Pleased to meet you...

If I was more of a pious guy, I guess I'd probably be ringing the ghanta of my neighbourhood temple (there's one right next to my house) a lot more, thanking God for the wonderful things he has given me the capacity to appreciate and enjoy. But I missed that bus a while back.

And then there's the undeniably un-godly nature of some of the music I appreciate a bit too much of course. Case in point, as the title of this post suggests is the terrific Stones number "Sympathy for the Devil". Of course, the Rolling Stones were not to blame for the hue and cry from the clergy and the moral police who related rock 'n roll to satanism. That argument goes a long way before Mick and Keith paired up. But this song, along with several other Stones numbers, have had their fair share of controversy.

But who cares? What a great song! Great lyrics penned by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, great music which, according to rumour, had Led Zep's Jimmy Page pitching in with a guitar solo. Page, of course, was a well-known occultist and probably begged Mick for a bit part in this ode to Lucifer. Also, the lyrics are said to be inspired from Mikhail Bulgakov's great masterpiece "The Master and Margerita".

Bulgakov's book has its own colourful history, taking him almost a decade to complete. In Socialist Russia, Bulgakov had to go through a great deal of censorship and harrassment as his book was seen as inflammatory and satirical about the bureaucratic system. Three years into the writing, Bulgakov one day decided to destroy his work and burnt the entire document on his kitchen stove. Boosted by his wife's support, he again re-wrote the entire book and finally managed to get it printed, though in a censored form. The book is now considered a great piece of literature of course. I've got to get me a copy sometime soon!

Coming back to the song, I can't resist printing the lyrics here, with due regard to Mick and Keith who wrote it.

Sympathy For The Devil

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 St. Petersberg

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

What's puzzling you

Is the nature of my game, oh yeah

I watched with glee

While your kings and queens

Fought for ten decades

For the Gods they made

I shouted out

"Who killed the Kennedys?"

When after all

It was you and me

Let me please introduce myself

I'm a man of wealth and taste

And I laid traps for troubadors

Who get killed before they reached Bombay

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah

But what's puzzling you

Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah

But what's confusing you

Is just the nature of my game

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

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, um yeah

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guessed my name, um yeah

But what's puzzling you

Is the nature of my game, um baby, get down

The song is from the point-of-view of the devil, with references to the mysterious deaths of the Czar and the Kennedy's. The vocals are brilliant, as you would expect from Jagger. The song was later covered by Guns 'N Roses also.

Themes inspired from Bulgakov include the references to the Czars and also the lines "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". The story of Pontius Pilate meeting Jesus and reluctantly handing him over to those who wanted to kill him forms a second strand in the novel.

So, some great music, intelligent lyrics, intellectual inspirations. What more could you ask for? So what if it deals with themes that are considered controversial. Go, listen and read. I already am.