Le personnage de Tommy Johnson a réellement existé. Si dans le film les personnages principaux rencontrent Tommy Johnson à un carrefour, ce n'est pas un hasard. Tommy Johnson a été le premier bluesman à parler du « Pacte avec le Diable ». Il a raconté qu'il avait rencontré le diable à un carrefour. Celui-ci lui a appris à jouer le blues en échange de son âme. Cette légende sera reprise plus tard par Robert Johnson.
Le morceau que joue Tommy Johnson au coin du feu est "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" de Skip James, autre figure emblématique du blues des années 1920-30.
Standard tuning.
Repeat the chord progression for all following verses.
F F Bb
I am a man of constant sorrow
C F
I've seen trouble all my days
F F Bb
I'll bid farewell to old Kentucky
C F
The place where I was born and raised
C F
(The place where he was born and raised)
For six long years I've been in trouble
No pleasure here on earth I found
For in this world I'm bound to ramble
I have no friends to help me down
(He has no friends to help him down)
It's fare thee well my old true lover
I never expect to see you again
For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad
Perhaps I'll die upon this train
(Perhaps he'll die upon this train)
You can bury me in sunny valley
For many years where I may lay
And you may learn to love another
While I am sleepin' in my grave
(While he is sleepin' in his grave)
Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger
My face you never will see no more
But there is one promise that is given
I'll meet you on God's golden shore
(He'll meet you on God's golden shore)
