#14 'Cross Road Blues' by Robert Johnson (1936)

SONG




"I can see why people would like this song but it's a little too intense for me. I don't think I'll listen to it again." - LC

Written by: Robert Johnson

Producer: Don Law

Label: Vocalion

FACTS

• The lyrics tell of the narrator's failed attempts to hitch a ride from an intersection as night approaches.
• According to legend, as a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Robert Johnson was branded with a burning desire to become a great blues musician. He was "instructed" to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (the Devil) who took the guitar and tuned it. The "Devil" played a few songs and then returned the guitar to Johnson, giving him mastery of the instrument. This was in effect, a deal with the Devil mirroring the legend of Faust. In exchange for his soul, Robert Johnson was able to create the blues for which he became famous.
• The song had frequently been linked to stories of Johnson selling his soul to the devil for  the ability to play music, although nothing in the actual lyrics speaks of these events.
• Historian Leon Litwack and others state that the song refers to the common fear felt by blacks who were discovered out alone after dark; that Johnson was likely singing about the desperation of finding his way home from an unfamiliar place as quickly as possible because of a fear of lynching.
• The song has been covered by  a huge range of artists, including The Doors, Bob Dylan, Free, Elmore James, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix, Rush, Van Halen, Steve Miller Band, Page and Plant, and Cyndi Lauper ft. Jonny Lang.

Recommended songs by this artist...

#15 Hellhound on My Trail (1937)