While the lyrics of his songs were usually religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. It is characterized by his slide guitar accompaniment and tenor voice, and his frequent use of a lower-register 'growl' or false bass voice.
According to his death certificate, Johnson was born in 1897 near Brenham, Texas. (Earlier, Temple, Texas had been suggested as his birthplace.) When he was five, he told his father he wanted to be a preacher and then made a cigar box guitar for himself. His mother died when he was young, and his father remarried soon after her death.
Johnson was not born blind. Although it is not certain how he lost his sight, his alleged widow Angeline Johnson told Samuel Charters that when Willie was seven his father beat his stepmother after catching her going out with another man; and that she in spite blinded young Willie by throwing lye in his face.
Johnson made 30 commercial recording studio record sides (29 songs) in five separate sessions for Columbia Records from 1927–1930. On some of these recordings Johnson uses a fast rhythmic picking style, while on others he plays slide guitar. According to a reputed one-time acquaintance, Blind Willie McTell (1898–1959), Johnson played with a brass ring; but the bluesman Tom Shaw, interviewed by Guido van Rijn in 1972, says that he used a knife. However, in enlargement, the only known photograph of Johnson seems to show that there is an actual bottleneck on the little finger of his left hand. While his other fingers are apparently fretting the strings, his little finger is extended straight—which also suggests there is a slide on it as well.
It is believed that Johnson married at least twice. He was married to Willie B. Harris. Her recollection of their initial meeting was recounted in the liner notes for Yazoo Records's album Praise God I'm Satisfied. He was later alleged to have been married to a woman named Angeline. Johnson was also said to be married to a sister of blues artist L. C. Robinson.[citation needed] No marriage certificates have yet been discovered. As Angeline Johnson often sang and performed with him,[citation needed] the first person to attempt to research his biography, Samuel Charters, made the mistake of assuming it was Angeline who had sung on several of Johnson's records. However, later research showed that it was Willie B. Harris.
Johnson remained poor until the end of his life, preaching and singing in the streets of several Texas cities including Beaumont. A city directory shows that in 1945, a Rev. W. J. Johnson, undoubtedly Blind Willie, operated the House of Prayer at 1440 Forrest Street, Beaumont, Texas. This is the same address listed on Johnson's death certificate. In 1945, his home burned to the ground. With nowhere else to go, Johnson lived in the burned ruins of his home, sleeping on a wet bed in the August/September Texas heat. He lived like this until he contracted malarial fever, and died on September 18, 1945. (The death certificate reports the cause of death as malarial fever, with syphilis and blindness as contributing factors.) In an interview, Angeline said that she tried to take him to a hospital, which refused to admit him because he was blind. Other sources report that the refusal was due to his being black.[citation needed]
According to his death certificate, he was buried in Blanchette Cemetery, Beaumont. The location of that cemetery had been forgotten until it was rediscovered in 2009. His exact gravesite remains unknown; but in 2010, the researchers who had identified the cemetery erected a monument there in his honor.
His father would often leave him on street corners to sing for money. Tradition has it that he was arrested for nearly starting a riot at a New Orleans courthouse with a powerful rendition of "If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down", a song about Samson and Delilah. According to Samuel Charters, however, he was simply arrested while singing for tips in front of the Customs House by a police officer who misconstrued the title lyric and mistook it for incitement. Timothy Beal argued that the officer did not, in fact, misconstrue the meaning of the song, but that "the ancient story suddenly sounded dangerously contemporary" to him.
Several of Blind Willie Johnson's songs have been interpreted by other musicians, including "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed", "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine", "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground", "John the Revelator", "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond", "Motherless Children" and "Soul of a Man".
"Dark Was the Night" is one of the music tracks on the Voyager Golden Record, copies of which were placed in 1977 on both the unmanned Voyager Project space probes. It is the penultimate track, preceding only the Cavatina from Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 130: the blind musician and the deaf one side by side. The astronomer Timothy Ferris, who worked with Carl Sagan in selecting those tracks, has said:
"Johnson's song concerns a situation he faced many times, nightfall with no place to sleep. Since humans appeared on Earth, the shroud of night has yet to fall without touching a man or woman in the same plight."
In 2012, Voyager 1 left the solar system and entered interstellar space, the first manmade spacecraft so to do. Voyager 2 is expected to do the same around 2016.
Ry Cooder's slide guitar title song and soundtrack music of the Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas (1984) was based on "Dark Was the Night".
"Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" was played in the TV series The West Wing (season 5) episode 13, The Warfare of Genghis Khan. "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" was played in the TV series The Walking Dead (season 5) episode 4 Slabtown.
Nobody
Blind Willie Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nobody's fault-a but mine
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read, my soul be lost
I, have a Bible in my arm
I have a Bible in my arm
If I don't read my soul be lost
Hmm-mm
Bible, taught me how to read
Bible, taught me how to read
If I don't read my soul be lost
Nobody's fault-a but mine
Lord, Lord
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read my soul be lost
I, was talkin' to my Lord
Have a Bible in my arms
If I don't read my soul be lost
Oh-ooh
Mother, she taught me how to read
Mother, she taught me how to read
If I don't read my soul be lost
Nobody's fault-a but mine
I
Lord, Lord
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read my soul be lost
And said that she taught me how to read
Said that she taught me how to read
If I don't read my soul be lost
Nobody's fault-a but mine
Help
Umm-mmm
Lord, Lord
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read my soul-a be lost
Umm-mmm
Blind Willie Johnson's song "Nobody's Fault But Mine" is a powerful declaration of personal responsibility and the importance of self-education. The repeated refrain of "nobody's fault but mine" highlights this theme, emphasizing that the responsibility for the singer's spiritual well-being rests solely on his own shoulders. The singer acknowledges his reliance on the Bible, which he carries in his arms, and the role it has played in teaching him to read. He also credits his mother for teaching him to read, but ultimately, he recognizes that if he doesn't continue to read on his own, his soul will be lost.
The song's lyrics are both personal and universal, reflecting the struggle of many African Americans to gain literacy and education in the years following emancipation. It also speaks to the individual's struggle to achieve spiritual understanding and growth, regardless of external circumstances or influences.
The song's simplicity and repetition emphasize its message, and Blind Willie Johnson's powerful voice and slide guitar add dimension and depth to the lyrics. The song's haunting quality and emotional resonance ensure its lasting impact on the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey-ey
Introductory sound to the song
Nobody's fault-a but mine
The singer's acknowledgement that if his soul is lost, it is due to his own negligence
Nobody's fault but mine
The singer's acknowledgement that if his soul is lost, it is due to his own negligence
If I don't read, my soul be lost
The importance of reading and its significance to the singer's faith
I, have a Bible in my arm
The singer's ownership of a Bible
I have a Bible in my arm
The singer's ownership of a Bible
If I don't read my soul be lost
The importance of reading and its significance to the singer's faith
Bible, taught me how to read
The singer's acknowledgement of the Bible as a key tool in his ability to read
Bible, taught me how to read
The singer's acknowledgement of the Bible as a key tool in his ability to read
If I don't read my soul be lost
The importance of reading and its significance to the singer's faith
Nobody's fault-a but mine
The singer's acknowledgement that if his soul is lost, it is due to his own negligence
Lord, Lord
Addressing the Lord
Nobody's fault but mine
The singer's acknowledgement that if his soul is lost, it is due to his own negligence
If I don't read my soul be lost
The importance of reading and its significance to the singer's faith
I, was talkin' to my Lord
The singer's direct dialogue with God
Have a Bible in my arms
The singer's ownership of a Bible
If I don't read my soul be lost
The importance of reading and its significance to the singer's faith
Oh-ooh
Sound effect following the previous line
Mother, she taught me how to read
The singer's acknowledgement of his mother's role in his ability to read
Mother, she taught me how to read
The singer's acknowledgement of his mother's role in his ability to read
If I don't read my soul be lost
The importance of reading and its significance to the singer's faith
Nobody's fault-a but mine
The singer's acknowledgement that if his soul is lost, it is due to his own negligence
I
Unspecified reference to the singer or his life experience
Lord, Lord
Addressing the Lord
Nobody's fault but mine
The singer's acknowledgement that if his soul is lost, it is due to his own negligence
If I don't read my soul be lost
The importance of reading and its significance to the singer's faith
And said that she taught me how to read
The singer's acknowledgement of his mother's role in his ability to read
Said that she taught me how to read
The singer's acknowledgement of his mother's role in his ability to read
If I don't read my soul be lost
The importance of reading and its significance to the singer's faith
Nobody's fault-a but mine
The singer's acknowledgement that if his soul is lost, it is due to his own negligence
Help
Call for help or assistance
Umm-mmm
Sound effect following the previous line
Lord, Lord
Addressing the Lord
Nobody's fault but mine
The singer's acknowledgement that if his soul is lost, it is due to his own negligence
If I don't read my soul-a be lost
The importance of reading and its significance to the singer's faith
Umm-mmm
Sound effect following the previous line
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, ALPHA MUSIC, INC., Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Blind Willie Johnson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DeepBlue2107
Nobody's fault but mine,
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read it my soul be lost
I have a bible in my home,
I have a bible in my home
If I don't read it my soul be lost
Mmm, father he taught me how to read,
Father he taught me how to read
If I don't read it my soul be lost, nobody's fault but mine
Ah, Lord, Lord, nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read it my soul be lost
Ah, I have a bible of my own,
I have a bible of my own
If I don't read it my soul be lost
Oh, mother she taught me how to read,
Mother she taught me how to read
If I don't read it my soul be lost, nobody's fault but mine
Ah, Lord, Lord, nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read it my soul be lost
And sister she taught me how to read,
Sister she taught me how to read
If I don't read it my soul be lost, nobody's fault but mine
Ah, mmm, Lord, Lord, nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read it my soul'd be lost, mmm.
@edward2359
MR. Sherman1030
Believe when I say that some of us do know The Name BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON!
My family is mixed... and came from TX to California in 1706. I started playing guitar at 8 and had a strong connection to the blues and didn't know why. Later in life I lost half my vision, but gained a strong connection to GOD and started studying the bible..... A lot!.
I grew up with the nick name Willie, and I know what it means to have life turn upside down way too many times for a single life time.
My grandmother is named Johnson.... and I'm partly African and I come from multiple tribes... I'm partly the White man, and many others like the Native Mexican. Yes its true, People have stole WILLIE's style..... ALL THE WAY DOWN TO LED ZEPPELIN and many more.... but a lot of us know and people like me are not quite about it!
So he wont be forgotten.
@mrsherman1030
This is my great grandfather. He died poor in Beaumont Tx. Love his music. All of the blue acts of and after his time. Stole his style. He doesn't get the credit he deserved. We will always keep your legacy alive.
@CoolDudeMusic
mrsherman1030 that’s awesome. Thanks for your comment!
@seanstewart8773
Why you lying?
@jeffmoore9487
Do you think about what times were like when he and others were making this music up? We all maybe think our lives as kinda normal but "normal" then is another world for us. Guys like him have influenced everything we hear but long after they gone. What would they think? When do you think he might have recorded this?
@matthewbulls1375
mrsherman1030 Hey man, if you are his great grandson I would love to get together and talk about your ggf. I grew up in the area of Pendleton, where he was born and have been fascinated by him and his music most of my life.
@mrsherman1030
Im not into making false claims. I come from a very historical Famiy. I don't mind speaking about him. Or any of my hall of fame relatives. Mr Johnson has a late grandson. Who was honored by the city of waco. My uncle Ray Charles Johnsons.
@touchtoomuch1000
If ever a man had the right to sing the blues, it was Blind Willie Johnson.
@Frankincensedjb123
Why? Explain
@touchtoomuch1000
@Frankincensed He went blind when he was a young boy, he lived through the Spanish flu, he was black during segregation, he made hardly any money off of his recordings, his house was gutted by fire and he died alone in its burned out shell.
@mapperdesintra5944
@touchtoomuch1000 What's wrong with being black?