"It's Not My Cross to Bear" is a song by

the Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...

, written by

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Br ...

, that was released on their 1969 debut album. The song was written about a former lover that Gregg knew. It was also one of the first songs Gregg introduced to the group. The song was often performed live in conjunction with

Spencer Davis Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and ...

' "Don't Want You No More", due to the way the record was produced. In 1986, Gregg recorded an arrangement for his record, ''

I'm No Angel ''I'm No Angel'' is a 1933 pre-Code film directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Mae West and Cary Grant. West received sole story and screenplay credit. It is one of her films that was not subjected to heavy censorship. Plot Tira (Mae West ...

.''

Blues resemblance

The song conveys the feel and tone of a blues song, but does not follow any of the usual

eight-bar blues In music, an eight-bar blues is a common blues chord progression. Music writers have described it as "the second most common blues form" being "common to folk, rock, and jazz forms of the blues". It is often notated in or time with eight bars ...

or twelve-bar blues progressions. The song has harmonic resemblance to

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

's recordings of "

Sitting on Top of the World "Sitting on Top of the World" (also "Sittin' on Top of the World") is a country blues song written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon. They were core members of the Mississippi Sheiks, who first recorded it in 1930. Vinson claimed to have c ...

" in its inclusion of a minor IV chord in the fourth measure of the progression, while also harmonically resembling " Trouble in Mind", a

blues standard Blues standards are blues songs that have attained a high level of recognition due to having been widely performed and recorded. They represent the best known and most interpreted blues songs that are seen as standing the test of time. Blues ...

. The eight-bar blues progression in "It's Not My Cross to Bear" is played using B major as the tonic chord:

References

1969 songs The Allman Brothers Band songs Song recordings produced by Adrian Barber {{1960s-song-stub