NaPM April 26, 2017

[just mercedes]

Beale Street Mama
standin' in the rain
aggravatin' Papa
me and my gin

eavesdropper
thinking
there’ll be a hot time
Alexander’s rag time

see if I'll care
outside of that
ain’t nobody’s business
dirty no-gooder

keep it to yourself
my sweetie went away
oh Daddy
I've got what it takes

do your duty
you've got to give me some
I'm wild about that thing
baby won't you please come

put it right here
baby doll
mean old bedbug
squeeze me

St. Louis gal
Chicago bound
worn out Papa
yellow dog

young woman
bleeding hearted
whoa Tillie take your time
cake walking babies

blue spirit
at the Christmas ball
nobody knows you when you’re
rocking chair reckless

back water bo’weavil
muddy water safety
Gulf Coast hard time
careless love

don't cry baby
gimme a pigfoot
send me to the 'lectric chair
yodeling blues

my man, poor man
preachin’ the blues
lost your head
Sam Jones

empty bed
Mama's got the blues
graveyard dream
Devil's gonna get you

a good man is hard to find
I ain't got nobody
down hearted
cemetery blues



This is both a list poem and a found poem - each line is from the title of a song Bessie sang. Some lines have two titles.