page:  = The <unk> Blues = 
   
   " The <unk> Blues " is a blues song by American folk and blues musician , Lead <unk> . It was written in June 1937 in response to the discrimination and segregation that Lead <unk> faced during a visit to Washington , DC to record for Alan <unk> . 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 remixed and covered by a number of artists including Pete Seeger , <unk> <unk> , Hans <unk> , and Billy Bragg . 
   " The <unk> Blues " is regarded as one of Lead <unk> 's best original works , but it also drew controversy . There is doubt over the song 's authorship , with some scholars <unk> that Lead <unk> was unlikely to have written a work in a genre new to him without a collaborator . <unk> have been raised over his role in the American Communist Party and whether he and the song were used to further the party 's political goals . 
   
   = = Background and creation = = 
   
   Most music historians date the writing of " The <unk> Blues " to Lead <unk> 's June 1937 trip to Washington , DC , when he was invited by the <unk> Alan <unk> to record for the Library of Congress 's folk music collection . On the first night Lead <unk> and his wife Martha spent in the city , they encountered racially <unk> Jim Crow laws similar to those found in their native Louisiana : most hotels refused to rent rooms to African Americans and the few that would were either full or refused to serve him because he was with a white man ( <unk> ) . <unk> , in some versions of the story described as an unnamed " white friend " , offered to let the couple stay for the night in his apartment near the Supreme Court Building . The next morning , Lead <unk> <unk> to <unk> arguing with his <unk> about the presence of a black man , with the <unk> threatening to call the police . 
   While in Washington , Lead <unk> encountered several other incidents of segregation that are believed to have contributed to the <unk> of the song . For instance , when Lead <unk> , <unk> , and their wives wanted to go out to dinner together , they discovered that it was impossible for the mixed race group to find a restaurant that would serve them . Lead <unk> was told that if he returned later without <unk> , he would be served . 
   In response to one of these incidents , a friend of Lead <unk> 's , variously identified as either <unk> or Mary Elizabeth <unk> joked that Washington was a " <unk> town . " Though Lead <unk> did not know what the word " <unk> " 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 <unk> to write it . <unk> liked it because it was partly based on what happened in his apartment . 
   
   = = Lyrics , themes and music = = 
   
   " The <unk> 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 <unk> the city . The song , particularly in the refrain , <unk> race and economics by referring to <unk> as " <unk> " . 
   The first two verses speak of the segregation that Lead <unk> encountered in Washington DC : the first recounts the fact that during the trip , Lead <unk> was " turned down " wherever he tried to get served due to his race , while the second recounts the argument between <unk> and his <unk> over Lead <unk> staying in his apartment . The third verse <unk> 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 <unk> is deeply flawed and that something needs to change . 
   " The <unk> Blues " follows a traditional twelve @-@ bar blues format . It is written in 44 time but <unk> to note that the song <unk> should swing at medium <unk> . The song was written in B ♭ . It uses twelve measures with verses one to four repeating , followed by the final two verses and a <unk> . 
   
   = = Recordings and <unk> = = 
   
   Lead <unk> first recorded " The <unk> Blues " in December 1938 in New York City , for donation to the Library of Congress . He re @-@ recorded the song in April 1939 for <unk> Records , for release the same year as a 78 rpm record . The version that was commercially released features Lead <unk> singing and playing the twelve @-@ string guitar without any other accompaniment . 
   The song has been covered and <unk> by a variety of artists including Pete Seeger and Hans <unk> . Seeger recorded and released both live and studio versions of the song on several of his albums . In Australia , the song was reworked as " Canberra Blues " by The <unk> <unk> , an R & B band . The lyrics speak of the problems faced by young Australians in the Australian Capital Territory in the 1960s . <unk> adapted the song to his style of European blues for the album Journey On in 1997 . 
   In 2006 , Billy Bragg reworked the song as " Bush War Blues " . Bragg 's cover is a topical protest song about the Iraq War . In one verse , Bragg claims that the Iraq War was not for democracy but instead was to " make the world safe for <unk> " . In another , he takes on the Christian right , asking where the <unk> are . Finally , Bragg <unk> the United States government for not dealing with poverty at home before going to war . 
   
   = = Legacy = = 
   
   " The <unk> Blues " is one of Lead <unk> 's most famous songs and is remembered as his most " heartfelt protest song " . There is disagreement among music scholars as to its importance . Robert <unk> claims that the song is " peripheral " to the wider study of the blues , while Lawson points to it as a watershed in the way African Americans see themselves in the fabric of the United States . There is debate over the relationship between the song and radical politics . After its release , it became popular with left @-@ wing political groups . Lead <unk> was invited to perform at Camp Unity , the Communist Party USA 's summer retreat , and the FBI subsequently opened a file on him in the 1940s . This led to the accusations that the Communists were taking advantage of him and using him as a platform . The party claims , to the contrary , that they were some of the few people who respected him and gave him a chance to perform . 
   Jeff Todd <unk> and several other writers have suggested that Lead <unk> had significant help with its authorship and claim it is not a genuine protest song . This theory stems from the idea that Lead <unk> did not have a history of protest music before he was discovered by <unk> . Since the music that <unk> recorded was sold to <unk> sympathetic to Civil Rights , it has been suggested that <unk> helped him write a song attractive to a white audience . Lead <unk> admitted that the term " <unk> " was unfamiliar to him , and it seems out of place compared to the vocabulary of his past work . 
   
   