The Jews' Blues

Several years ago, I ran across a humor writer who complained that there are certain classes of people who just aren't allowed to sing the blues, and high among them are the Jews. Which is just plain silly; if ever any group of people have the right to sing the blues, it's Jews. So I wrote my own blues song for Jews to sing. Enjoy!

Lived in bondage down in Egypt, and ol' Pharaoh, he was mean.

Yeah, God, slavery in Egypt, all the sufferin' I seen.

Forty years out in the desert, longin' for a leaf that's green.

 

Well, we came back home to Canaan, but they didn't share our dreams.

Yeah, we fought a dozen countries, and we fought the Philistines.

Assyria's on our doorstep, better send for the Marines.

 

Babylonians came to get us, what you sow is what you reap.

Well, they smashed our holy Temple, God, they really made us weep.

Exiled there in Babylonia, homesick even in my sleep.

 

Well, we got sent home and settled, but it was a partial birth,

'Cause ol' Alexander, baby, that boy conquered the whole Earth.

Next Egypt took us over, next Arabs took away our mirth.

 

Then the Romans took us over, but this time that weren't so odd.

Yeah, the Romans, they oppressed us, 'cause we only worship God.

Crucified us by the thousands, 'cause we only worship God.

 

Well, the Romans killed our Jesus, God, they hung him on a tree.

I said they crucified our Jesus, he was Jewish just like me.

The Romans crucified our Jesus, and they blamed it all on me.

 

Got the ghettoes, Inquisition, and a Holocaust or two.

Yeah, the Europeans hate me, and the Muslims hate me too.

God, you never, ever told me, I was Chosen to be blue.

God, you never, never told me, I was Chosen to be blue.