“It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine” by Blind Willie Johnson

“It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine” is a song by gospel blues artist Blind Willie Johnson, first recorded in 1927. Johnson was born in Independence, Texas, in 1897; little is known about his childhood other than that he grew up in rural Texas and that he likely lost his sight at the age of seven when his stepmother threw lye in his face during a fight with his father. He was known for singing gospel songs on the streets of Texas for donations, accompanying himself with his unique style of slide guitar playing – which he achieved used a knife as a slide against the strings – that has continued to influence Texan musicians to this day. Johnson was a member of the Baptist Church, most likely the Marlin Missionary Baptist Church. He attended church every Sunday with his family, and even wanted to be a minister at one point, though he ultimately made his career in gospel blues music.

The song tells the story of a person struggling with spirituality. The narrator views the Bible as a path to salvation, and therefore ignorance of the Bible being the path to damnation. Following the end of the Civil War and release of Black slaves in Texas, white Churchgoers still did not want African Americans in their congregations. Before the end of the war, many slaves attended Church, often being preached instruction to follow orders and obey their masters, but even these “biracial” Churches were completely controlled by Anglo Texans and did not belong to the Black population in any way. In response, Black Texans withdrew from white-dominated congregations and formed their own; the first Black Baptist Church in Texas was formed in Galveston in 1865 with pastor Israel S. Campbell. More Churches soon followed and the population of Black Baptists skyrocketed; by 1916, 72% of Black Texans belonged to the Baptist Church.

Baptist theology had particular appeal to the recently freed Black population; the overarching idea is that salvation is possible for anyone who repents their sins, through total immersion in the Church. This was attractive in that the idea of being reborn as a Christian somehow made up for the pain they had endured in the past. The Church offered Black Texans the opportunity for a fresh start to their lives on their own terms. In addition, the baptism ritual is reminiscent of some West African water rites that had made their way over to America, giving African Americans some connection to the history that had been stolen from them. Additionally, the congregational nature of the Baptist Church fostered community and encouraged the freedom to move between different churches and organizations.

A capella gospel became an important part of Black culture in the 1930s, with nearly every Black community having their own group that would perform in religious settings. Slowly, the style of these groups moved away from close harmony, and developed into the gospel blues or “holy blues” genre – a combination of the religious content of gospel music with the musical style of blues music. Many of these gospel blues musicians recorded their music, including Johnson himself, who recorded thirty songs over just five recording sessions between 1927-1930 before his career became more performance-oriented. He was known for being fanatical, even obsessed with his faith, which he expressed through his intense style of performance in both his and guitar. The incredible intensity of the delivery of his music became a hallmark feature of gospel blues music and is heard in another musicians’ work, such as Arizona Dranes.

Though the content of his Johnson’s music is heavily religious, it was well received even outside the Baptist community, becoming an inspiration for generations in the world of folk and rock music as well, particularly guitarists such as Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Notably, Led Zeppelin covered “It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine” for their 1976 album Presence – just one of the many instances in which Johnson’s music has been covered and an example of how he continues to influence music spanning multiple genres to this day. He wasn’t known as a recording star during his life by any means, and his influence and reach were only truly appreciated after his death upon Blues researches digging back into his community. Being of the gospel blues genre it’s likely his music was mostly consumed by the African American community during the time of its release. Still, his handful of commercial recordings have of a life of their own to this day.

Perhaps the most modern example of Johnson’s influence is that his song “Dark Was the Night” was included on the Voyager 1 gold record, which left Earth for space in 1977 as a piece of humanity to float in space and, perhaps, eventually be recovered by some other life out there. Carl Sagan’s reasoning behind including the song are that it tells the tale of a man with nowhere to go to sleep at night, and ever since, not a day has passed on Earth where that plight hasn’t been felt.

Lyrics:

Hey-ey

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 home

I have a Bible in my home