Level: 3
Tuning: Standard

"The Bourgeois Blues" is a blues song by American folk and blues musician Lead Belly. It was written in June 1937 in response to the discrimination and segregation that Lead Belly faced during a visit to Washington, DC to record for Alan Lomax. It rails against racism, the Jim Crow laws, and the conditions of contemporary African Americans in the southern United States.

The song was recorded in December 1938 for the Library of Congress and re-recorded in 1939 for commercial release. It has been covered by a number of artists including Pete Seeger, Ry Cooder and Billy Bragg.

Taught by Harry Lewman.