The British Journal of Psychiatry have a regular series called "In 100 Words", which produces some gems. This month they have Melanchola in 100 Words, featuring perhaps the most influential musician you haven't heard of, Robert Johnson.
I got stones in my pathway/And my road seems dark at^ night/I have pains in my heart/They have taken my appetite.
Robert Johnson, known as the King of the Delta blues singers,^ distilled into these lines the essence of severe depressive^ illness – somatic ills, fear and suspicion, emotional^ and physical pain, nocturnal troubles and struggle against obstacles.^ The words are one with the powerful, haunting music. ICD-10^ and DSM-IV have their place, but poets have often been there^ before us, and done a better job. We can all learn from Robert^ Johnson, born just 100 years ago.I've previously written about the blues and what shade of blue they were talking about, here. ...
