# origin of "Dust my Broom" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2006, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-dust-my-broom/371480 "2006-09-05T05:55:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-dust-my-broom/371480/1 "2006-09-05T05:55:22Z")
I know it’s a Robert Johnson tune covered many times, but I’m curious as to the origin of the term. What does it mean if anything? My WAG is some kind of divorce thing related to jumping the broom as a marriage ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-dust-my-broom/371480/2 "2006-09-05T06:02:24Z")
I’ve been wondering about this for years, and yet I never looked it up or asked either. [The AllMusic Guide says:](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:jmdjyc2oxpeb) > [@](#): > > Based on an old country saying, it refers to broom dusting as making a new start in life. I never would have thought of this, but I guess it means “broom dusting” and “dust my broom” both mean shaking out the dust of your past and getting ready to begin again. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-dust-my-broom/371480/3 "2006-09-06T16:32:18Z")
I don’t know the answer to the question but I’m almost positive it was Elmore James, not Robert Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-dust-my-broom/371480/4 "2006-09-06T16:55:25Z")
No, Elmore James covered it famously, and I think that ZZ Tops’ version more closely follows James’ lyrics, ‘I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom,’ was recorded by Johnson in Texas '36/37. > **[Robert Johnson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson)** > > Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generations of musicians. Although his recording career spanned only seven months, he is recognized as a master of the blues, particularly the Delta blues style, and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame desc... ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-dust-my-broom/371480/5 "2006-09-06T20:17:49Z")
Am I the only one who sees it this way? When your broom gets dusty, you have to take a rag, and wrap your hand around the broomstick. Then you wipe up and down to get the dust off. The motion is just like what a fella would do if he’s just left his girlfriend. How graphic does Robert Johnson have to get, for you to get the point?😛 ---
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-dust-my-broom/371480/6 "2006-09-06T23:22:07Z")
I heard it means to leave town in a hurry, usually to avoid responsibility or negative consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-dust-my-broom/371480/7 "2006-09-07T02:07:22Z")
[QUOTE=YellowTail] I heard it means to leave town in a hurry, usually to avoid responsibility or negative consequences. [/QUOTE] “Have to quit my baby and give up my happy home” 2nd on this. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-dust-my-broom/371480/8 "2006-09-07T03:20:33Z")
It means to leave town. In the [song, both Johnson’s and Elmore James’ versions for comparison](http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/lyrics_blues/rj_dustmybroom.html), Johnson is fed up with his cheating girlfriend, and prepares to leave to find a better gal. He might go up the road to West Helena, or hightail it to China or even Ethiopia. He’s done with it, and moving on. In [this](http://www.bigroadblues.com/features/lockwood.shtml) interview, Johnson’s stepson, Robert Lockwood,Jr (an amazing blues/jazz musician in his own right) says; > [@](#): > > MOJO: And several people on Big Road Blues were trying to settle up on what “Dust My Broom” means. > > RL: Dust my broom? It means you’re leaving. Making a clean sweep. It also has it’s roots in the African American tradition of “jumping the broom” as a wedding ritual. [Here’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_broom) the Wikepedia entry. Johnson was dusting his broom off because his gal broke that promise. The song was Elmore James’ signature tune, recorded 23 years after Johnson, and James had a bit different take on it. It was more personal and howling, the end verse having a very different resolution than Johnson’s search. James ends with “I believe my time ain’t long”. He’s more mournful than Johnson, and his guitar work shows it, too.