Beale Street Mama
by Robinson / 
Roy Turk 
recording of March 15, 1923 
from 
The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1 (Columbia/Legacy C2K-47091) 
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 
__________ 
Note 1: Beale Street, one of the most famous streets in Memphis and where the blues were born. It was the home to famous blues musicians such as 
W.C. Handy 
who wrote the first blues song here in 1909. Take the 
Beale Street Historical Tour 
with the Memphis Guide; 
Note 2: two-time you, to betray (a spouse or lover) by secret lovemaking with another.