So there’s three schools of thought about the Devil v. Johnny match:
The First: America wins, as is also informed by The Devil and Daniel Webster (1936)
The Second: Rock and Roll wins, as is informed by The Devil and Daniel Mouse (1978) also Rock & Rule (1983) also Crossroads (1986)†
The Third: Johnny’s victory against the devil may be the start of Johnny’s story, in which he gets noted by the labels, performs for three albums, makes it to the top of the radio charts and goes on tour during which he has sex with an uncountable number of groupies, tries out all the drugs, does a Tonight Show interview on Heroin, and dies before thirty, either to an overdose, an assassination by a crazed fan, suicide without any clear cause or an equally mysterious mob hit. (Id est, is a 20th century music GOAT)
† The devil’s been tightly involved in music since time immemorial, not only being credited (blamed) for Rock & Roll but also its predecessor, blues. Also ragtime and romanticism. And then there’s Niccolò Paganini, who, according to the Church, sold his soul to the devil to gain his violin superpowers, and denied him a proper burial for fifty years after his death (and a lot of pressure from his family estate). Paganini developed modern violin techniques and his Caprices 1-24 are used in violin bravura competitions. (Yes, I digress. I know. I like to talk about it.)
All that said, the Devil in stories seems to be a sucker for musician virtuosos who perform their best for him, and he may secretly just love a good jam.
My favorite part is how the devil is judging the contest himself, and even with that huge advantage he’s still like “nah he’s just better rip”
There’s a subtext that you guys are missing. The devil wins whether he says Johnny won or lost.
- If the devil wins, he gets Johnny’s soul per the terms of the bet.
- If Johnny wins, the devil gets Johnny’s soul because he’s committing multiple deadly sins purely by boasting and challenging the devil for a golden fiddle: pride, greed, vanity.
If he deems Johnny the winner, Johnny is less likely to challenge the decision, and he’s also more likely to continue committing the sins of pride and vanity (by boasting of his victory over the Devil Himself).
Johnny’s only chance to avoid his fate (per most strains of the Christian faith) is to acknowledge and repent/confess/absolve his sins by seeking divine mercy. The devil knows this is unlikely.
Johnny lost as soon as he uttered his first line.
The boy said “My name’s Johnny,”
“And it might be a sin”
“So I’d uh… I’d better not”
“I’m actually gonna go.”
It’s okay Johnny’s Protestant he just has to repent
