Mitchell, Joni - Furry Sings The Blues Lyrics

I feel this song ........look at the world
peace

I love you Joni so much and we all miss you so much. all we could do now is look at you interviews on YouTube and wish you were here.

This song -Fury sings the blues defined Joni Mitchell, a folk song singer in her own class, nobody else is close. Coming from the cold cold is another one that can put one in a "different world" entirely !!

I grew up in Memphis in the 1950s, and remember some of the old ways of life prior to desegregation. The schools began desegregation in 1965, by admitting a few black students to formally white only schools. In my school which I graduated in 1964 they admitted three black students to the high school which had an attendance of 1400 students.

Anyway prior to these changes the black and white societies essentially lived separate from each other. In the downtown area white people shopped on Main Street, and black people were confined to Beale Street as their "downtown" shopping area.
In the spring there were two separate festivals held. One was the "Cotton Carnival" with parades and shows on Main Street and on the riverfront. For the black people there was the "Cotton Makers Jubilee" on Beale Street with their own parades.

Joni Mitchell was there at the early part of the transition, and at the time, Beale street look very bleak. Her song truly represents the state of Beale Street at the time.

During the transition the "black only" parade was eventually canceled and Beale street began to decay as black shoppers began to frequent the shops on Main Street. From the mid 1970s forward planners began an attempt to revitalize Beale street and by the late 1980s it began to happen for real.

Now the street is a large entertainment area and tourist destination and from what I understand rather successful. I have lived in Florida since late 1990 so I don't have first hand information, but it seems to be doing well.

Hey, hmm the lyrics, and those lost notes from another time , hmm

Apart from being a painter herself, she painted also with words and music to create this beatiful musical world

Joni... What a poet!

Mostly muttering and side show spiel and amazing bass playing. Apparently Furry didn't like this at all but I have a feeling that Joni told it true blue how she saw it.

brilliant

This is one of my favorites on this favored album. She paints pictures with her lyrics - I feel like I was there in his room with her. I can picture the street she describes, the movie theater being replaced by the newer one, the scenes in his room and the others there. The thoughts and feelings she and Furry feel. Joni is a remarkable artist. I had to listen to the Hejira album 4 or 5 times back when it came out, before the complexity of these songs could sink into me and I came to LOVE it.

There’s no Sloopy in her, and God bless you both <3,

<33333333333

PRAY FOR JONI--SHE IS IN INTENSIVE CARE IN LOS ANGELES!! I LOVE HER SO MUCH!! GET WELL JONI!!

No, she isn't.

The imagery in this song is awesome and I've been listening to it for over 40 years.   "Handy's cast in bronze, And he's standing in a little park, With a trumpet in his hand, Like he's listening back to the good old bands, And the click of high heeled shoes......"   who writes lyrics like this?

In the middle of the Disco craze 1976 this was just so good to hear..

trump pulling out of Syria is bullshit. youtubes pewdie pie is an ignorant overpaid cunt that wont wont let us use youtube agaisnt copyright law.

This paints such a vivid picture

I just wish the producer had mixed that harmonica down in the mix.

Apparently Furry (Lewis) hated this song and thought he should get paid royalties from it.

Hated this song?? Together whith the 7 tumbs down idiots!

Sometimes I have to pinch myself... This whole record is so breathtakingly beautiful. One of her very special moments.

one of the most over looked rock records of all time,timeless

is this trap rabbit

So I’ m not the only one who thinks this is one of her very finest songs?

The Furry she is singing about was the old blues singer Furry Lewis. He passed away September 14, 1981 in Memphis TN.

Thank you for that! I love this song. GET WELL JONI--GET WELL SOON!!!

Joni has always been my ideal in a singer, songwriter and musician. I always go back to her music. Each track resonates with a time or special person in my life. Joni’s music is part of me and my life. Exactly 10 years older than me I always felt she was showing me what the future held. I cannot in truth find the words so describe my sense of connectedness with Joni’s and her musical truth.

Old Beale Street is coming down
Sweeties' Snack Bar, boarded up now
And Eagles The Tailor and the Shine Boy's gone
Faded out with ragtime blues
Handy's cast in bronze
And he's standing in a little park
With a trumpet in his hand
Like he's listening back to the good old bands
And the click of high heeled shoes
Old Furry sings the blues
Propped up in his bed
With his dentures and his leg removed
And Ginny's there
For her kindness and Furry's beer
She's the old man's angel overseer

Pawn shops glitter like gold tooth caps
In the gray decay
They chew the last few dollars off
Old Beale Street's carcass
Carrion and mercy
Blue and silver sparkling drums
Cheap guitars, eye shades and guns
Aimed at the hot blood of being no one
Down and out in Memphis Tennessee
Old Furry sings the blues
You bring him smoke and drink and he'll play for you
It's mostly muttering now and sideshow spiel
But there was one song he played
I could really feel

There's a double bill murder at the New Daisy
The old girl's silent across the street
She's silent, waiting for the wrecker's beat
Silent, staring are her stolen name
Diamond boys and satin dolls
Bourbon laughter, ghosts, history falls
To parking lots and shopping malls
As they tear down old Beale Street
Old Furry sings the blues
He points a bony finger at you and
"I don't like you"
Everybody laughs as if it's the old man's standard joke
But it's true
We're only welcome for our drink and smoke

W.C. Handy I'm rich and I'm fay
And I'm not familiar with what you played
But I get such strong impressions of your hey day
Looking up and down old Beale Street
Ghosts of the darktown society
Come right out of the bricks at me
Like it's a Saturday night
They're in their finery
Dancing it up and making deals
Furry sings the blues
Why should I expect that old guy to give it to me true
Fallen to hard luck
And time and other thieves
While our limo is shining on his shanty street
Old Furry sings the blues

I don"t like yooou !! Those last notes by Neil tops off a great song.

Major Mazzaroth that is not Neil young on harp..notta chance

Ally Garden adores this song

So beautiful !

hypnotic

Yup. takes you to another place.

How could there be a thumbs down for Ol Furry, I'm shaking my finger at the four of you, "I don't like you"

Neil Young on harmonica

And Jaco Pastorius on bass !

Max Bennett on Bass on this track.

Song sounds a lot like Neil Young.

Neil Peart on drums.....Naw, just kidding! Lol.

@shucksful lol

music has lost its passion. most modern music has lost all poetry, soul, emotion. there is still some good music out there but it's few and far between

THE BEST album of hers by far imho

We all have our own Joni moments. To me it was 'Court And Spark' and 'Miles Of Aisles'...

I'm with Martin. MAGICAL.... it's brings a movie of charm and disappointment that is what life is all about..... People forget. Legends aspire and work and achieve and then dissolve into someplace where it's just memories..... blessings!!

Magical

Joni Mitchell is a piece of shit, blatant disrespect for one of tge fathers of the delta blues. He hated this song and never saw a dime from this hippie bitch

I agree that Joni Mitchell disrespected Memphis and Furry Lewis in this song.Why do I need some Canadian telling me all that is wrong with America and thinks there's a story in there.

actually I think Furry got a lot more play by being name dropped by the Stones, who also refused to play one time in memphis until Furry had a chance to come on first. Joni however knew she was out of her element, that is always been the part of the appeal of this shimmering gem.

Actually, Furry's career got re-started after Harry Smith included Kassie Jones in his Anthology of American Folk Music. The Anthology started the folk revival, and brought several of those old performers out of retirement.

Of course he hated the song. It's not like she's portraying a really nice man. But it's probably honest and well observed. As to "hippie bitch", I suppose you're entitled to saying that if you really know JM, which I surmise you probably don't.

Speaking of blatant disrespect. Joni went to visit Furry, and this was her experience. She's telling you *exactly* how it went.

History falls to parking lots and shopping malls".  Truer than ever Joni, truer than ever!
Soozi inCa

Richard III would agree!

The 3 muses of Practice, Memory and Song so rarely visited are seen as friends within this artist.

"History falls to parking lots and shopping malls".  Truer than ever Joni, truer than ever!

This was played, in situ, during Reginald D Hunter's 3-part series on the BBC 'Songs of the South' which has just aired in the UK. Top stuff.

Masterpiece

Many decades from now, this work will still be fresh. Great art does not fade...

+John White Yes, just my thought. When all the others fade--and they will.

what a wonderful song ,story telling  and characters we somehow seem to know , i am too young to be a hippy this is timeless

So beautiful !

This album never sounds old to me.

+Michael Powers At almost 40 years it doesn't.

@Brooke Hanley ​My ears must be sensitive. This sounds very 1976 to me! Not that it's a bad thing. It is a very clean recording, but still there's a kind of mysterious audible fog there that isn't as clear as today's recordings.

Oh Goodness.........sit in a dark room.......LISTEN..........think of was.......
Love you, Joni

I could, and have, listen to this song a million times since it came out in the "70's.  This is Joni at her poetry writing finest.  Class from beginning to end.  So incredibly sad that time has finally stolen that voice but we still have the recordings forever.

No regrets, Coyote. Joni has been a heavy cigarette smoker for decades, even knowing it would eventually cost her voice! Nicotene is a bitch, especially if you enjoy the taste of good tobacco. DuMaurier, made in Canada of course. Ah well.

@Curt Rayvis Ah well...there are worse demons. Joni's known her share. Give her a break....and you give yourself one at the same time.:)

Like Joni said, in "Miles of Isles", "No one ever said to Van Gogh: paint a starry night again, man."

@steve christian Love the interchange on this thread. Yes, yes, so true, even today. I am so sorry for her current problems, but nothing can take away from what she has achieved. This album, Chalkmarks ..... and Blue. You've done enough, Joni, I wish you were happy.

This...is an Oh My Goodness, performance!
Know that!!!!
One of the greatest, still loving some Joni!!!!

Yes she is the greatest at her craft!

Great song from perhaps the greatest lyricist of our time!