New Delta Blues Slide Guitar song “I’ll See You At the Crossroads”

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I’m very pleased to announce the release of my latest track “I’ll See You At The Crossroads” which is a new Delta Blues Slide Guitar song.  I started writing this tune in Australia, somewhere between Narooma and Sydney. It was around this time that I packed in my job to pursue my music career. I was coming to a crossroads in my life, so that’s where the song idea came from.

“I’ll see you at the crossroads, where the Devil makes his own”…

At the time of writing the lyrics I was listening to an audio book about Robert Johnson.  The book is called Crossroads: The Life and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson.  A cracking read and an absolute must for Robert Johnson fans.  As a result of reading this book, the crossroads legend naturally bled into the song lyrics.  For those of you who are educated in blues mythology, you will definitely spot the nod here to the Robert Johnson story.  However for those of you who aren’t aware, here’s a very condensed version taken from Wikipedia.

According to legend, as a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Johnson had a tremendous desire to become a great blues musician. He was instructed to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (the devil) who took the guitar and tuned it. The devil played a few songs and then returned the guitar to Johnson, giving him mastery of the instrument. This was a deal with the devil mirroring the legend of Faust. In exchange for his soul, Johnson was able to create the blues for which he became famous.

Wikipedia, 2018

I’ll talk more about Robert Johnson in other blogs, but his story definitely had an impact on the lyrical content.  As a result the little grey cells came up with the crossroads narrative for this new Delta Blues Slide Guitar song.

Is that weird or what?!…

By sheer coincidence when traveling through Jervis Bay in Australia, I stumbled across this grave of a seaman called Robert Johnson (pictured left) who drowned in Jervis Bay in 1892.  Originally from Yorkshire, Robert Johnson was swept overboard and was never seen again.  You can read more about his tragic story here.  Obviously this is completely unrelated to Robert Johnson the King of the Delta Blues, but nevertheless it was a weird coincidence.

From a musical perspective I was playing a lot of Buck (Babe) Turner.  Predominantly “The Black Ace” which you can listen to and buy here.  I’ve done a cover of this song as well, which I will be releasing soon.  Naturally some of this influence came out in this new Delta Blues Slide Guitar track.

I wrote the song on my Black Jack Cigar Box Guitar in Open G tuning, and recorded this one in Garageband.  My amazingly talented wife Laura helped me out with backing vocals. It does come in handy having a professional singer in the household!

I’ve not decided yet, but I think I may use the title of this new Delta Blues Slide Guitar song for my next album…so watch this space.

What about you?…

Obviously the theme of the post and my new song is about coming to a crossroads.  I see this as a metaphor for personal change, and coming to a point in your life where you have to make a profound decision.  I’m keen to hear what crossroads you have reached in your life, and how this shaped or changed you.  Please leave a comment below!

As always thanks for reading my Lawless Luke blog.  If you like the post please subscribe here for regular updates.

Take it easy,

Lawless Luke