Posted by tomw on August 13, 2002, 1:08 pm
...good point, waxwing, and that's why the 'interpretation' hinges upon who is getting on train. I used to think it was the gal, leaving Robt. behind, but when I checked the lyrics in the RJ box set, he's holding his own suitcase...but I hear what you're saying about flubbing lyrics. Either way, the lights are a straight ahead interpretation of the emotions of the one whose love is in vain...I know the Lemon song you mentioned, and that almost all RJ's songs are derivative, I was just wondering about if there really was/is a blue light in use at the back of trains, or did it just make poetic sense for the songwriter/singer to say it's blue to make a point...
--Previous Message--
: 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.
: --Previous Message--
: : ...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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