"Arkansas Blues" is a song featured in the 2023 film The Color Purple with music and lyrics written by Anton Lada and Spencer Williams. It is performed by Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds, a jazz band from the 1920s. The song is played in the background as Celie Harris Johnson, the protagonist of the story, arrives at Harpo's juke joint, where she meets Shug Avery, a glamorous blues singer and the former lover of her abusive husband, Mister. It reflects the mood and atmosphere of the juke joint, where people dance, drink, and enjoy themselves. The song also contrasts with Celie's life of hardship and oppression, as she is exposed to a different world of music and freedom.
Lyrics[]
Blues have overtaken me,
I'm so weary, days are full of gloom,
Homesickness has got me down in mind
Way down in old Arkansas
In old Dixie, my log cabin home,
Where the southern folks are good and kind, I find;
I see the right track,
I got my trunk packed
And I have asked the good Lord to take the train back
That's headin' south;
Take me to Dardanelle,
Ain't got no time to lose!
I'm tired o' roamin,
I'm tired o' roamin,
I long to see my mammy and my home in
Old log cabin land, way down in the dell
I've got the Arkansas blues!
Yes, I've got the Arkansas blues!
Blues just make me weep and cry,
I'm so lonesome, don't know what to do!
Miss the good old days that used to be.
Oh, what a fool am I
To be grievin', to be feelin' blue,
For my mammy's waitin' patiently for me.
I'm on the right track,
I've got my trunk packed,
And I have asked the good Lord to take the train back
That's headin' south;
Take me to Dardanelle,
Ain't got no time to lose!
I'm tired o' roamin,
I'm tired o' roamin
I long to see my mammy and my home in
Old log cabin land, way down in the dell,
I've got those Arkansas blues, oh-ho!
Yes, I've got the Arkansas blues!
