I've seen the lights of old Broadway
And Market Street down by the Frisco bay
I've strolled the Prado
I've gambled on the Bourse in gay Paree

Now the seven wonders of this world I've seen
There's many other different places I have been
Take my advice folks please see Beale Street first
It's in Memphis, Tennessee

Oh, you'll see pretty browns in beautiful gowns
You'll see tailor mades and your hand me downs
You'll meet honest men and pick pockets skilled
And your business never closes 'til somebody gets killed

Oh, those Hog-Nose restaurants and Chitlin' cafes
Talk about your whiskey and your bygone days
And places once places but now just a sham
You'll see golden balls enough to pave the new Jerusalem

If Beale Street could talk, if Beale Street could talk
Married men would have to take their beds up and walk
All except one or two who never drink booze
And the blind man on the corner who sings 'The Memphis Blues'

I'd rather be here than any place I know
Oh, I'd rather be here than any place I know
It's gonna take a sergeant for to make me go
I'm goin' down to the river, baby by and by
Oh I'm goin' down to the river Mississippi
And here's the reason why 'cause that river's wet
And Beale Street's done gone dry, bone dry

If Beale Street could talk, if Beale Street could talk
Married men would have to take their beds up and walk
All except one or two who never drink booze
And the blind man on the corner who sings 'The Memphis Blues'

I'd rather be here than any place I know