“The Saint Louis Blues” (or “St. Louis Blues”) is a popular American song composed by W. C. Handy in the blues style, published in September 1914. It was one of the first blues songs to succeed as a pop song and remains a fundamental part of jazz musicians’ repertoire
Song lyrics to Saint Louis Blues, aka . St. Louis Blues and I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down
I hate to see that evening sun go down
I hate to see that evening sun go down
‘Cause my lovin’ baby done left this town
If I feel tomorrow like I feel today
If I feel tomorrow like I feel today
I’m gonna pack my trunk and make my getaway
Oh, that St. Louis woman with her diamond rings
She pulls my man around by her apron strings
And if it wasn’t for powder and her store-bought hair
Oh, that man of mine wouldn’t go nowhere
I got those St. Louis blues, just as blue as I can be
Oh, my man’s got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
Or else he wouldn’t have gone so far from me
I love my man like a schoolboy loves his pie
Like a Kentucky colonel loves his rocker and rye
I’ll love my man until the day I die, Lord, Lord
I got the St. Louis blues, just as blue as I can be, Lord, Lord
That man’s got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
Or else he wouldn’t have gone so far from me
I got those St. Louis blues
I got the blues, I got the blues, I got the blues
My man’s got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
Or else he wouldn’t have gone so far from me, Lord, Lord
Notable Recordings
- Benny Goodman
- Louis Armstrong
- Cab Calloway
- Bing Crosby
- Bessie Smith
- Eartha Kitt
- Count Basie
- Glenn Miller
- Guy Lombardo