Posted by waxwing --Previous Message--
on August 13, 2002, 3:16 am
I've got a different take on this one. The only one who can see the two lights on the back of the train is the one being left behind, the one who followed her to the station with "her" suitcase in his hand, the one who's Love is all In Vain. Even when he looked her in the eye with all his emotion, she still got on that train and left him. Scott Ainsley transcribes the two lines of take 1 as "her" and I agree. On take 4 I think Bob makes a mistake saying "my", which he retracts by deemphasizing the "her" altogether in the second line because he realizes he's contradicting. Perhaps I'm projecting too much but I've flubbed lyrics and had that feeling too. In fact, I sing this song and it is very hard to enunciate "her" in that line when sung at tempo. Comes out "he-".
FYI as to the poetic imagery regarding a blue and red light on the back end of a train, see also Blind Lemon Jefferson's Dry Southern Blues:
One train left the depot with the red and blue lights behind.
Train left the depot with the red and blue lights behind.
Well the blue light's the blues, the red light's the worry in mind.
Yazoo L-1069, recorded c. March 1926 (transcription by R. R. Macleod, Yazoo 21-83, published by Document Records. Please buy their CDs and Lyric Volumes, they are invaluable, even if you don't always agree wih them.)
All for now.
John C.
: : ...hey, JP, I'll take a shot at this verse,
: even though you ask 10 people you get 10
: different interpretations...this verse is
: one of my favorite in blues because of
: it's poetic image. I think on one level
: it's a straight ahead blues theme about a
: man leaving on the next train, but w/ some
: ambiguity due to 'a' suitcase in his hand,
: or in the one version, it sounds like 'my'
: suitcase in my hand. So you ask yourself,
: why is he leaving? You can only guess at
: the reason. When he's leaving on the
: train in the last verse, the image is one
: of his unrequited love, we presume, riding
: off into the sunset, and left behind with
: his woman is his 'blues'(blue light) and
: anger (red light), but is he mad at her,
: himself, or some uncontrollable
: circumstance?
: The uncertainty of the song is it's poetic
: beauty, plus the image of the leaving
: train and the various lights associated w/
: trains and tracks, though I'm not sure if
: blue is actually a train signal color, it
: may be poetic license. Anyway, it's a
: great song to play and sing,,,what does
: anyone else think??
: --Previous Message--
: Can someone interpret for me the last verse
: of
: Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain": :
: "When the train left the station,
: There was two lights on behind
: Well, the blue light was my blues,
: And the red light was my mind"
: I'm also puzzled by the last verse of Willie
: Brown's "Future Blues", which
: contains the lines "T for Texas, T
: for Tennessee" -- I understand this
: one may just be nonsense that sounds good.
: All opinions welcomed. TIA.
: John
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