Love in Vain
| "Love in Vain Blues" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Robert Johnson | |
| B-side | "Preaching Blues (Up Jumped the Devil)" |
| Released | 1939 |
| Format | 10-inch 78 rpm record |
| Recorded | Dallas, Texas, June 20, 1937 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 2:25 |
| Label | Vocalion (no. 04630) |
| Writer(s) | Robert Johnson |
| Producer(s) | Don Law |
| "Love in Vain" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Rolling Stones from the album Let It Bleed | |
| Released | December 5, 1969 |
| Recorded | May 1969 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 4:22 |
| Writer(s) | Robert Johnson |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Miller |
"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.
In the late 1920s, Johnson began playing the guitar along with a rack-mounted harmonica. One of his influences was Leroy Carr, whose "How Long–How Long Blues" (1928) was an early favorite. Johnson later used the melody from Carr's “When the Sun Goes Down" (1935) as the basis for "Love in Vain". Both songs express a yearning and sorrow for the loss of a lover. Johnson also used some lyrics from "Flying Crow Blues" (1932) by the Shreveport Home Wreckers (a duo of Oscar "Buddy" Woods and Ed Schaffer) for the final verse of "Love in Vain".Sonny Boy Williamson II recorded a song with a similar title, "All My Love in Vain", but different lyrics.
AllMusic's Thomas Ward describes the song as "heartbreakingly potent coming from an artist of Johnson’s calibre". He adds:
The songs [sic] opening verse is worth quoting in full, it’s arguably the finest few lines that Johnson ever wrote – “And I followed her to the station/with a suitcase in my hand/Well 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”. Never has Johnson’s guitar been so subtle, so much in the background – the song’s success is from the artist’s longing vocal, and as such it’s devastatingly bleak.
...
Wikipedia