"Deep Elem Blues", also known as "Black Bottom Blues" is an Afro-American blues. "Black Bottom" is a sort of a generic place name; many cities, including Nashville, had a Black ghetto which was called by that name. "Deep Elem" is more specific, it refers to Elm Street in Dallas, which for a long time was the heart of that city's red light district. The "Deep Elem" title probably explains the song better. There are other songs which refer to both places; Joe Evans recorded "Down in Black Bottom" (which shares some lyrics with this piece) in 1931, while "Take a Whiff on Me" is one of several songs to refer to the Elm Street area of Dallas. The song is a curiosity in that it has been frequently recorded but rarely, if ever appears in print. Lyle Lofgren reports no printed versions of the song from field collections. It was recorded by The Georgia Crackers, as "Georgia Black Bottom" (1927), Michael Cooney, The Grateful Dead, Attlesey Brothers and The Brandy Snifters' as "Black Bottom Blues".