Sweet Home Chicago by Robert Johnson

Considering the tremendous variety of tones and styles that Robert Johnson was known to perform live, it’s a pity that we get to hear such a limited part of his range on record. “Sweet Home Chicago” is a great example of that, the kind of record that you wish he had made a hundred of. It is certainly his most famous song, and for good reason. It follows the basic structure of the popular blues song “Kokomo Blues,” which had already been recorded by several different blues artists (most notably Kokomo Arnold in 1934). Johnson’s version upped the ante, though, becoming an instant classic that works on multiple levels. Its universal themes, simple structure and killer hook (“Baby, don’t you wanna go?”) make it the perfect blues cover song. 

Indeed, “Sweet Home Chicago” is Johnson’s least complex recording, following a simple, repeated rhythmic pattern without the usual flair on guitar. Because of that it is one of the few records of his where you can actually tell that he is playing unaccompanied, making the record sound much more intimate and relaxed than any of his other work. Compared to the intensity of records like “Cross Road Blues,” it is refreshing to hear Johnson so loose. The performance sounds unrehearsed, as if Johnson was playing for no one but himself. The lyrics, sung with carefree abandon, only add to that sense. They come across simultaneously spontaneous and clever, like the best freestyle rap from half a century later: “Now six and two is eight / Eight and two is ten / Friend, boy, she trick you one time / She sure gonna do it again.” It has to be said, though, that the spontaneity of the lyrics does cause a little confusion, as it’s not sure what Johnson means when he seems to repeatedly place Chicago in California. Later cover versions would remove the references to California, but a little geographical ambiguity doesn’t diminish the genius of the original.

by Bryan Mangum

Sweet Home Chicago Lyrics:

Oh baby don't you want to go

Oh baby don't you want to go

Back to the land of California

To my sweet home Chicago

Oh baby don't you want to go

Oh baby don't you want to go

Back to the land of California

To my sweet home Chicago

Now one and one is two

Two and two is four

I'm heavy loaded baby

I'm booked I gotta go

Cryin' baby

Honey don't you want to go

Back to the land of California

To my sweet home Chicago

Now two and two is four

Four and two is six

You gonna keep monkeyin' round here friend-boy

You gonna get your business all in a trick

But I'm cryin' baby

Honey don't you wanna go

Back to the land of California

To my sweet home Chicago

Now six and two is eight

Eight and two is ten

Friend-boy she trick you one time

She sure gonna do it again

But I'm cryin' hey hey

Baby don't you want to go

Back to the land of California

To my sweet home Chicago

I'm goin' to California

From there to Des Moines Iowa

Somebody will tell me that you

Need my help someday

Cryin hey hey

Baby don't you want to go

Back to the land of California

To my sweet home Chicago.