The Blues

Folks, I've just been down

Down to Memphis town

That's where the people smile

Smile on you all the while

Hospitality

They were good to me

I couldn't spend a dime

And had the grandest time

I went out a-dancing

With a Tennessee dear

They had a fella there named Handy

With a band you should hear

And while the dancers gently swayed

All the band boys played

Real harmony

I never will forget

The tune that Handy called The Memphis Blues

They got a fiddler there

That always slickens his hair

And folks, he sure does pull some bow

And when the big bassoon

Seconds to the trombone's croon

And moans just like a sinner on revival day

Here me, people

Hear me, people

Hear me, I pray

I'm gonna take a million lessons 'til I learn how to play

Because I seem to hear it yet

Simply can't forget that blues refrain

There's nothing like the Handy band

That played The Memphis Blues so grand

That melancholy strain

Ever haunting refrain

Is like a morning sorrow song

Here comes the very part

That wraps its spell around my heart

I can't forget the tune

That Handy called The Memphis Blues

I can't forget the tune

That Handy called The Memphis Blues