Absolutely!!!
will only post link to main article if someone posts a karoke of themselves mime-ing SftD+air guitar
Analysis of “Sympathy for the Devil”
The Rolling Stones, masters of hedonism and reckless abandon, created this masterpiece. It has been taken as an incitement to Satanic worship, but a closer analysis reveals something quite different. The song goes in a tight samba rhythm (yes!), and has been covered by many bands. But none have the discipline and the calm to do the lyrics justice. Time to dive in.
Please allow me to introduce myself .. I'm a man of wealth and taste I've been around for long, long years .. stole many man's soul and faith
Introductions are nice. Wealth and taste not to be snuffed at. Or? Temptation has led man astray from his real potential through the millenia.
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
Archetypical. As is most of the song. First line probably a reference to the temptation in the desert, where the Devil tempted Jesus with worldly power, which he politely declined. Second obviously to the Crucifixion, where Pilate absolves himself of responsibility for the event. Abandoning responsibility is not exactly man realizing the best of his potential, another human weakness.
Pleased to meet you .. hope you guess my name But what's puzzling you .. is the nature of my game
Names we have aplenty – Satan, Devil, Lucifer, Mara etc. But the nature of the game? Puzzling indeed.
I stuck around St. Petersburg .. when I saw it was a time for a change Killed the Czar and his ministers .. Anastasia screamed in vain
A reference to the Russian Revolution (Lenin was, as a historical fact, a paid agent of Imperial Germany with the mission to destabilize Russia), and then to the killing of the Czar family in Yekatarinburg, Ural mountains, during the civil war. Killing children is evil, indeed.
I rode a tank .. held a general's rank When the blitzkrieg raged .. and the bodies stank
WWII. Doesn't get much worse than this. Loyal generals whirled into the game of Hitler, doing their parti for their country, but actually being pieces in another human atrocity. Including the Holocaust, which is probably what the last phrase refers to.
Pleased to meet you .. hope you guess my name Ah, what's puzzling you .. is the nature of my game
Looks like we're getting in on the game. It's called 'Evil' – but then, what is it, really?
I watched with glee .. while your kings and queens Fought for ten decades .. for the gods they made
This would be a reference to the Hundred Years War, but it is flawed in that the war was not really about religion, in contrast to the later 30 Years War. But there's no doubt that any one who takes delight in suffering would enjoy these endless conflicts mercilessly.
I shouted out, .. “Who killed the Kennedys?" When after all .. it was you and me
John Kennedy had been assassinated in 1963, and in 1968, while this song was being recorded, the same fate befell his brother Robert. Killing is evil enough in itself, but targeting the elected representatives of democracies constitutes an assault on democracy itself. It could hardly be worse.
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
The second line here has been puzzling, but is probably a reference to musicians and artists setting out for mystical India, getting trapped in the drug temptations – attraction to sensesual experience and very temporary happiness distracts people. Lethally.
Pleased to meet you .. hope you guessed my name But what's puzzling you .. is the nature of my game
The nature of Evil has been puzzling us for millenia. No firm solution has been found, though much experience has been collected along the way. Puzzling, indeed.
Pleased to meet you .. hope you guessed my name But what's confusing you .. is just the nature of my game
Puzzling, confusing, troubling, you name it. The song remains the same.
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
And, at the very point where we dive into complete relativism, cops criminals, sinners saints, heads is tails – comes the killer sentence: We need restraint. Lucifer, the symbol of endless temptation in particular, is in desperate need of restraint. As Diana West noted in The Death of the Grown-up, people unable to rule themselves will have to be ruled by others. Restraint is a precondition for a genuinely civilized society. If we do not learn the art of genuine restraint, we cannot respect others and we will do things, tempted by the illusion of material happiness, that will cause harm to others, and eventually ourselves. People may contrieve all kinds of excuses to circumvent restraint. To no avail. Genuine restraint, willfully abstaining from what will cause harm to others, is a sine non qua of civilized behaviour. Learn it or perish.
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.
Near the end of the song comes what are probably the most surprising lines to ever have come from the creative, hedonistic minds of the Rolling Stones: It is a call to civilized behaviour, of the kind that many today would consider ridiculously conservative and oppressive: The application of courtesy, sympathy, taste and politesse. The instruction is unmistakenly clear. As is the punishment for not doing your absolutely, very best: Your soul will be laid to waste.
Pleased to meet you .. hope you guessed my name But what's puzzling you .. is the nature of my game
Naming the enemy makes sense. Understand his game even more so. A crucial difference between civilization and barbarianism is restraint, wilful discipline. If we waste our intelligence devising workarounds from that, Lucifer, Satan, the Devil, Mara – (note the chorus: “Who, who, who”) – wins. Likewise if we use our power to usurp the wealth of others rather than creating some ourselves. But when we restrain ourselves, use our potential constructively, do our utmost to act in a civilized way – in that case the Devil will have no choice but to head off into the desert and, hopelessly abandoned, wither into dust.