page_title: Hesitation Blues
section_title: W.C. Handy version
hierarchical_section_title: Hesitation Blues / W.C. Handy version
caption_attribution_description: English: W.C. Handy is pictured with his Memphis Orchestra ca. 1918, in center rear, wearing a moustache, holding his trumpet. - Band Members L-R Sylvester Bevard?, Jasper Taylor?, unk, W.C. Handy, Darne; PUBLIC DOMAIN; - The inscription by Handy reads: To my esteemed friend Mr. Robt. R. Church, with my best wishes. W.C. Handy _?_ 3, 1918 See talk page for further discussion.
context_page_description: "Hesitation Blues" is a popular song adapted from a traditional tune. One version was published by Billy Smythe, Scott Middleton, and Art Gillham. Another was published by W.C. Handy as "Hesitating Blues". Because the tune is traditional, many artists have taken credit as writer, frequently adapting the lyrics of one of the two published versions. Adaptations of the lyrics vary widely, though typically the refrain is recognizably consistent. The song is a jug band standard and is also played as blues and sometimes as Western swing. It is cataloged as Roud Folk Song Index No. 11765.
context_section_description: The same traditional tune was also arranged by W.C. Handy and published in 1915 as "Hesitating Blues". Handy's version shares the melody, but the lyrics are different. His chorus is a variation on the "how long" lyrics in the Smythe, Middleton and Gillham version. The verse, however, is substantially different, telling a story of separated lovers unable to reach each other by phone. There are many recorded versions of the Handy song, including ones by Prince's Band, James Reese Europe's 369th U.S. Infantry "Hell Fighters" Marching Band, Esther Bigeou, Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, and Louis Armstrong.  W. C. Handy, in his Blues Anthology stated the tune was from an old spiritual.
caption: W. C. Handy with his 1918 Memphis orchestra
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