Lyrics

[Verse 1: Bing Crosby & Ella Fitzgerald] Folks, I've just been down, down to Memphis town That's where the people smile, smile on you all the while Hospitality, man, they was good to me I couldn't spend a dime, had the grandest time I went out a-dancing with a Tennessee dear Met a man named Handy with a band you should hear And while the dancers swayed, all the fellas played real harmony [Chorus: Bing Crosby & Ella Fitzgerald] I never will forget the tune they called the Memphis Blues [Verse 2: Bing Crosby & Ella Fitzgerald] They've got a fiddler there who always slickens his hair Folks, he sure does pull a mean bow And when the big bassoon seconds to the trombone's croon It moans just like a sinner, ooh, on revival day That melancholy strain, ever haunting refrain Is like a southern sorrow song Here comes the very part, wraps a spell around my heart [Chorus: Ella Fitzgerald] It sets me wild to hear that loving tune again The Memphis Blues [Verse 3: Bing Crosby & Ella Fitzgerald] Mississippi River, long, deep, and wide Got myself a rowboat and I pulled for the other side And when I heard the music, I coulda laid right down and died Ah, you shoulda heard the singin' come floatin' out across the tide [Outro: Bing Crosby & Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby] Get on your fanciest dancing shoes And ask the leader to play the blues The M-E-M-P-H-I-S, boy I need the Memphis Blues I need the Memphis Blues Thank you, Ella Thank you, folks Thanks also to the Firehouse Five, too, for some mighty fine blastin' there