Furry Sings the Blues - Concert Version

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Old Beale street is coming down Sweetie's snack bar boarded up now And there goes the tailor, and the shine boy's gone Faded out with ragtime blues Candy's cast in bronze And he's standing in a little park with his trumpet in his hand Like he's listening back to the good old bands And the click of high heel shoes [Chorus] Furry sings the blues Propped up in his bed with his dentures and his leg removed And Ginny's there for his kindness and Furry's beer She's the old man's angel overseer [Verse 2] Pawn shops glitter like gold tooth caps In the great decay They chew the last few dollars off old Beale street's carcass Carrion and mercy Blue and silver sparkling drums Cheap guitars, eye shades and guns Aimed at the hot blood of being no-one Down and out in Memphis, Tennesse [Chorus] Old Furry sings the blues You bring him smoke and drink and he'll play for you It's mostly muttering now and sideshow spiel But there was one song he played I could really feel [Verse 3] "I got a woman on Monday, she shines my shoes I got a woman on Tuesday, give me nothing but the blues Old Furry's got nobody" There was a double-bill murder at the New Daisy The old girl's silent across the street She's silent, waiting for the record's beat Silent, staring at her stolen name Diamond boys and satin dolls Bourbon laughter, ghosts, history falls To parking lots and shopping malls As they tear down old Beale street [Chorus] Old Furry sings the blues He points a bony finger at you and says, "I don't like you" Everybody laughs like it's the old guy's standard joke But it's true, we're only welcome for a drink and smoke [Verse 4] W.C. Handy, I'm rich and I'm fey And I'm not familiar with what you played But I get such strong impressions of your hey day Looking up and down old Beale street Ghosts of the dark town society Come right out of the bricks at me Like it's a Saturday night, they're in their finery Dancing it up and making deals [Chorus] Furry sings the blues Why should I expect that old guy to give it to me true blue When he's fallen to hard luck and time and other thieves While our limo is shining on our shanty street, Furry sings the blues