TRAVELLIN' BLUES
Dave Brubeck (m) Iola Brubeck (l)  1961

Carmen McRae w The Dave Brubeck Quartet  rec Sep 6th 1961


I've travelled 'cross the country,
I've sung with lots o' bands,
I've played in those big cities
That book those one-night stands.
I'm lonely and I'm weary,
I know the scene so well!
The blues have come to get me
And to drag me down to hell!

But I keep travellin',
What have I got to lose?
I keep travellin',
Unravellin' all my blues!

I check into a hotel
And then forget its name;
Yes, I could ask, but oh well,
Aren't all hotels the same?
Sink into the mattress,
Pray God my soul to keep;
The blues are in the street,
Cries that haunt my troubles sleep!

But I keep travellin',
What have I got to lose?
I just keep on,
Unravellin' all my blues!

I wake up every mornin',
Wonder where I'm at;
I look into the mirror
And ask myself, "Who's that?".
I left behind a good man,
A face I can't recall!
And yet I love my old man
Or no man's been love at all!

But I keep travellin',
What have I got to lose?
Just keep a-travellin',
Unravellin' all my blues!

I know the blues confuse me,
Hold me in their trap;
They meet me and they lose me,
While round ny brain they wrap!
A web of lonely journeys,
All spun from evil thread,
That twist and turn and tangle me
Until my soul is dead!

Ooh-oo-oo, but I keep travellin',
What have I got to lose?
I just keep travellin',
Tryin' to lose all my blues!





(Contributed by Peter Akers - January 2010)