BLUES LYRICS and HOODOO:

SUPPLEMENTARY TRANSCRIPTIONS

from HOODOO IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
by catherine yronwode

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TITLE: Stones In My Passway
MATRIX NO.:
SINGER: Robert Johnson
COMPOSER(S):
DATE OF REC.: 19 June 1938, Dallas, Texas
ORIGINAL ISSUE(S):
REISSUE(S):
TRANSCRIPTION:

STONES IN MY PASSWAY
by Robert Johnson

I got stones in my passway and my road seems dark at night
I got stones in my passway and my road seems dark at night
I have pains in my heart, they have taken my appetite

I have a bird to whistle and i have a bird to sing
Have a bird to whistle and i have a bird to sing
I got a woman that i'm loving, oh, but she don't mean a thing

My enemies have betrayed me, have overtaken poor Bob at last
My enemies have betrayed me, have overtaken poor Bob at last
And there's one thing certain, they have stones all in my pass

Now you're trying to take my life and all my lovin' too
You have laid a passway for me, now what are you trying to do?
I'm crying, "Please, please, let us be friends"
Now when hear me howling in my passway, rider,
please open your door and let me in

I got three legs to truck on, whoa, please don't block my road
I got three legs to truck on, whoa, please don't block my road
I been feelin' strange 'bout my rider, babe, i'm booked and i got to go

TRANSCRIBED BY: ? (Picked up on the net somewhere, circa 1994)

DISCOGRAPHY BY: ? (Came with the transcription, and it is incomplete)

WEB PAGE CITATION: Catherine Yronwode: Hoodoo in Theory and Practice:
Foot-Track Magic

FURTHER INFORMATION: The following web pages can be consulted for more details about the topics referenced in this song:
V.1 stones in my passway (foot-track magic)
V.1 stones in my passway (laying tricks)
V.1 stones in my passway (crossing and jinxing)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Individual acknowledgements for transcriptions and discographical data appear on each song-page, but i want to note that this Blues Lyrics and Hoodoo archive would never have been possible without the contributions of Gorgen Antonsson, who generously shared with me the format and content of his own personal lyrics archive, and Alan Balfour and Chris Smith, who have devoted a great deal of time to supplying me with tapes, transcribed lyrics, and detailed discographical information. Additionally, i wish to thank the kind members of the prewar blues e-list who have aided my research in innumerable ways. If you have missing data to supply, hear a substantially different take on a transcription, or want to let me know about a song that has been overlooked in these pages, please contact me through the prewar blues e-list: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/pre-war-blues.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Due to certain social, economic, and political paradigms in place at the time of their composition, many early blues songs were improperly copyrighted or not copyrighted at all. Many bore no composer credits. Many were ripped off by unethical music publishers who falsely claimed authorship and copyrighted them in their own names. Many that were once copyright-protected are now in the public domain due to publishers' or composers' failures to properly renew the copyrights. Many have since been ripped off by unethical performers or music publishers who have pretended to be the composers for the purpose of securing a belated copyright or who have claimed "arranger's" credits on songs they falsely swore were "traditional" when in fact the songs were composed by the people who originally performed them on record. It is my sincere belief that the song transcribed on this page bears the implied moral copyright of its composer, whoever that may be. If you believe that you control the copyright by virtue of authorship or legal legerdemain, you may contact me in a civil and polite manner and i will attempt in good faith to satisfy your needs in the matter of obtaining formal permission to quote the lyrics in this scholarly publication.

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