I Believe I'll Dust My Broom

The opening is one of the most copied moments in blues history — a slide figure so clean and declarative it functions almost like a signature. Johnson sounds certain here, more resolved than restless, as if the decision to leave has already been made and what remains is only the leaving. The tempo sits right in a pocket that feels effortless even though the guitar playing is sophisticated, Johnson essentially functioning as a one-man band with his alternating bass lines and melody fills happening simultaneously. The broom in the title is a folk saying about moving on, clearing out, starting fresh — and the song carries that energy of someone who has done their grieving already and arrived at something harder and cleaner. Historically it became a transmission point, passing directly into the hands of Elmore James and then into the wider world of electric blues and rock. It's a song for the morning after a decision, when clarity replaces anguish.