"Tishomingo Blues" is a famous tune and song by Spencer Williams

Spencer Williams

Spencer Williams was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs "Basin Street Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Royal Garden Blues", "I've Found a New Baby", "Everybody Loves My Baby", "Tishomingo Blues", "Careless Love", and many...

. The tune was first published in 1917. The title refers to Tishomingo, Mississippi

Tishomingo, Mississippi

Tishomingo is a town in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, United States. The population of the city of Tishomingo was 316 at the 2000 census. Its ZIP code is 38873..- History :...

, although the cover of the original sheet music

Sheet music

Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...

 shows a scene in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

.

The original lyrics are as follows:

First verse

Oh, Mississippi,

Oh, Mississippi,

My heart cries out for

You in sadness,

I want to be where

The wintry winds don't blow,

Down where the southern

Moon swings low,

That's where I want to go.

Chorus

I'm goin' to Tishomingo,

Because I'm sad today,

I wish to linger,

Way down old Dixie way.

Oh, my weary heart cries out in pain,

Oh, how I wish that I was back again,

With a race,

In a place,

Where they make you welcome all the time.

Way down in Mississippi,

Among the cypress trees,

They get you dippy,

With their strange melodies,

To resist temptation,

I just can't refuse,

In Tishomingo

I wish to linger,

Where they play the weary blues.

Second verse

Tonight I'm prayin',

Tonight I'm sayin',

Oh Lord please take the

Train that takes me,

To Tishomingo,

'Way down old Dixie way,:

Where southern folks are

Always gay,

That's why you hear me say.

I'm goin'to Tishomingo.

( Repeat Chorus )
The tune became a jazz standard

Jazz standard

Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...

, and has been recorded numerous times from when it was new into the 21st century.

Many listeners to public radio are familiar with the tune, although not the title, for it is used as the theme song each week for A Prairie Home Companion

A Prairie Home Companion

A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...

(distributed by American Public Media

American Public Media

American Public Media is the second largest producer of public radio programs in the United States of America after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and operates radio stations in Minnesota, California, and Florida. Its station brands are Minnesota Public Radio,...

), with different lyrics.

Recordings

• Big Chief Jazzband recorded the tune in Oslo
  Oslo
  Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
  
   on May 10, 1953. It was released on the 78 rpm record His Master's Voice A.L. 3307.