Hairstyle of the Devil

B.L.Zebubb. Picture from Wikipedia (under "Fair Use")

There's a certain song, by a certain band (clue: yesterday's post). First time I heard it, I knew that the voices were taken from a cartoon I remember from - ooooh, way back when - but what was it? The cartoon (thank you, Google) is called "The Devil and Daniel Mouse". The main theme is the familiar Faustian one of selling a soul to the Devil, for fame, in this case. The voice of B. L. Zebubb is wonderful (even without the pictures) and downright scary in parts. Witness:

"According to our contract, at precisely midnight, at the moment of her greatest triumph, the party of the first part, that's you, agrees to render up her soul now and forever more to the party of the second part, that's me. "

(it's not the same without the voice, though - go find the song, if not the cartoon)

A bit more digging (thank you Wikipedia) has enlightened me. OK, there is a direct line to Faust, but a more direct one to a short story published in the US in 1938 by Stephen Vincent Benét called "The Devil and Daniel Webster". The themes therein are even more intricate, exploring US patriotism, the problem of slavery and of course the concept of the Devil himself. It was turned into a film, and won an Oscar for Best Actor (Walter Huston). Not only that but the Simpsons turned it into a parody (The Devil and Homer Simpson) in which Homer sold his soul for a donut. AND there's a new version (directed by Alex Baldwin) sitting on a shelf somewhere.

See, TV and rock music can be educational! I now find myself more educated and informed. Now I have to read the short story...it's a Penguin Classic, still available.