"Dust My Broom" is a blues song originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. It is a solo performance in the Delta blues-style with Johnson's vocal accompanied by his acoustic guitar. As with many of his songs, it is based on earlier blues songs, the earliest of which has been identified as "I Believe I'll Make a Change", recorded by the Sparks brothers as "Pinetop and Lindberg" in 1932. Johnson's guitar work features an early use of a boogie rhythm pattern, which is seen as a major innovation, as well as a repeating triplets figure.
In 1951, Elmore James recorded the song as "Dust My Broom" and "made it the classic as we know it", according to blues historian Gerard Herzhaft. James' slide guitar adaptation of Johnson's triplet figure has been identified as one of the most famous blues guitar riffs and has inspired many rock performers. The song has become a blues standard, with numerous renditions by a variety of musicians. It also has been selected for the Blues Foundation Blues Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.
Earlier songs
Elements of "Dust My Broom" have been traced back to several earlier blues songs. Blues researcher-writer Edward Komara has suggested that Johnson may have begun developing his version as early as 1933. The Sparks brothers' 1932 recording of "I Believe I'll Make A Change" and Jack Kelly's "Believe I'll Go Back Home" in 1933 both use a similar melody and lyrics. Some verses are also found in Carl Rafferty's 1933 "Mr. Carl's Blues":
Kokomo Arnold, whose "Old Original Kokomo Blues" served as the basis for Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago", recorded two songs with similar lines, "Sagefield Woman Blues" in 1934:
and "Sissy Man Blues" in 1935:
The melody that Johnson uses is also found in 1934 recordings of "I Believe I'll Make a Change" by Leroy Carr and Josh White.
Lyrics and interpretation
Johnson's "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" combines lyrics, also identified as "floating verses", from the earlier songs and adds two new verses of his own. Music historian Elijah Wald calls the result "a more cohesive lyric than either of the Arnold pieces [and] concentrates on the theme of traveling, and being away from the girl he loves". Attempts have been made to read a hoodoo significance into the phrase "dust my broom". However, bluesman Big Joe Williams, who knew Johnson and was familiar with folk magic, explained it as "leaving for good ... I'm putting you down, I won't be back no more". Music writer Ted Gioia also likens the phrase to the biblical passages about shaking the dust from the feet and symbolizing "the rambling ways of the blues musician":
While Johnson is disillusioned with one woman, he also yearns for another:
The last verse shows Johnson's unusual use of geographical references. These are taken from topical events, including the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and the creation of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. However, their use in Johnson's song is seen as escapism by music writer Greil Marcus. Music writer Thomas Beebee notes that while the world of many blues listeners was limited to the Mississippi Delta,
"Sweet Home Chicago" (the next song Johnson recorded) includes the refrain "Back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago". Comparing the two, Marcus comments, "'Chicago' functioned in the lyric as a place as distant as 'the Philippine Islands'; 'California' was a place as mythical as 'Ethiopia'".
Recording and composition
"I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" was recorded by Johnson during his first recording session on November 23, 1936. The recording took place in a makeshift studio in Room 414 at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, and was produced by Don Law. It was the second song that Johnson recorded and followed "Kind Hearted Woman Blues". As with most of his recordings, it appears that a second take of the song was recorded and assigned a reference number. Stephen LaVere, who managed Johnson's recording legacy, notes that this take, along with several others, "remain[s] unfound, if ever issued; destroyed after being recorded (if ever); or otherwise unknown to collectors".