Ten Best...Memphis Songs

#10. "Cities" by Talking Heads

Did I forget to mention, to mention Memphis?
Home of Elvis and the ancient Greeks
Do I smell? I smell home cooking
It's only the river, it's only the river.

#9. "Music Makin' Mama from Memphis" by Hank Snow

She'll play a little rhythm, do the boogie up right
A Tennessee polka, maybe blues in the night
Ever'body travels from near and far
To hear her when she picks it on that old guitar
My Music Makin' Mama from Memphis, Tennessee

#8. "Memphis Soul Stew" by King Curtis

Today's special is Memphis Soul Stew
We sell so much of this, people wonder what we put in it
We gonna tell you right now
Give me about a half a teacup of bass
Now I need a pound of fatback drums
Now give me four tablespoons of boiling Memphis guitars
This goin' taste alright
Now just a little pinch of organ
Now give me a half a pint of horn
Place on the burner and bring to a boil
That's it, that's it, that's it right there.
Now beat, well.

#7. "Memphis, Tennessee" by Chuck Berry

The last time I saw Marie
She was waving me goodbye
With hurry homedrops on her cheek
That trickled from her eyes
Marie is only six years old
Information please,
Help me get in touch with her
In Memphis, Tennessee

#6. "All the Way from Memphis" by Mott the Hoople

Now it’s a mighty long way down the dusty trail
And the sun burns hot on the cold steel rails
And I look like a bum, and I crawl like a snail
All the way from Memphis

#5. "Memphis Beat" by Jerry Lee Lewis

I'm going to Memphis where the beat is tough
Memphis, I can't get enough
It makes you tremble and it makes you weak
It's in your blood, that Memphis Beat

#4. "Honkey Tonk Woman" by the Rolling Stones

I met a gin soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis,
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride.
She had to heave me right across her shoulder
'Cause I just can't seem to drink you off my mind.

#3. "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis,
Pumped a lot of 'pane down in New Orleans,
But I never saw the good side of the city,
'Till I hitched a ride on a river boat queen

#2. "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" by Bob Dylan

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.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again.

#1. "Back to Memphis" by Chuck Berry

I'm going to leave here in the morning and walk down to the station
I've got just enough money to pay my transportation
I'm going back to Memphis, back home with my Mama
If I have to ride that bus barefooted in pajamas
Back home in Memphis, no moaning and groaning
I know everything will be all right in the morning