If you go down to Deep Elem
Just to have a little fun,
You’d better have your fifteen dollars
When the policeman come.Chorus:
Oh, sweet mama, daddy’s got the Deep Elem Blues;
Oh, sweet mama, daddy’s got the Deep Elem Blues.If you go down to Deep Elem,
Keep your money in your shoes;
The women in Deep Elem
Got those Deep Elem blues.If you go down to Deep Elem,
Take your money in your pants;
The women in Deep Elem
Never give the men a chance.Now I once knew a preacher,
Preached the Bible through and through,
He went down into Deep Elem,
Now his preaching days are through.Now I once had a sweet gal,
Lord, she meant the world to me;
She went down into Deep Elem;
She ain’t what she used to be.Her papa’s a policeman
And her mama walks the street;
Her papa met her mama
When they both were on the beat.—-Deep Elm Blues (Deep Ellum Blues), Traditional
Jerry Lee Lewis sings the “Deep Elm Blues“. This was an unissued take made in the Sun Studios (lyrics and audio from wikisource).
I saw this poster hanging on telephone poles in Deep Ellum honoring some of that spot’s musical history:
Bessie Smith, Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, and Blind Lemon Jefferson
The poster is by Brad Allbright (website, instagram)
I have a piece of original art by him, bought at the Kettle Art Gallery’s For the Love of Kettle event.