SALT WATER BLUES
(George Brooks)

as recorded by Bessie Smith
with Charlie Green (trombone) & Fletcher Henderson (piano)
July 31st 1924 New York



I've got a man, he lives down by the sea,
I've got a man, he lives down by the sea,
But that doggone salty water sure ain't got him for me!

He sent me a letter, nothin' in it but a note,
He sent me a letter, nothin' in it but a note,
I sat right down and wrote him, man I ain't no billy goat!

I may be crazy, but mama ain't nobody's fool,
I may be crazy, but mama ain't nobody's fool,
Before I stand your talkin', I'll eat grass like a Georgia mule!

Sittin' on a kerbstone, worryin' in both heart and soul,
Sittin' on a kerbstone, worryin' in both heart and soul,
You lower than  a possum hidin' in a groundhog hole!

I'm crazy 'bout my sugar, my sugar and my ol' long tea,
I'm crazy 'bout my sugar, my sugar and my ol' long tea,
But that doggone salty water tastes too doggone bad for me!



(Transcribed by Peter Akers - January 2020)