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
The 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 a 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 it's 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