Harman Patil (Editor)

Stones in My Passway

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Released
  
1937 (1937)

Genre
  
Format
  
10-inch 78 rpm record

Length
  
2:27

B-side
  
"I'm a Steady Rollin' Man"

Recorded
  
Dallas, Texas, June 19, 1937

"Stones in My Passway" is a Delta blues song written by American blues musician Robert Johnson. He recorded it in Dallas, Texas, during his second to last session for producer Don Law on June 19, 1937.

Music writer Greil Marcus describes it as a "song of a man who once asked for power over other souls, but who now testifies that he has lost power over his own body, and who might well see that disaster as a fitting symbol of the loss of his soul."

Music journalist Charles Shaar Murray considers "Stones in My Passway" as "one of Johnson's towering materpieces" and notes "He [Johnson] can desire his woman only when she rejects him [and] his potency deserts him when he is with her". However, AllMusic critic Thomas Ward describes the song as "lacking] the emotional subtlety and precision of language [that] characterises his masterpieces" and therefore not among Johnson's best work. However, he notes "the guitar playing is incandescent and inspired", which makes it an important piece.

Other recorded versions

Several blues and other musicians have recorded renditions of "Stones in My Passway":

  • Homesick James – Blues on the South Side (1964)
  • The Weather Prophets – Diesel River (1986)
  • Zakiya Hooker – Flavors of the Blues (1996)
  • Peter Green Splinter Group – The Robert Johnson Songbook (1998)
  • Chris Whitley – Perfect Day (2000)
  • John Mellencamp – Trouble No More (2003)
  • Eric Clapton – Sessions for Robert J (2004) and I Still Do (2016)
  • Joe Bonamassa – Driving Towards the Daylight (2012)
  • References

    Stones in My Passway Wikipedia


    Similar Topics