♪ ♪ ♪♫♫
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
I stuck around at 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, ah yeah
(whoo whoo, whoo whoo)
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens (whoo whoo)
Fought for ten decades (whoo whoo)
For the gods they made (whoo whoo)
I shouted out, (whoo whoo)
"Who killed the Kennedys?" (whoo whoo)
When after all (whoo whoo)
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 reached Bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, (whoo whoo) oh yeah (whoo whoo)
But what's puzzling you (whoo whoo)
Is the nature of my game (whoo whoo), oh yeah, get down, baby
whoo whoo, whoo whoo)
(whoo whoo)
(whoo whoo)
(whoo whoo) .........
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, (whoo whoo) oh yeah (whoo whoo)
But what's confusing you (whoo whoo)
Is just the nature of my game (whoo whoo) um yeah (whoo whoo)
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 (whoo whoo)
So if you meet me (whoo whoo)
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, (whoo whoo) and some taste (whoo whoo)
Use all your well-learned politesse (whoo whoo)
Or I'll lay your - soul to waste, um yeah (whoo whoo)
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name - um yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game (whoo whoo) um mean it, (whoo whoo) get down
Woo, who (whoo whoo)
Oh yeah, get on down (whoo whoo)
Oh yeah (whoo whoo)
(whoo whoo, whoo whoo)
(whoo whoo, whoo whoo).......
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
Woo who (whoo whoo)
alright -
Oh, who who, oh, who who, (whoo whoo) oh, who who
Oh Yeah (whoo whoo)
Woo, who who (whoo whoo)
Ah yeah, a-what's my name
Tell me baby -- what's my name
Tell me sweetie -- what's my name
Woo, who, who (whoo whoo)
[ x 4 ]
Ah yeah!
whoo whoo
________________________________________
All those "whoo whoos" - ! Stevie Nicks had to borrow some of those for her song, "Edge of Seventeen"...
It's a Rolling Stones song titled, "Sympathy for the Devil."
I understand the song as an allegory, saying that evil is in our world, watching for its opportunity to do harm.
The song is not suggesting that we literally have sympathy for the evil, it's written from the point of view of the evil, or the "devil" -- saying, 'Hey come on, I'm just doing what I do -- it's my job.'
It's a way of telling the story -- not an endorsement of evil.
The song says he (the devil) was there guiding Pilate to betray Jesus; he pops up at St. Petersburg when they kill the czar and switch their government style to communism. (Out of the frying pan and into the fire.)
And in the verse where it says "blitzkrieg" -- that's the tactics used by Nazi Germany in the early years of World War II. (The word blitzkrieg means "lightning war" in German.)
(The devil, or hovering evil, pops up everywhere through history -- similar to Forrest Gump in the movie! I imagine if the devil popped up in the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest would have quoted the t-shirt and said, "Not today, Satan!" and started running.
Robin Wright: "Run, Forrest!!")
-----------------------------------------------------------------
One can find "Sympathy for the Devil" on You Tube or elsewhere on the Internet and give it a listen. It is a uniquely fascinating song, and danceable as well.
(If you type in the song title, should probably also type in "Rolling Stones" too -- otherwise you might get some guy in his kitchen in Kenosha singing it to his dogs, or something....)
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment