Robert Johnson's Blues

In Robert Johnson's short and colorful life, he recorded several of the Blues songs which have made him famous. Fortunately, these recordings survive today, and allow us to discuss the lyrics and the stories behind them. Johnson capitalized on the story that he had sold his soul to the Devil in order to play guitar better than anyone else, in part by emphasizing in his lyrics themes of damnation and of lost souls, especially in Crossroad Blues. In Me and the Devil Blues, Johnson shows he expects his soul to find no rest after he is gone; in the last verse, he sings, "You may bury my body down by the highway side/[spoken: Baby, I don't care where you bury my body when I'm dead and gone]/You may bury my body, ooh, down by the highway side/So my old evil spirit can catch a Greyhound bus and ride." He often states that he expects his life to be short; in Rambling on My Mind, he sings, "I believe my time ain't long." His music is what is killing him; in Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped the Devil), he sings, "the blues is a low-down achin' heart disease/Like consumption killing me by degrees." But not all of Johnson's music is so grim. In From Four 'Till Late he philosophizes, "A man is like a prisoner and he's never satisfied/A woman is like a dresser, some man always ramblin' th'ough its drawers."

Johnson's songs capture the complex traditions which became the Blues: African (especially Yoruban) legends of meeting Legba at the crossroads, European traditions about the crossroads as a mystical place, Judeo-Christian beliefs about the soul, Mississippi Delta spiritual traditions, and, of course, the complicated African, European, and American musical strains behind the music.

Questions to Consider:: 1) Trace the origins of the Blues. How does it represent an example of syncretism in American culture?; 2) What are the borders that exist in Robert Johnson's world?; 3) Examine the imagery in Johnson's "Crossroad Blues". What are the sources for this imagery? What do these images illustrate about Johnson's world, and about his own feelings as reflected in the songs?; 4) In Johnson's "Crossroad Blues", why is he unable to flag a ride at the crossroads? What does this illustrate about Johnson and about the Crossroads as a place?; 5) In "Hellhound on My Tail," how does Johnson create a mood of foreboding and menace? From what traditions are these devices drawn?; 6) Analyze Johnson's "Stones in My Passway." What are the examples of imagery, alliteration, assonance, symbolism, and metaphor used in the lyrics?; 7) What have been the effects of the emergence of Blues music on American popular music? Can you identify any echoes of that music in popular music today?

Further resources and readings:

Questions to consider for Peter Guralnick's Searching for Robert Johnson (1989)

The University of Virginia's Robert Johnson Notebooks provides a wealth of information, including the words to his songs, discographies, biography, and critical essays about Johnson and his work.

Blue Flame's Encyclopedia of the Blues Website's Robert Johnson Section.

Recordings by Robert Johnson: Robert Johnson, The Complete Recordings (Columbia/Legacy 64916). The complete works (except for alternate take of Traveling Riverside Blues, which is only on King of the Delta Blues Singers, below), including alternate takes. Robert Johnson, King of the Delta Blues (Columbia/Legacy 65211). Sixteen tracks; more listenable for the average person. Robert Johnson, King of the Delta Blues Singers (Columbia/Legacy 65746). CD-version of 1961 LP which cemented Johnson's reputation with modern audiences, and includes a recently-discovered alternate take of Traveling Riverside Blues which does not appear on The Complete Recordings.

MP3 files for Robert Johnson recordings: Preaching Blues; Terraplane Blues; Walking Blues.

RealAudio streaming files for Robert Johnson recordings: Kindhearted Woman; 32-20 Blues.

RealAudio download files for Robert Johnson recordings: Kindhearted Woman; 32-20 Blues.

Prepared by Professor Catherine Lavender for Honors 502 (American Frontiers and Borderlands), Department of History, The College of Staten Island of The City University of New York. Send email to lavender@postbox.csi.cuny.edu
Last modified: Saturday, 19 August 2000.