Loudon Wainwright Iii Ramblin' Blues
I've seen the lights of old Broadway,
And Market Street down by the Frisco Bay.
I've strolled the Prado, I've gambled on the Bourse in
gay Paree.
Now, the seven wonders of this world I've seen,
There's many other different places I have been.
Take my advice, folks, please see Beale Street first -
It's in Memphis, Tennessee!
Oh, you'll see pretty browns in beautiful gowns,
You'll see tailor-mades and your hand-me-downs.
You'll meet honest men, and pick-pockets skilled,
And your business never closes 'til somebody gets
killed!
Oh those Hog-Nose restaurants and Chitlin' Cafes -
Talk about your whiskey and your bygone days.
And places, once places, but now just a sham -
You'll see Golden Balls enough to pave the New
Jerusalem.
If Beale Street could talk, if Beale Street could talk,
Married men would have to take their beds up and walk,
All except one or two, who never drink booze,
And the blind man on the corner who sings "The Memphis
Blues."
I'd rather be here than any place I know,
Rather be here than any place I know -
It's gonna take a Sergeant for to make me go!
I'm goin' down to the river, baby, by and by,
Goin' down to the river, Mississippi, and here's the
reason why,
'Cause that river's wet, and Beale Street's done gone
dry, bone dry.
If Beale Street could talk, if Beale Street could talk,
Married men would have to take their beds up and walk,
All except one or two, who never drink booze,
And the blind man on the corner who sings "The Memphis
Blues."
I'd rather be here than any place I know.
