Robert Johnson

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Cross Road Blues (Take 1)

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by Robert Johnson
recording of 3rd of 5 sessions, November 27 1936, San Antonio, Texas
from The Complete Recordings (CBS 467246 2 & Columbia/Legacy C2K-46222 & Columbia 4622 & Sony 64916), copyright notice

I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above "Have mercy, now save poor Bob, if you please"

Yeoo, standin' at the crossroad, tried to flag a ride
Ooo eeee, I tried to flag a ride
Didn't nobody seem to know me, babe, everybody pass me by

Standin' at the crossroad, baby, risin' sun goin' down
Standin' at the crossroad, baby, eee, eee, risin' sun goin' down
I believe to my soul, now, poor Bob is sinkin' down

You can run, you can run, tell my friend Willie Brown¹
You can run, you can run, tell my friend Willie Brown¹
That I got the crossroad blues this mornin', Lord, babe, I'm sinkin' down

And I went to the crossroad, mama, I looked east and west
I went to the crossroad, baby, I looked east and west
Lord, I didn't have no sweet woman, ooh well, babe, in my distress

__________
Note 1: this could either be the close friend of Son House named Willie Brown with whom he played together when Robert Johnson first began to play, or the younger Willie Brown who did some recordings for the Library of Congress or yet another completely unknown Willie Brown, who knows(?);
Note: did Robert Johnson sell his soul to the devil at the crossroads?. Read about it at The Mudcat Café.

In the Delta of the Mississippi River, where Robert Johnson was born, they said that if an aspiring bluesman waited by the side of a deserted country crossroads in the dark of a moonless night, then Satan himself might come and tune his guitar, sealing a pact for the bluesman's soul and guaranteeing a lifetime of easy money, women, and fame. They said that Robert Johnson must have waited by the crossroads and gotten his guitar fine-tuned.