Oh... they say my people long ago Where lookin' for a different tune One that we can croon As only we can We only had the rhythm So, we started swingin' to and fro We didn't know just what to use But this is how the blues I said the blues really began Oh yeah We heard the breeze Through the trees Singing weird melodies And we named that the start of the blues Then from a jail There came a whale From a down-hearted frail And we played that To be a part of our blues From a whippoorwill High on a hill They took a new note Pushed it through a horn Till it was worn into a blue note You better believed me we nursed it And we rehearsed it Than we gave out the news That the South Land, gave birth to the blues