Lyrics: Traditional/Blind Willie Johnson
Music: Traditional/Blind Willie Johnson
Played intermittently by Jerry Garcia with the Grateful Dead throughout their career, sometimes with lyrics, sometimes without.
The earliest versions are played much faster, and with different lyrics to the later versions.
The recording on "Birth of the Dead" is credited as "traditional, arranged Grateful Dead."
Nobody's fault but mineThe song was played most frequently in 1973-74, and by then the lyrics had changed considerably. This is the version from Dick's Picks Vol 1, credited to Blind Willie Johnson:
Nobody's fault but mine
If I leave my love behind
Nobody's fault but mine
Had good love in my home
Had a good love in my home
If I leave my love behind
Nobody's fault but mine
Loves my sugar in my tea
Loves my sugar in my tea
If I leave my love behind
Nobody's fault but mine
Nobody's fault but mine
Nobody's fault but mine
If I leave my love behind
Nobody's fault but mine
Love will cry when I leave
Love will cry when I leave
If I leave my love behind
Nobody's fault but mine
Nobody's fault but mine
Nobody's fault but mine
If I leave my love behind
Nobody's fault but mine
Nobody's fault but mine[Garcia may have sung additional verses on other occasions (eg "I got a bible in my house") but I haven't confirmed that.]
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read, my soul get lost
Nobody's fault but mine
My mama she taught me how to read
My mama she taught me how to read
If I don't read, my soul be lost
Ain't nobody's fault but mine
My sister she taught me how to read
My sister she taught me how to read
If I don't read, my soul be lost
Ain't nobody's fault but mine
Nobody's fault but mine
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read, my soul be lost
Ain't nobody's fault but mine
Nobody's fault but mine
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read, my soul get lost
Nobody's fault but mine
Grateful Dead Recordings | |||||
Date | Album | ||||
live Jul 1966 | Birth Of The Dead (note 1) | ||||
studio 13 Aug 1968 | Aoxomoxoa (note 2) | ||||
21 Nov 1973 | Road Trips Volume 4, Number 3 | ||||
10 Dec 1973 | Download Series Vol 8 | ||||
19 Dec 1973 | Dick's Picks Vol 1 | ||||
17 May 1974 | Pacific Northwest '73-'74 | ||||
18 Jun 1974 | Road Trips Number 2, Volume 3 (bonus disc) (note 3) | ||||
29 Jul 1974 | Dave's Picks Volume 2 (Bonus disc) | ||||
16 May 1981 | 30 Trips Around The Sun (note 3) |
Nobody's fault but mine(Thanks to Anita Cantor for help with this)
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read my soul be lost
I have a Bible in my home
I have a Bible in my home
If I don't read my soul be lost
My father taught me how to read
My father taught me how to read
If I don't read my soul be lost
Nobody's fault but mine
Lord, Lord
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read my soul be lost
I have a Bible in my house
I have a Bible in my house
If I don't read my soul be lost
Mother, she taught me how to read
Mother, she taught me how to read
If I don't read my soul be lost
Nobody's fault but mine
Lord, Lord
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read my soul be lost
My sister she taught me how to read
My sister she taught me how to read
If I don't read my soul be lost
Nobody's fault but mine
Lord, Lord
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read my soul be lost