either Lomax or Mary Elizabeth Barnicle joked that Washington was a "bourgeois town." Though Lead Belly did not know what the word "bourgeois" meant, he was fascinated by the sound of it, and after its meaning was explained to him he decided to incorporate it into a song about the trip. The song came together quickly; one account claims that it only took a few hours for Lead Belly to write it. Lomax liked it because it was partly based on what happened in his apartment. Lyrics, themes and music "The Bourgeois Blues" is a blues-style protest song that criticizes the culture of Washington, DC. It protests against both the city's Jim Crow laws and the racism of its white population. Its structure includes several verses and a refrain that declares that the speaker is going to "spread the news all around" about the racial issues plaguing the city. The song, particularly in the refrain, conflates race and economics by referring to Caucasians as "bourgeois". The first two verses speak of the segregation that Lead Belly encountered in Washington DC: the first recounts the fact that during the trip, Lead Belly was "turned down" wherever he tried to get served due to his race, while the second recounts the argument between Lomax and his landlord over Lead Belly staying in his apartment. The third verse sarcastically cites "the home of the brave, the land of the Free", juxtaposed with the mistreatment he received at the hands of white people in Washington, DC. The fourth verse speaks of the racism of the white population of the city, leading to the song's end, which suggests that African Americans boycott buying homes in the district. The song's tone implies that the speaker feels powerless against the discrimination and racism that he encounters; despite this, by "spreading the news" of his poor treatment in a song, the speaker uses what power he has to tell both southern African Americans and northern whites that the status quo is deeply flawed and that something needs to change. "The Bourgeois Blues" follows a traditional twelve-bar blues format. It is written in time but annotated to note that the song rhythmically should swing at medium shuffle. The song was written in B. It uses twelve measures with verses one to four repeating, followed by the final two verses and a coda. Recordings and adaptions Lead Belly first recorded