Crossroad Blues

Dublin Core

Title

Crossroad Blues

Subject

United States
U.S. South

Description

This song introduces the common Blues music themes of crossroads and collective suffering. Crossroads, high traffic vehicular roads, feature prominently as landmarks in the Mississippi Delta area that Johnson called home. In the song, Johnson tries to hail a ride before sundown. The song has several interpretations, most famously as a metaphor for Robert Johnson exchanging his soul with the devil in order to be a great musician, although this has been refuted by many scholars. Johnson's association with this Faustian bargain has been memorialized in other songs such as "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band.

Creator

songwriter: Robert Johnson

Date

1936

Rights

Teach with Music and Film collects links to audiovisual material openly available online. The copyright and related status of these materials have not been evaluated. Please refer to the direct link for additional information about the copyright status of these materials.

Language

English

Alternative Title

Crossroads

Is Referenced By

Schroeder, Patricia R. "Neo-Hoodoo Dramaturgy: Robert Johnson on Stage." African American Review 48, no. 1/2 (2015): 83-96. 
Brown, Charles M. "Musical Responses to Oppression and Alienation: Blues, Spirituals, Secular Thrash, and Christian Thrash Metal Music." International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 8, no. 3 (1995): 439-52.

Song Hyperlink Item Type Metadata