SqueezeMyLemon: I Feel Like Going to Church - Nobody's Fault But Mine

Sunday, October 18, 2009

I Feel Like Going to Church - Nobody's Fault But Mine - Nina Simone

"If my soul be lost, its nobody's fault but mine." Man those lines are haunting me on this Sunday. Please join with me and a few of my favorite blues and rock musicians as they contemplate the immortal words of the good and righteous Blind Willie Johnson.

The song has a very interesting history, see Wikipedia's entry;

"Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a traditional blues song that has been covered by many musicians since the late 1960s. A gospel under the title "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" is listed in the 1924 Cleveland Library's Index to Negro Spirituals. The first known recording of this song, under the title "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine", was made by blues-gospel guitarist Blind Willie Johnson; the sides were recorded over the period 1927-1930. It is unknown if he was the writer of the track, or simply covering a traditional song. Currently Johnson's version is not registered with any copyright association and resides in public domain. A cover of this song was played intermittently by Jerry Garcia with the Grateful Dead throughout their career, sometimes with lyrics, sometimes without. Earlier versions crediting "traditional, arranged Grateful Dead", while later versions crediting Blind Willie Johnson.