The Devil Legend
In a few
words the legend goes like this. Robert, as a poor young man, living
in the discriminating Deep South, was growing with a burning desire;
to become a blues musician. After he tried and failed, he
was told to take his guitar and go on the crossroads near the Dockery
Plantation at midnight. There after he performed a ritual, a big
black man appeared. The mysterious man was the Devil. He took the
guitar from Johnson's hands and tune it. After that he played some
blues and returned it to him. According to the legend, the tuning
gave young Robert the mastery of the guitar and the blues. But the
catch for acquiring this master skills was his “everlasting soul”.
After a few years the Devil came to collect and Robert died in agony
from a mysterious cause at age 27.
Stories
concerning deals with Satan and demonic entities are very common in
Christian legacy. The concept is simple. A person with an ambition or
in a state of dire need calls, with a certain ritual, the king of
hell or one of his minions and trades his soul. Afterward he is
granted his wish and the Devil comes and collect his dues after a
certain time. In Western European folklore we have many examples of
this kind of deal and the most renowned legend is the story of Faust.
In this story an old man, Faust, is trading his soul in exchange of
his youth and when the time comes he tries to cheat the Devil and he
is punished for his attempt to outsmart him. But in Robert Johnson's
case we have to keep in mind some considerations about the myth.
 |
| Statue of Papa Legba |
First of
all the legend of the “deals with the Devil” in the African
American folklore differ in many points from the Western European
Faustian myth. This is due to the connection of the African tradition
with Christianity created a different myth. In western African
tradition people were going to the crossroads in order to acquire
knowledge from a deity called Papa Legba. This deity is an important
figure on the Hoodoo. He is the intermediate between humans and the
Loa and he is he first and last spirit which is invoked on every
ceremony. In this context we can assume that when a bluesman told
that he had sold his soul to the Devil, he meant something completely
different from what he have in mind.
Another
aspect he have to consider is that every blues musician regarded
himself as a “Devils child”, because blues music was considered
sinful by the African American community at the time. The bluesman
thoughted to have special abilities over women and this contributed
in the creation of this myth.
After all
Johnson never mentioned any kind of deal. Johnny Shines, who knew
Johnson well, confirmed that Johnson never told anyone that he sold
his soul. On the contrary another Blues pioneer, Tommy Johnson, had
repeatedly stated that he had a contract with the Devil.
Finally the
almost complete lack of information about Johnson's life is another
factor on which the Faustian myth grew long after his death. Furthermore there are some people who incline that Robert Johnson speaks of his deal with the devil in his songs especially in "crossroads". But the lyrics "I 've been to the crossroads, fell down on my knees..." can also been refered to a hitchhiker who is trying to "flag a ride". In any case this legend helped the circulation of Robert Johnsons true legend; his music. And the story of a man who changed music forever...
