Oh, they say some darkies long ago
Were searching for a diff'rent tune
One that they could croon
As only they can
They only had the rhythm so
They started swaying to and fro
They didn't know just what to use
That is how the blues really began.
They heard the breeze
In the trees
Singing weird melodies
And they made that
The start of the blues
And from a jail
Came the wail
Of a down-hearted frail
And they played that
As part of the blues
From a whippoor-will
Out on a hill
They took a new note
Pushed it through a horn
Till it was worn
Into a blue note
And then they nursed it
Rehearsed it
And gave out the news
That the Southland
Gave birth to the blues
They heard the breeze
In the trees
Singing weird melodies
And they made that
The start of the blues
And from a jail
Came the wail
Of a down-hearted frail
And they played that
As part of the blues
From a whippoor-will
Out on a hill
They took a new note
Pushed it through a horn
Till it was worn
Into a blue note
And then they nursed it
Rehearsed it
And gave out the news
That the Southland
Gave birth to the blues