Faith Meets Life: Hope for blues fans
“I'm standing at the crossroads and I keep on sinking down.” So ends what is arguably the most famous blues song on the planet. Crossroads is its name and the artist is Robert Johnson.
Legend has it that the song is about Johnson making a deal with the devil. In exchange, the story goes, for success as a blues singer and guitarist Johnson would eventually yield his soul to Satan.
Johnson's songs reflect a spirituality where the devil and God are always near with, actually, the former seeming to be nearer and more real. “All the day keeps on reminding me there's a hellhound on my trail,” (from Hellhound on My Trail). In at least one song he has a conversation with the devil. In contrast, again from Crossroads, God appears less accessible, further away; he is “the Lord above” (emphasis added).
Given this nearness of the dark side and distance from the light, it is not surprising that Johnson's songs dwell on negative behaviours, what we would call abusive. Themes of violence and revenge surface quickly as in 32-20 Blues and If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day.
Yet, Johnson and other blues artists of the 1920s and ‘30s have had a long-term impact on many late twentieth century musicians. Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, and host of lesser-known musicians have been singing his songs or adapting his lyrics and music for decades. (From a music theory perspective, there is probably no one who has done more to accent the minor seventh and the minor third than Johnson.)
Blues all through the twentieth century up to the present has been a vehicle for the pain-driven spirits of Johnson and others like him. They were distressed individuals whose experience of life inspired them to create simple, hard driven music, frequently in the key of anguish. They sought respite in a life of wandering, short-term love, alcohol, gambling and vengeance.
Occasionally though, an artist surfaces who tries to take the blues medium and infuse it with hope. Enter Dave Perkins. His current record, Pistol City Holiness, is his first in many years. He has taken on a difficult challenge, to raise up, through the blues medium, themes of redemption and restoration.
A track called Devil's Game could deceive the listener into thinking that Perkins is continuing with the legacy inspired by Johnson and Co. And like much of the music on this CD, it sounds like it could have been written by Johnson.
However the overall message of Perkins' music owes more to Christian spirituality than to Johnson's take on life. “I want a break that I don't have to make,” from Break is a nod (for those who have ears to hear) to the message of grace championed by Christian faith.
Similarly, the song Revival. “Come and go with me down behind the sun / Come and do some shoutin' when the daylight's done / This world is weary but our work has just begun. . . Some folks come to the river to wash away the doubt / They come out of the water and they began to shout / The good sisters tell me that's what it's all about.” These few lines are filled with allusions to Christian baptism, the redemptive possibilities of ordinary work, forgiveness, church women (or Catholic nuns), and the restoration of faith.
I'm going to keep listening to Robert Johnson. But it's great to know that even music that commonly dwells on pain is also capable of pointing to a hope that lies beyond and is within the reach of ordinary people.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Legend has it that the song is about Johnson making a deal with the devil. In exchange, the story goes, for success as a blues singer and guitarist Johnson would eventually yield his soul to Satan.
Johnson's songs reflect a spirituality where the devil and God are always near with, actually, the former seeming to be nearer and more real. “All the day keeps on reminding me there's a hellhound on my trail,” (from Hellhound on My Trail). In at least one song he has a conversation with the devil. In contrast, again from Crossroads, God appears less accessible, further away; he is “the Lord above” (emphasis added).
Given this nearness of the dark side and distance from the light, it is not surprising that Johnson's songs dwell on negative behaviours, what we would call abusive. Themes of violence and revenge surface quickly as in 32-20 Blues and If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day.
Yet, Johnson and other blues artists of the 1920s and ‘30s have had a long-term impact on many late twentieth century musicians. Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, and host of lesser-known musicians have been singing his songs or adapting his lyrics and music for decades. (From a music theory perspective, there is probably no one who has done more to accent the minor seventh and the minor third than Johnson.)
Blues all through the twentieth century up to the present has been a vehicle for the pain-driven spirits of Johnson and others like him. They were distressed individuals whose experience of life inspired them to create simple, hard driven music, frequently in the key of anguish. They sought respite in a life of wandering, short-term love, alcohol, gambling and vengeance.
Occasionally though, an artist surfaces who tries to take the blues medium and infuse it with hope. Enter Dave Perkins. His current record, Pistol City Holiness, is his first in many years. He has taken on a difficult challenge, to raise up, through the blues medium, themes of redemption and restoration.
A track called Devil's Game could deceive the listener into thinking that Perkins is continuing with the legacy inspired by Johnson and Co. And like much of the music on this CD, it sounds like it could have been written by Johnson.
However the overall message of Perkins' music owes more to Christian spirituality than to Johnson's take on life. “I want a break that I don't have to make,” from Break is a nod (for those who have ears to hear) to the message of grace championed by Christian faith.
Similarly, the song Revival. “Come and go with me down behind the sun / Come and do some shoutin' when the daylight's done / This world is weary but our work has just begun. . . Some folks come to the river to wash away the doubt / They come out of the water and they began to shout / The good sisters tell me that's what it's all about.” These few lines are filled with allusions to Christian baptism, the redemptive possibilities of ordinary work, forgiveness, church women (or Catholic nuns), and the restoration of faith.
I'm going to keep listening to Robert Johnson. But it's great to know that even music that commonly dwells on pain is also capable of pointing to a hope that lies beyond and is within the reach of ordinary people.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
