit] Covers and remixes

The song has been widely covered since its release, including a notable version by Jane's Addiction that was included on their 1987 self-titled live album, a much darker and complex version by jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears, and most famously by the American hard rock group Guns N' Roses that was recorded in 1994 and featured in the closing credits of Neil Jordan's film adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. In 1989, the Slovenian band Laibach released an EP of 7 different versions of the song, interpreted as everything from a Fascist Wagnerian symphony to a light techno number.

The song has a similar chord structure as the coda to The Beatles' Hey Jude and The Residents perform the two quodlibet as the finale to their album The Third Reich 'n' Roll.

In December 1969, Sandie Shaw recorded the song for her album Reviewing The Situation.

In September 2003, ABKCO Records released a remix single of the original song featuring radio and remix versions by The Neptunes, Fatboy Slim, and Full Phatt.

In 2005, Ozzy Osbourne released a cover of the song on his 4-disc box set Prince of Darkness. The 4th disk of Prince of Darkness, which included only cover songs, was re-released in late 2005 on its own with three more cover songs under the title Under Cover; Ozzy's cover of "Sympathy for the Devil" was included in the re-release.

In 2006, Nepenthe Garden recorded a studio version of the song, performed the way in which The Rolling Stones often performed it live.

Progressive/gothic metal band Tiamat covered the song on their 1999 album, Skeleton Skeletron

U2 performed a piece of the song during "Bad" throughout the eighties and even sang it at Live Aid in 1985.

A list of covers is available at SecondHandSongs.