"I got the blues" by 1907 (likely heard by Anthony Maggio in 1907)
"I got the blues and can't be satisfied" by 1908 (heard by Howard Odum)
"I got the blues but too damn mean to cry" by 1908 (heard by Howard Odum)
"I got the blues... want to lay down and die" by 1912 (used by Franklin Seals)
"Some folks say that the rolling blues ain't bad" by 1912 (heard by Will Thomas)
"The blues ain't nothing but a good man feeling bad" by 1912 (used by Lee Roy White)
"The blues ain't nothing but the doggone heart disease" by 1913 (used by Lee Roy White)
"Got the St. Louis blues" by 1914 (used by W.C. Handy)
"If you ever had the blues, you know just how I feel" by 1915 (sung by Floyd Canada)
"... blues so bad..." by 1915 (sung by Floyd Canada)
"hesitation blues" by 1915 (used by Billy Smythe)
"Did you ever wake up with the blues all 'round your bed?" by 1916 (used by Leighton brothers)
"If the blues was whiskey, I'd stay drunk all the time" by 1916 (heard by B. Pennington and A. Holloway)
"If the blues overtake me, I'll jump overboard and drown" by 1917 (heard by John Lomax)