When I was fifteen or sixteen I got into Blind Willie McTell, and subsequently the blues as a genre. I think I was led to Blind Willie by hearing the Bob Dylan song “Blind Willie McTell,” but it also might have been the White Stripes’ cover of “Your Southern Can Is Mine.” Anyway, I got a double-CD compilation of his work and this was one song that jumped out as special (though plenty of other ones did too). I love the plain spoken desperation, the calm stance while relating true tragedy and heartbreak. I love the characters and the winding, non-chronological storytelling. If you’ve heard some of my early music, you might detect a similarity to my song “She’s All I Got Left.” You’re not imagining it. From here I got into Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Memphis Minnie, and all kinds of country blues. Then I took a course my first semester of college called “History of the Blues” which REALLY turned my head around. Anyway, this is a great song that has that devastating haunting magic of 1930s blues. Somehow it survives even when I sing it and play it all amateur. That’s because it’s a great song. ps Look up “Delia Green” on Wikipedia for more information on the harrowing origins of this song