Sympathy for the Devil: Encyclopedia II - Sympathy for the Devil - The song

Sympathy for the Devil - The song

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:

"Sympathy for the Devil" begins:

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

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.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The song", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki