Robert Johnson: Love in Vain

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Robert Johnson: Love in Vain

Sun Feb 21st 2010 by abagond

Remarks:

As some may have noticed, I am not a big blues fan, but I love this song. The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton did covers, but I like this version way better. Sorry, but this song is not believable coming from them.

Lyrics:

And I followed her to the station
with a suitcase in my hand
And I followed her to the station
with a suitcase in my hand
Well, it’s hard to tell, it’s hard to tell
when all your love’s in vain
All my love’s in vain

When the train rolled up to the station
I looked her in the eye
When the train rolled up to the station
and I looked her in the eye
Well, I was lonesome, I felt so lonesome
and I could not help but cry
All my love’s in vain

When the train, it left the station
with two lights on behind
When the train, it left the station
with two lights on behind
Well, the blue light was my blues
and the red light was my mind
All my love’s in vain

Ou hou ou ou ou
hoo, Willie Mae
Oh oh oh oh oh hey
hoo, Willie Mae
Ou ou ou ou ou ou hee vee oh woe All my love’s in vain

Posted in 1930s, 1937, America, blues, lyrics, marriage, music, Robert Johnson, songs, videos | 15 Comments

15 Responses

on Tue Feb 23rd 2010 at 12:14:56 J

Is this one of a few recordings that is still extant of Jonson…Or are there many more…I really can’t remeber (apart from the term ‘devil music’)??

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on Tue Feb 23rd 2010 at 12:57:33 Fan2010

I just listened to this song three times in a row – and will continue this morning.

Thanks

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on Thu Feb 25th 2010 at 23:24:44 Mira

He’s a true legend. I must admit I am not really that familiar with the blues, but I generally like it.

Sorry, but this song is not believable coming from them.

May I ask why?

Sure, Robert Johnson IS Robert Johnson and that should be enough of a reason. I’m just asking to see if it has something to do with race (because I see nothing in the song that is race specific, so to say).

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on Sat Feb 27th 2010 at 10:43:34 Mira

Are you saying white person can’t experience misery? Or just that the Rolling Stones and Clapton couldn’t?

Is this a song about slavery?

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on Sat Feb 27th 2010 at 11:04:59 abagond

Eric Clapton has certainly experienced enough pain and bad in his life to relate to this song. It was how he got into the blues in the first place. He never wanted to be a rock star, just a blues guitarist. Even after he became rich and famous he lost his son, which is easily one of the worst things anyone can go through. And yet when he sings blues songs it seems like he is going through the motions. With Clapton it is like he is just singing a song, with Johnson it seems like he singing about his own life.

As to Mick Jagger, that the words of the song could ever apply to him seems laughable. And the way he sings it too it is like some other song. Maybe somene can tell me where he is coming from on this one.

That is how I see it. I am sure Clapton and Rolling Stones fans would have a different take on this.

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on Sat Feb 27th 2010 at 11:24:52 Mira

Thanks for the explanation (both of you).

I like Rolling Stones for what they are (a rock band, period). As for Eric Clapton, he’s a good musician, but I don’t know… I was never able to see him as more deep than the other musicians.

Rock music is based on black music, so I never get why it’s considered “white” in the US. Is it because there are more white than black fans? Or because the musicians? (there are plenty of non-white rock musicians). Maybe this could be a post suggestion (though I’m not sure if people are interested in this subject as much as I am).

What I still don’t get here is what makes this song particularly race specific. Or is it the fact it is a blues song, that only black person could fully appreciate?

I’m asking all of this because I really, really like and appreciate Robert Johnson’s work, and I’d like to know/understand the social dynamics better.

Many people I (personally) know like blues. We were never told we shouldn’t, or that we’re unable to relate to it because it’s essentially black music.

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on Sat Feb 27th 2010 at 14:59:23 abagond

How rock became white would make a great post.

In the meantime, some related posts;

https://abagond.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/i-cant-quit-you-baby/
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/white-american-music/
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/the-blackness-of-eric-clapton/
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/dorf/

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on Sat Feb 27th 2010 at 15:08:40 Mira

Thanks for the links. I already read some of those posts (dorf, for example), but will check out the others.

But I must admit I still fail to see “Love in Vain” as a race specific song.

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on Sat Feb 27th 2010 at 15:24:16 abagond

I would not call this song race specific. The style of music it is done in (blues) started among Black Americans but the emotion and what is sung about seem to be universal.

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on Sat Feb 27th 2010 at 15:51:52 Mira

Exactly. That’s why I asked why you thought it wasn’t believable coming from the Rolling Stones or Clapton. I didn’t understand whether you were referring to music style (white people can’t understand blues), the lyrics (because they’re race specific) or simply the fact those two (Rolling Stones and Clapton) simply failed to be truly emotional and believable (but another artist could).

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on Sat Feb 27th 2010 at 15:58:48 abagond

Right, a white musician could do this song justice. It is just that Clapton and Jagger, in my view, failed to do that. Led Zeppelin, for example, I think did good covers of blues songs.

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on Sun Feb 28th 2010 at 13:34:57 Shady_Grady

Hendrix once joked that he wanted to burn Clapton to death because he couldn’t play rhythm. He also said of Clapton “He is a kind of hero of mine except I don’t really have heroes. I can’t wait to see if he’s as good as he really thinks I am”.

=)

Clapton is an interesting fellow. He did make some very ugly racist comments back in the seventies which he’s never apologized for or taken back. On the other hand he’s gone out of his way to give opportunities to or credit to the original blues and soul artists. On the other hand I don’t know of any public racist comments by Jimmy Page or Robert Plant but they never met a blues song that they didn’t steal credit for.
To be fair LZ also ripped off a lot of traditional and folk musicians as well.

I think Clapton’s best days musically ended around the early seventies but there are very few musicians who are inventive much past their twenties or thirties.

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on Mon Sep 6th 2010 at 11:20:32 Vinnie Candie

I think your website is amazing, mine is just started, I am a starving musician, artist, and writer. There is no one, no one, who ever played like Robert Johnson, or will ever play like Robert Johnson, There have been some close ones, but I do not think people get it, they do not get him. Not to say a 30 year old white man who never knew his father and has always been tempted by the devil, and seems to grasp things a bit faster and deeper then my counterparts, could under stand a man like R.J. He was first brought into my life about 16 years ago, after reading “Hammer of the Gods” a story about Led Zeppelin and there supposed dealings with the dark one. I kept hearing the name Johnson, and the song Crossroads, timidly covered by “Bone Thugs & Harmony” with that I got that “hey you think this song is about this when its about the opposite”. Then I heard the legend and then the story of his death, by poisoning. Seemed he got whatever he wanted in this life, and maybe he did “trade the only thing he ever had, for a free ride” but to listen to a recording of that man play the guitar, when recordings were all but one take, and it sounds as if he would see the guitar like Mozart or Beethoven saw the piano, he would tune it to wild tunings and you would swear when you close your eyes there were 4 – 5 guitarist playing. That is something that until “Les Paul” came and invented over dubbing we would not see again. The man was a Legend, a Myth, and like all good music white people stole it, put it in different packaging and resold it. But I am no average white man, and I know to pay credit were its due, and maybe just maybe it was due somewhere else in this world. But I believe, that at a humans best we are nothing but our selves “capacitors” or “instruments” that when we can become one with our surroundings and at peace and “in tune” with ourselves that we can channel greatness. I see you have done it here. Robert definitely did it. No one has been Robert Johnson since. I think thats the point. The soul must be tormented and the heart heavy and the mouth or hand honest, once those come together, there is no stopping what can be done. Your blog is beautiful. I look forward to spending more time on it.
Vinnie

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on Mon Sep 6th 2010 at 11:27:20 Vinnie Candie

P.S. I think if you look deeper its not race specific, and its not even a song about a women or a train, the suitcase held his gun, and he followed “the lady” to the train, and it was love in vein before you could say vein instead of vane, its a play on words, you do not think a good ol’ boy like Ray would fall in love with that girl and a bad boy like Johnson would leave her alone. He was haunted by “Spirits” till the day he died.

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on Sun Mar 30th 2014 at 18:47:54 Mary Burrell

I love the legend of how he acquired his musical abilities by selling his soul to the devil.

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