Last Fair Deal Gone Down

About Last Fair Deal Gone Down

"Last Fair Deal Gone Down" is a song by American blues musician Robert Johnson. It was recorded during Johnson's third recording session in San Antonio, Texas, on November 27, 1936. The song was released on a 78 rpm record in April the following year by Vocalion Records as the second side of "32-20 Blues". It was included on the first reissue of Johnson's songs, King of the Delta Blues Singers in 1961. In 1990, it was released on compact disc as part of The Complete Recordings box set, and in 2000 it was included in Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol. 4. The song connects some scenes of gambling, work and romance, by situating them on the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. The expression "Deal Go Down" comes from the card game "Georgia Skin". The railroad serves as more than a setting; Max Haymes finds, in the one unclear verse, a furious description of the convict lease work used when the railroad was laid, before Johnson was born. Elijah Wald agrees that the song features lyrics and structure of an archaic work song, similar to "It Makes A Long Time Man Feel Bad"; the traditional melody and structure were adapted from Charley Patton's record, "You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die" (1929), its lyrics discarded. David Brackett describes the musical changes, "Johnson modifies this arrangement, simplifying the high-register slide part... and adding a contrasting syncopated figure in the middle of the recording (but omitting the sermon)." But Wald traces also lyrics borrowed from the song "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down", recorded by Fiddlin' John Carson among others, which might have suggested to Johnson some of the changes in arrangement. Artists who later interpreted the song include Keb Mo, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Todd Rundgren, C. W. Stoneking and the Blue Tits, Crooked Still, and Beck in concert. more »

Year:

2007

2:39

49 Views

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It's the last fair deal goin' down
Last fair deal goin' down
It's the last fair deal goin' down, good Lord
On that Gulfport Island Road

Please, Ida Belle, don't cry this time
Ida Belle, don't cry this time
If you cry about a nickel, you'll die 'bout a dime
She wouldn't cry, but the money won't mind

I love the way you do
I love the way you do
I love the way you do, good Lord
On this Gulfport Island Road

My captain's so mean on me
My captain's so mean on me
My captain's so mean on me, good Lord
On this Gulfport Island Road

Take camp' 'tain he and see, camp' ain't he and see
At scal' ain't be at seen, good Lord
On that Gulfport Island Road

Ah, this last fair deal goin' down
It's the last fair deal goin' down
This' the last fair deal goin' down, good Lord
On this Gulfport Island Road

I'm workin' my way back home
I'm working my way back home
I'm workin' my way back home, good Lord
On this Gulfport Island Road

And that thing don't keep-a ringin' so soon
That thing don't keep-a ringin' so soon
And that thing don't keep-a ringin' so soon, good Lord
On that Gulf-and-Port Island Road

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Robert Johnson

Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given rise to much legend, including the Faustian myth that he sold his soul at a crossroads to achieve success. As an itinerant performer who played mostly on street corners, in juke joints, and at Saturday night dances, Johnson had little commercial success or public recognition in his lifetime. more »

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