Fototoek

'Love In Vain'  Robert Johnson

"Well, the blue light was my blues
And the red light was my mind"

'Love in Vain' (originally 'Love in Vain Blues') is a blues song written by American musician Robert Johnson. He sings of unrequited love, using a departing train as a metaphor for his loss. Johnson's performance – vocal accompanied by his finger-style acoustic guitar playing – has been described as "devastatingly bleak". He recorded the song in 1937 during his last recording session and in 1939 it was issued as the last of his original 78 rpm records.

'Love in Vain' has elements of earlier Delta blues songs and for a while it was believed to be in the public domain. In 1969, the Rolling Stones recorded an updated rendition featuring an electric slide guitar solo. The popularity of their adaptation led to a lawsuit over the copyright, which was eventually resolved in favor of Johnson's estate. Various artists have recorded the song. bron: Wikipedia

Een van de bekendste versies is die van The Rolling Stones.

Hoe mooi dit blues nummer ook is, de strekking van de boodschap roept toch wel vragen op. Zoals in zoveel liedjes klinkt ook hier de boodschap door dat liefde te koop zou zijn. 'All my love was in vain' impliceert toch eigenlijk dat liefde een investering is en dat je daar een zeker recht aan kunt ontlenen. Als ik maar genoeg liefde geef, dan hoort die beantwoord te worden. Er klinkt een materialisme in door en een mate van bezitsdrang, die met echte liefde weinig te maken hebben, in mijn ogen dan. Maar wel een prachtig nummer.

Voor verdere diepgang in deze materie*:
Wat het is: 'Unrequited Love' op Wikipedia.
'How To Deal With Unrequited Love?, bij WikiHow.
Dan: 'How to Deal With Being Dumped when You Want to Remain Friends', ook bij WikiHow.
Aanverwant en soms best lastig: 'How to Be Happy', opnieuw bij WikiHow.
Ook The School of Life geeft antwoorden op dit soort vragen bijvoorbeeld in 'How to Cure Unrequited Love'.
* Robert Johnson had, gelukkig maar voor ons, geen internet.

'Love In Vain'  Robert Johnson

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

Met dank aan STAR.