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).

Deep Ellum Poster, by Brad Albright, Deep Ellum, Dallas, Texas

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.

Painting #1 – by Brad Allbright