Beale Street Mama

Minnie Neal down in Beale

, gave her papa the air

Left him cold, got him told, said she didn't care

Poor Joe, her beau, looked just like he would die

If you were near him, you would hear him, start his mournful cry

Beale Street

papa, why don't you come back home

It isn't proper to leave your mama all alone

Sometimes I was cruel, that was true

But papa you know mama never two-times

you

Ooh-ooh, I'm blue

So how come you do me like you do, I'm crying

Beale Street papa, don't mess around with me

There's plenty of petting that I can get in Tennessee

I still get my sweet cookies constantly

But not the kind you serve to me

So Beale Street papa, come back home

So how come you do me like you do, I'm crying

Beale Street papa, don't mess around with me

There's plenty of petting that I can get in Tennessee

I bought a rifle, razor and a knife,

a postal card can't save my life

So Beale Street papa, come back home