Robert Johnson #2: Love in Vain

“Love in Vain” is one of the most poignant and painful songs about lost love. Robert Johnson’s evocative line represented in the painting was in fact lifted from Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “Dry Southern Blues:”

One train’s at the depot with the red and blue lights behind
Well, the blue light’s the blues, the red light’s the worried mind

The sign on the side of the railroad station is for Clarksdale, Mississippi, associated with Robert Johnson.

8 1/2” x 12 1/2” gouache and pen on paper
Giclée print: archival inks on watercolor paper