St. Louis Blues is a famous blues song written by the African American composer W. C. Handy . It was published in 1914. The song was one of the first blues compositions to gain popularity in American music as a pop song.
Musically, Handy’s composition differs from the regular folk music 12-bar blues that strongly influenced him before composing this song. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues” uses two different melodies and a 16-bar “bridge” that connects the two. He also incorporates a Latin-American rhythm, the habanera, into the accompaniment.
“St. Louis Blues” is traditionally sung by a woman. It emotionally recounts how a woman lost her man to a scheming “St. Louis woman.” The song has been recorded hundreds of times. One of the most famous recordings was the 1925 version performed by blues singer Bessie Smith, accompanied by trumpeter Louis Armstrong .
The various recordings of “St. Louis Blues” have introduced minor variations in the lyrics. One of the most familiar versions is as follows.
First blues melody: I hate to see that evening sun go down, I hate to see that evening sun go down, ‘Cause my lovin’ baby done left this town.
If I feel tomorrow, like I feel today, If I feel tomorrow, like I feel today, I’m gonna pack my trunk and make my getaway.
Bridge with its own melody: Oh, that St. Louis woman, with her diamond rings, She pulls my man around by her apron strings. And if it wasn’t for powder and her store-bought hair, Oh, that man of mine wouldn’t go nowhere.
Second blues melody I got those St. Louis blues, just as blue as I can be, Oh, my man’s got a heart like a rock cast in the sea, Or else he wouldn’t have gone so far from me. I love my man like a schoolboy loves his pie, Like a Kentucky colonel loves his rocker and rye, I’ll love my man until the day I die, Lord, Lord.
That man’s got a heart like a rock cast in the sea, Or else he wouldn’t have gone so far from me.
