Cross Road Blues (take 2)I went to the crossroad fell down on my knees I went to the crossroad fell down on my knees Asked the Lord above "Have mercy, now save poor Bob, if you please Mmmmm, standin' at the crossroad I tried to flag a ride Standin' at the crossroad I tried to flag a ride Didn't nobody seem to know me everybody pass me by Mmm, the sun goin' down, boy dark gon' catch me here oooo ooee eeee boy, dark gon' catch me here I haven't got no lovin' sweet woman that love and feel my care You can run, you can run tell my friend-boy Willie Brown You can run, you can run tell my friend-boy Willie Brown Lord, that I'm standin' at the crossroad, babe I believe I'm sinkin' down |
speaker: |
a man at the point of no return |
dramatic situation: |
he's recovering from his encounter with the devil |
tone: |
desperate, alone, scared |
mood: |
chilled |
alliteration: |
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assonance: |
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imagery: |
crossroad, falling, knees, sunset, darkness |
symbolism: |
The crossroad is where thing happen because they have to--there is nothing but absolutes. Falling is a kind of helplessness; knees usually have to do with penitence or pleading. Sunset is death or dying. Darkness is death, ignorance, and the Devil's time. |
metaphor: |
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simile: |
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scan: |
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theme: |
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plot: |
The speaker is alone and cannot find either a friend or a sympathetic passerby. |
comment: |
The speaker is giving up when he falls to his knees--he is turning himself over to the stronger forces echoed when he calls to God. He doesn't say what is going to happen when the darkness arrives, but it can't be anything good. In the last line of the third verse he says he doesn't have a woman. Usually when darkness falls (lines 1 and 2) he can be protected within the circle of a woman's arms. This night, however, he is alone and unprotected. In the last verse he speaks to someone who, apparently, is not a good enough friend to give him a ride. He tells this person to tell his friend what happened to him. In facing death or destruction he seeks an epitaph--some part of him to live on. |