Sympathy for the Devil
'Devil' Cast Out of Pr. William
After the devil went down to Georgia, it seems, he got censored in Prince William County.In preparation for a guest appearance at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, the marching band at C.D. Hylton High School had a logical and seemingly innocuous idea: play a Georgia-themed song. They decided on "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," by the Charlie Daniels Band.
But early this month, a local newspaper, the Potomac News, published a letter by a Woodbridge resident who, after having seen the C.D. Hylton Bulldawg Marching Band perform the country-western hit at a football game, wondered how a song about the devil could be played at school events, because of the separation of church and state.
Fearing bad public reaction, Hylton's longtime band director, Dennis Brown, pulled the song from the playlist. "I was just being protective of my students. I didn't want any negative publicity for C.D. Hylton High School," he said.
But Brown's strategy backfired. The decision has created a furor, and even Charlie Daniels has weighed in.
Reached by Ouija board, the Devil declined to comment.
Sources close to the Devil note that he has been generally supportive of furor and strife.
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