I got 20 silk cotton, no light A river full of fish that won't bite
I'm happily married but something ain't right That's why they call it the blues
Blind boy full of washboard sand Neither of them's as blue as I am
Memphis mini, Memphis swim I'd trade places with her or him
With her or him
The blues came in, slept with my wife Cut her to pieces, planted the knife
Found me guilty, sentenced to hang If you didn't want the blues, well, you shouldn't have sang, sang, sang
Well, you shouldn't have sang
I want the golden ticket, but we're no longer friends
No bank, pay me in pennies, my heart just sank
Had to leave the house in a chieftain tank That's why they call it the blues
Sonny Boy Williamson's one and two Kept their takings in the sole of their shoe
Notes in the front, coins in the heel I ain't got neither, I'm the real blues deal
I'm the real blues deal
The blues came in, slept with my wife Cut her to pieces, planted the knife
Found me guilty, sentenced to hang If you didn't want the blues, well, you shouldn't have sang, sang, sang
Well, you shouldn't have sang
Pinetop Smith, J.B. Lenoir Shot in the stomach, killed in a car
With the blues in the room, it gets kinda dark You stick out your hand and pick up your harp
The blues came in, it won't knock at your door In the still of the night
With a circular saw, a circular saw A noose for your neck
If you see the blues come in, it's a noose for your neck

The blues came in, slept with my wife Cut her to pieces, planted the knife
Found me guilty, sentenced to hang If you didn't want the blues, well, you shouldn't
have sang, sang, sang You shouldn't have sang
Pinetop Smith, J.B. Lenoir Shot in the stomach, killed in a car