African American Poetry: A Digital Anthology

Langston Hughes, "Blue Bayou" (1927)

BLUE BAYOU
Langston Hughes

I went walkin’
By de blue bayou
An’ I saw de sun go down.

I thought about old Greeley
An’ I thought about Lou, ~
An’ I saw de sun go down.

   White man
   Makes me work all day,
   An’ I works damn hard
   For damn little pay,
   Then a white man takes
   Ma woman away—
   I'll kill old Greeley.
   An’ de blue bayou turns red as fire.
   Put the n***** on a rope
   An’ pull him higher!

An’ I saw de sun go down.
   Put the n***** on a rope
   An’ pull him higher!
De blue bayou’s a pool o’ fire,
An’ I saw de sun go down,
   Down,
       Down,
Lawd! I saw de sun go down.


Published in Black Opals, Spring 1927

This page has tags: