The Mississippi Delta was Shinin' like a National Guitar

On the same day I got my BMG Best of the Blues album I got another blues compilation. The standout on that cd was 'Love in Vain' by Robert Johnson. It took me longer to absorb, but ever since I have been a big fan of Robert Johnson. His music can make anything else seem 'trivial.' It takes me to a place of struggles.

I am taken to the River. Traveling along the Mississippi, with dreams of a better life. Leaving everything you know and hold dear, with no guarantee for a better future. Things had to be pretty bad down on the Delta.


 I'm not sure where Paul Simon is coming from with this song. I know he was going through change, and heartbreak himself, but I'm not sure if they should be compared. I think it is more than geographical reasoning, but I link the two.

The River was the intermediary. Connecting a known life of hardship, to uncertain future, with the promise of change.