| "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" | |
|---|---|
 Original 78 record label | |
| Single by Robert Johnson | |
| Released | 1938 |
| Recorded | Dallas, Texas, June 20, 1937 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length |
|
| Label | Vocalion |
| Songwriter(s) | Robert Johnson |
| Producer(s) | Don Law |
"Stop Breaking Down" or "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" is a Delta blues song recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937. An "upbeat boogie with a strong chorus line",[1] the lyrics are partly based on Johnson's experience with certain women:[2]
You know the Saturday night women,
now they love to ape and clown
They won't do nothin'
but tear yo' reputation down
Stop breakin' down
Please stop breakin' down[3]
The song shares elements with earlier blues songs and became popular largely through later interpretations by other artists, such as Sonny Boy Williamson I in 1945 and the Rolling Stones in 1972.
- ^ Wald 2004, p. 179.
- ^ Conforth & Wardlow 2019, p. 215.
- ^ LaVere 1990, p. 42