«The Memphis Blues» - Esther Bigeou

OKeh 8026.
Music by W. C. Handy; words by George A. Norton.
cornet; trombone; clarinet; alto saxophone; brass bass; drums — unknown; piano — possibly Clarence Williams.
New York City. c. October 5, 1921
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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-dancin' with a Tennesee dear
They had a fellow there named Handy
With a band you should hear
And while the whi' folks gently swayed
All dem darkies played real Harmony
I never will forget the tune that Handy called
The Memphis Blues, oh them Blues

Chorus:
They got a fiddler there that always slickens his hair
An' folks he sure do pull some bow
And when the big Bassoon
Seconds to the Trombones croon, croon
It moans just like a sinner
On Revival Day, on Revival Day
That melancholy strain that ever haunting refrain
Is like a Darkies sorrow song
Here comes the very part
That wraps a spell around my heart, heart
It sets me wild to hear that lovin' tune again
The Memphis Blues

Oh, that melody, sure appealed to me
Just like a mountain stream rippling on it seemed
Then it slowly died, with a gentle sigh
Soft as the breeze that whines
High in the summer pines
Hear me people, hear me people hear me I pray
I'm going to take a million lesson's
'Til I learn how to play because I seem to hear it yet
Simply can't forget that blue refrain
There's nothin' like the Handy Band
That played the Memphis Blues so grand
Oh them Blues