Hellhound on My Trail
Encyclopedia
"Hellhound on My Trail" is a blues
song recorded by Mississippi Delta
bluesman Robert Johnson
in 1937. It was the first song recorded during Johnson's last recording session in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, June 20, 1937 and the first single released from that session. Inspired by earlier blues songs, it is considered one of Johnson's "best known and most admired performances—many would say it is his greatest".
in return for his musical talent. This song fuels the mystery and lore surrounding him as it suggests a man in the grip of evil, and his deal with the devil has become part of popular culture.
Prior to Johnson's song, the phrase "hellhound on my trail" had been used in blues songs. Sylvester Weaver
's "Devil Blues", recorded in 1927 contains: "Hellhounds start to chase me man, I was a running fool, My ankles caught on fire, couldn't keep my puppies cool" and Funny Papa Smith in his 1931 "Howling Wolf Blues No. 3" sang: "I take time when I'm prowlin', an' wipe my tracks out with my tail ... Get home and get blue an' start howlin', an' the hellhound on my trail".
According to blues scholars, Johnson followed bluesmen Johnny Temple
(1934 "Evil Woman Blues") and Joe McCoy (1935 "The Evil Devil Blues") in adapting Skip James
's 1931 song "Devil Got My Woman". The emotional intensity, guitar tuning and strained singing style of "Hellhound on My Trail" are also found in James' performance.
Lyrically, the song "deals with the familiar blues theme of the rambling musician, but now the trip takes on darker tones, the traveler is pursued".. According to music historian Samuel Charters
, the first and last verses may be the finest found in the blues. The poetic imagery is brilliant and intense with a feeling of personal frenzy.
The song's lyrics reflect an agonized spirit for whom there is no escape. The vision of the hounds of hell
coming to catch sinners was prevalent in southern churches at that time, and this may have been the image in Johnson's mind.
Hall of Fame in the "Classic of Blues Recording" category. The song is listed as one of NPR
's "100 most important American musical works of the 20th century". Eric Clapton
's tribute album to Johnson Me and Mr. Johnson
includes a version of "Hellhound on My Trail".
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
song recorded by Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
bluesman Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given...
in 1937. It was the first song recorded during Johnson's last recording session in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, June 20, 1937 and the first single released from that session. Inspired by earlier blues songs, it is considered one of Johnson's "best known and most admired performances—many would say it is his greatest".
Background
According to legend, Johnson sold his soul to the devil in a Faustian deal at the crossroadsCrossroads (culture)
In folk magic and mythology, crossroads may represent a location "between the worlds" and, as such, a site where supernatural spirits can be contacted and paranormal events can take place...
in return for his musical talent. This song fuels the mystery and lore surrounding him as it suggests a man in the grip of evil, and his deal with the devil has become part of popular culture.
Prior to Johnson's song, the phrase "hellhound on my trail" had been used in blues songs. Sylvester Weaver
Sylvester Weaver
Sylvester Weaver was an American blues guitar player and pioneer of country blues.-Biography:On October 23, 1923, he recorded in New York City with the blues singer Sara Martin "Longing for Daddy Blues" / "I've Got to Go and Leave My Daddy Behind" and two weeks later as a soloist "Guitar Blues" /...
's "Devil Blues", recorded in 1927 contains: "Hellhounds start to chase me man, I was a running fool, My ankles caught on fire, couldn't keep my puppies cool" and Funny Papa Smith in his 1931 "Howling Wolf Blues No. 3" sang: "I take time when I'm prowlin', an' wipe my tracks out with my tail ... Get home and get blue an' start howlin', an' the hellhound on my trail".
According to blues scholars, Johnson followed bluesmen Johnny Temple
Johnny Temple (musician)
Johnny Temple was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer, who operated in in the 1930s and 1940s. An acquaintance and near-contemporary of Skip James, Temple delivered sedate blues in the vein of Lonnie Johnson...
(1934 "Evil Woman Blues") and Joe McCoy (1935 "The Evil Devil Blues") in adapting Skip James
Skip James
Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter, born in Bentonia, Mississippi, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
's 1931 song "Devil Got My Woman". The emotional intensity, guitar tuning and strained singing style of "Hellhound on My Trail" are also found in James' performance.
Song
"Hellhound on My Trail" is a solo performance by Johnson with vocal and slide guitar. He used an open E minor guitar tuning with the lower strings providing a droning accompaniment, with "the bottleneck ... mak[ing] the treble strings of his guitar moan like wind through dead trees".Lyrically, the song "deals with the familiar blues theme of the rambling musician, but now the trip takes on darker tones, the traveler is pursued".. According to music historian Samuel Charters
Samuel Charters
Samuel Charters, born Samuel Barclay Charters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1929 , is an American music historian, writer, record producer, musician, and poet...
, the first and last verses may be the finest found in the blues. The poetic imagery is brilliant and intense with a feeling of personal frenzy.
The song's lyrics reflect an agonized spirit for whom there is no escape. The vision of the hounds of hell
Hellhound
A hellhound is a supernatural dog, found in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the ubiquitous dragon...
coming to catch sinners was prevalent in southern churches at that time, and this may have been the image in Johnson's mind.
- I got to keep movin', I've got to keep movin'
- Blues fallin' down like hail, blues fallin' down like hail
- Umm-mm-mm-mm, blues fallin' down like hail, blues fallin' down like hail
- And the day keeps on worrin' me, there's a hellhound on my trail
- Hellhound on my trail, hellhound on my trail...
Legacy
In 1983, Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail" was inducted into the Blues FoundationBlues Foundation
The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 Blues organizations from various parts of the world....
Hall of Fame in the "Classic of Blues Recording" category. The song is listed as one of NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's "100 most important American musical works of the 20th century". Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
's tribute album to Johnson Me and Mr. Johnson
Me and Mr. Johnson
Me and Mr. Johnson is an album by Eric Clapton released in 2004. The album is a tribute to legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. According to Clapton's autobiography, the recordings weren't intended to become an album. The band had rented the studio, but Clapton didn't have any songs written, so he...
includes a version of "Hellhound on My Trail".