living scoring movies following its lead." They further noted that the song could retrospectively be described as ambient music as it is "a piece of country gospel improvisation, slide guitar with vocal hums and moans, but no lyrics." Film “Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground” was used on the Oscar-nominated soundtrack to Pier Paolo Pasolini's classic film, The Gospel According to St Matthew, in scenes where Judas Iscariot laments betraying Christ and a cripple asks to be healed. Ry Cooder based his soundtrack to the Palme d'Or-winning film, Paris, Texas on "Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground", which he has described as "the most soulful, transcendent piece in all American music." Wim Wenders, the director of Paris, Texas, included Blind Willie Johnson's music and life in his 2003 documentary The Soul of a Man, produced for the PBS series "The Blues". Voyager Golden Record In 1977, Carl Sagan and other researchers collected sounds and images from planet Earth to send on Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. The Voyager Golden Record includes recordings of frogs, crickets, volcanoes, a human heartbeat, laughter, greetings in 55 languages, and 27 pieces of music. "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" was included, according to Timothy Ferris, because "Johnson's song concerns a situation he faced many times: nightfall with no place to sleep. Since humans appeared on Earth, the shroud of night has yet to fall without touching a man or woman in the same plight." Notes References Bibliography Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen (2003). All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues, Hal Leonard Corporation. Humphrey, Mark (1993). "Holy Blues: The Gospel Tradition". in Cohn, Lawrence. Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians, Abbeville Press. Corcoran, Michael (2005). All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music, University of Texas Press. Dargan, William T. (2006). Lining Out the Word: Dr. Watts Hymn Singing in the Music of Black Americans, University of California Press. Davis, Francis (2003). The History of the Blues: The Roots, the Music, the People, Da Capo Press. Hill, Samuel; Lippy, Charles; Wilson, Charles (2005). Encyclopedia of Religion in the South, Mercer University Press. Hurwitt, Elliot (2008). "Abbe Niles, Blues Advocate". in Evans, David. Ramblin' on My Mind: New Perspectives on the Blues, University of Illinois Press. External links Blind Willie Johnson: His Life and Music 1927 songs Blind Willie