[Intro]

[Verse 1]
Oh, the ragman draws circles
Up and down the block
I'd ask him what the matter was
But I know that he don't talk
And the ladies treat me kindly
And they furnish me with tape
But deep inside my heart
I know I can't escape

[Chorus]
Oh, Mama
Can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

[Verse 2]
Well, Shakespeare, he's in the alley
With his pointed shoes and his bells
Speaking to some French girl
Who says she knows me well
And I would send a message
To find out if she's talked
But the post office has been stolen
And the mailbox is locked
[Chorus]
Oh, Mama
Can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

[Verse 3]
Mona tried to tell me
To stay away from the train line
She said that all the railroad men
Just drink up your blood like wine
And I said, "Oh, I didn't know that
But then again, there's only one I've met
And he just smoked my eyelids
And punched my cigarette"

[Chorus]
Oh, Mama
Can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

[Verse 4]
Grandpa died last week
And now he's buried in the rocks
But everybody still talks about
How badly they were shocked
But me, I expected it to happen
I knew he'd lost control
When I sp— he'd built a fire on Main Street
And shot it full of holes
[Chorus]
Oh, Mama
Can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

[Verse 5]
Now the senator came down here
Showing everyone his gun
Handing out free tickets
To the wedding of his son
And me, I nearly got busted
And wouldn't it be my luck
To get caught without a ticket
And be discovered beneath a truck

[Chorus]
Oh, Mama
Is this really the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

[Verse 6]
Now the tea preacher looked so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines
Stapled to his chest
But he cursed me when I proved to him
Then I whispered, said, "Not even you can hide
You see, you're just like me
I hope you're satisfied"
[Chorus]
Oh, Mama
Can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

[Verse 7]
Now the rainman gave me two cures
Then he said, "Jump right in"
The one was Texas medicine
The other was just railroad gin
And like a fool I mixed them
And it strangled up my mind
And now people just get uglier
And I have no sense of time

[Chorus]
Oh, Mama
Can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

[Verse 8]
Now when Ruthie says come see her
In her honky-tonk lagoon
Where I can watch her waltz for free
'Neath her Panamanian moon
And I say, "Aw, come on now
You know you know about my debutante"
And she says, "Your debutante just knows what you need
But I know what you want"

[Chorus]
Oh, Mama
Can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

[Verse 9]
Now the bricks lay on Grand Street
Where the neon madmen climb
They all fall there so perfectly
It all seems so well timed
And here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all these things twice

[Chorus]
Oh, Mama
Is this really the end?
To be stuck here inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again