Sympathy For The Devil – English Lyrics

• By: The Rolling Stones
• Album: Let It Bleed (50th Anniversary Edition)

Lyrics & Translation

Delve into the provocative world of The Rolling Stones' 'Sympathy For The Devil,' a compelling song that offers a unique perspective on history and human nature. Its rich, narrative lyrics and hypnotic samba-rock rhythm provide an excellent opportunity to explore nuanced English vocabulary related to history, philosophy, and morality, making it a powerful and engaging piece for language learners.

[English]

Please allow me to introduce myself

I'm a man of wealth and taste

I've been around for a long, long years

Stole million man's soul an 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

Stuck around St. Petersburg

When I saw it was a time for a change

Killed Tsar 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, 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 troubadours

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 politnesse

Or I'll lay your soul to waste, mm yeah

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guessed my name, mm yeah

But what's puzzling you

Is the nature of my game, mm mean it, get down

Woo, who

Oh yeah, get on down

Oh yeah

Aah 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

What's my name

Tell me, baby, what's my name?

Tell me, sweetie, what's my name?

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
wealth /welθ/ B2	noun - an abundance of valuable possessions or money.
taste /teɪst/ B1	noun - the sense by which flavor is perceived. verb - to perceive or experience the flavor of something.
soul /soʊl/ B1	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
faith /feɪθ/ B2	noun - complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
doubt /daʊt/ B1	noun - a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction. verb - to feel uncertain about.
pain /peɪn/ A2	noun - physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury.
fate /feɪt/ B2	noun - the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as predetermined.
name /neɪm/ A1	noun - a word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is known, addressed, or referred to. verb - give a name to.
puzzling /ˈpʌzəlɪŋ/ B2	adjective - difficult to understand; mysterious.
nature /ˈneɪtʃər/ B1	noun - the basic or inherent features, character, or qualities of something.
game /ɡeɪm/ A1	noun - a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or chance.
change /tʃeɪndʒ/ A1	noun - the act or instance of making or becoming different. verb - to make or become different.
killed /kɪld/ A2	verb - cause the death of (a person, animal, or plant).
screamed /skriːmd/ B1	verb - to give a loud, piercing cry.
bodies /ˈbɒdiz/ A2	noun - the physical structure of a person or animal.
stank /stæŋk/ B2	verb - to smell strongly and unpleasantly.
kings /kɪŋz/ A2	noun - a male monarch of a country.
queens /kwiːnz/ A2	noun - a female monarch of a country.
sinners /ˈsɪnərz/ B2	noun - a person who transgresses against divine law.
saints /seɪnts/ B1	noun - a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and typically regarded as being in heaven after death.
restraint /rɪˈstreɪnt/ C1	noun - a measure or condition that keeps someone or something under control.
courtesy /ˈkɜːrtəsi/ B2	noun - the showing of politeness in one's attitude and behaviour towards others.
sympathy /ˈsɪmpəθi/ B1	noun - feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune.
waste /weɪst/ B1	noun - an act or instance of using or expending something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose. verb - use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose.

Key Grammar Structures

• Please allow me to introduce myself

  ➔ Imperative mood with "please" for politeness and "allow + object + infinitive"

  ➔ "Allow me to introduce" is a polite way of offering to do something. "Please" further enhances the politeness.

• I've been around for a long, long years

  ➔ Present perfect continuous tense.

  ➔ Uses "I've been around" which indicates an action that started in the past and continues to the present. "For a long, long years" emphasizes the duration.

• Stole million man's soul an faith

  ➔ Simplified past tense with omission of articles and possessive apostrophe for stylistic effect. "Man's soul" is singular possessive.

  ➔ The line is grammatically unconventional. It omits 'a' before 'million' and the apostrophe in 'man's', contributing to a raw, impactful feel.

• Had his moment of doubt and pain

  ➔ Simple past tense.

  ➔ "Had" is the past tense of "have", indicating a completed action in the past.

• Hope you guess my name

  ➔ Simple present tense with a verb of wishing/hoping. Ellipsis of "that" after "hope".

  ➔ The "that" is often omitted in informal speech and song lyrics after verbs like "hope", "think", "believe".

• What's puzzling you is the nature of my game

  ➔ Subject-verb inversion with a "what" clause as the subject. The "what" clause functions as a noun clause acting as the subject of the sentence.

  ➔ Instead of "The nature of my game is puzzling you", the sentence is rearranged for emphasis and a more poetic feel.

• Just as every cop is a criminal And all the sinners saints

  ➔ "Just as...so..." structure (implied). Using present simple for general truths/observations.

  ➔ The "so" is implied. The full structure would be something like "Just as every cop is a criminal, so all the sinners are saints". It uses paradoxical comparisons to highlight moral ambiguity.

• As heads is tails

  ➔ Simplified present simple, with non-standard subject-verb agreement ("heads is" instead of "heads are") for stylistic effect. Uses present simple to describe a general truth/equivalence (though a controversial one).

  ➔ The grammar is deliberately incorrect to create a more conversational and impactful tone, despite "heads" being plural, the verb is used in singular. The phrase implies that two opposing sides are essentially the same.

• Or I'll lay your soul to waste, mm yeah

  ➔ Future simple with "will" in a conditional clause. "Lay + object + to waste" is a specific idiom.

  ➔ "Lay someone/something to waste" means to destroy or ruin something completely. The conditional here creates a threat based on lack of courtesy.