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• 1 2023-05-07T09:35:02-04:00 Langston Hughes, "Fine Clothes to the Jew" (1927) (Full Text) 4 plain 2024-02-01T15:15:31-05:00

  This digital edition of Hughes' poetry derives from a version on HathiTrust. It was cleaned up from OCR page image scans and formatted by Kate Hennessey.  The original page images can be viewed here.
  
  
  
  Langston Hughes, "Fine Clothes to the Jew" (1927) (Full Text)
  
  FINE CLOTHES TO THE JEW
  BY
  LANGSTON HUGHES
  1927
  ALFRED A KNOPF
  NEW YORK
  
  CONTENTS
  A Note on Blues
  
  BLUES
  Hey!
  Hard Luck
  Misery
  Suicide
  Bad Man
  Gypsy Man
  Po’ Boy Blues
  Homesick Blues
  
  RAILROAD AVENUE
  Railroad Avenue
  Brass Spitoons
  Ruby Brown
  The New Cabaret Girl
  Closing Time
  Prize Fighter
  Crap Game
  Ballad of Gin Mary
  Death of Do Dirty
  Elevator Boy
  Porter
  Sport
  Saturday Night
  
  GLORY! HALLELUIAH!
  Judgment Day
  Prayer Meeting
  Feet o' Jesus
  Prayer
  Shout
  Fire
  Moan
  Angels Wings
  Sinner
  
  BEALE STREET LOVE
  Beale Street Love
  Cora
  Workin' Man
  Bad Luck Card
  Baby
  Evil Woman
  A Ruined Gal
  Minnie Sings Her Blues
  Dressed Up
  Black Gal
  
  FROM THE GEORGIA ROADS
  Sun Song
  Magnolia Flowers
  Mulatto
  Red Silk Stockings
  Jazz Band in a Parisian Cabaret
  Song For a Dark Girl
  Mammy
  Laughers
  
  AND BLUES
  Lament Over Love
  Gal's Cry For a Dying Lover
  Young Gal's Blues
  Midwinter Blues
  Listen Here Blues
  Hard Daddy
  Bound No'th Blues
  Ma Man
  Hey! Hey!
  
  A NOTE ON BLUES
  The first eight and the last nine poems in this book are
  written after the manner of the Negro folk-songs known
  as Blues. The Blues, unlike the Spirituals, have a strict
  poetic pattern: one long line repeated and a third line to
  rhyme with the first two. Sometimes the second line in
  repetition is slightly changed and sometimes, but very
  seldom, it is omitted. The mood of the Blues is almost
  always despondency, but when they are sung people laugh.
  
  BLUES 
  
  HEY!
  
  Sun's a settin',
  This is what I'm gonna sing.
  Sun's a settin';
  This is what I'm gonna sing:
  I feels de blues a comin',
  Wonder what de blues'll bring?
  
  
  HARD LUCK
  
  When hard luck overtakes you
  Nothin' for you to do.
  When hard luck overtakes you
  Nothin' for you to do.
  Gather up yo' fine clothes
  An' sell 'em to de Jew.
  
  Jew takes yo' fine clothes,
  Gives you a dollar an' a half.
  Jew takes yo' fine clothes,
  Gives you a dollar an' a half.
  Go to de bootleg's,
  Git some gin to make you laugh.
  
  If I was a mule I'd
  Git me a waggon to haul.
  If I was a mule I'd
  Git a waggon to haul.
  I'm so low-down I
  Ain't even got a stall.
  
  
  MISERY
  
  Play de blues for me.
  Play de blues for me.
  No other music
  'Ll ease ma misery.
  
  Sing a soothin' song.
  Said a soothin' song,
  Cause de man I love's done
  Done me wrong.
  
  Can't you understand,
  O, understand
  A good woman's cryin'
  For a no-good man?
  
  Black gal like me,
  Black gal like me
  'S got to hear a blues
  For her misery.
  
  
  SUICIDE
  
  Ma sweet good man has
  Packed his trunk and left.
  Ma sweet good man has
  Packed his trunk and left.
  Nobody to love me:
  I'm gonna kill ma self.
  
  I'm gonna buy me a knife with
  A blade ten inches long.
  Gonna buy a knife with
  A blade ten inches long.
  Shall I carve ma self or
  That man that done me wrong?
  
  'Lieve I'll jump in de river
  Eighty-nine feet deep.
  'Lieve I'll jump in de river
  Eighty-nine feet deep.
  Cause de river's quiet
  An' a po', po' gal can sleep.
  
  
  BAD MAN
  
  I'm a bad, bad man
  Cause everbody tells me so.
  I'm a bad, bad man.
  Everbody tells me so.
  I takes ma meanness and ma licker
  Everwhere I go.
  
  I beats ma wife an'
  I beats ma side gal too.
  Beats ma wife an'
  Beats ma side gal too.
  Don't know why I do it but
  It keeps me from feelin' blue.
  
  I'm so bad I
  Don't even want to be good.
  So bad, bad, bad I
  Don't even want to be good.
  I'm goin' to de devil an'
  I wouldn't go to heaben if I could.
  
  
  GYPSY MAN
  
  Ma man's a gypsy
  Cause he never does come home.
  Ma man's a gypsy, – 
  He never does come home.
  I'm gonna be a gypsy woman
  Fer I can't stay here alone.
  
  Once I was in Memphis,
  I mean Tennessee.
  Once I was in Memphis,
  Said Tennessee.
  But I had to leave cause
  Nobody there was good to me.
  
  I met a yellow papa,
  He took ma last thin dime.
  Met a yellow papa,
  He took ma last thin dime.
  I give it to him cause I loved him
  But I'll have mo' sense next time.
  
  Love, Oh, love is
  Such a strange disease.
  Love, Oh, love is
  Such a strange disease.
  When it hurts yo' heart you
  Sho can't find no ease.
  
  
  PO' BOY BLUES
  
  When I was home de
  Sunshine seemed like gold.
  When I was home de
  Sunshine seemed like gold.
  Since I come up North de
  Whole damn world's turned cold.
  
  I was a good boy,
  Never done no wrong.
  Yes, I was a good boy,
  Never done no wrong,
  But this world is weary
  An' de road is hard an' long.
  
  I fell in love with
  A gal I thought was kind.
  Fell in love with
  A gal I thought was kind.
  She made me lose ma money
  An' almost lose ma mind.
  
  Weary, weary,
  Weary early in de morn.
  Weary, weary,
  Early, early in de morn.
  I's so weary
  I wish I'd never been born.
  
  
  HOMESICK BLUES
  
  De railroad bridge's
  A sad song in de air.
  De railroad bridge's
  A sad song in de air.
  Ever time de trains pass
  I wants to go somewhere.
  
  I went down to de station.
  Ma heart was in ma mouth.
  Went down to de station,
  Heart was in ma mouth.
  Lookin' for a box car
  To roll me to de South.
  
  Homesick blues, Lawd,
  'S a terrible thing to have.
  Homesick blues is
  A terrible thing to have.
  To keep from cryin'
  I opens ma mouth an' laughs.
  
  
  RAILROAD AVENUE
  
  RAILROAD AVENUE
  
  Dusk dark
  On Railroad Avenue.
  Lights in the fish joints,
  Lights in the pool rooms.
  A box-car some train
  Has forgotten
  In the middle of the
  Block.
  A player piano,
  A victrola.
     942
     Was the number.
  A boy
  Lounging on a corner.
  A passing girl
  With purple powdered skin.
     Laughter
     Suddenly
     Like a taut drum.
     Laughter
     Suddenly
     Neither truth nor lie.
     Laughter
  Hardening the dusk dark evening.
     Laughter
  Shaking the lights in the fish joints,
  Rolling white balls in the pool rooms,
  And leaving untouched the box-car
  Some train has forgotten.
  
  
  BRASS SPITOONS
  
  Clean the spitoons, boy.
     Detroit,
     Chicago,
     Atlantic City,
     Palm Beach.
  Clean the spitoons.
  The steam in hotel kitchens,
  And the smoke in hotel lobbies,
  And the slime in hotel spitoons:
  Part of my life.
     Hey, boy!
     A nickel,
     A dime,
     A dollar
  Two dollars a day.
     Hey, boy!
     A nickel,
     A dime,
     A dollar,
     Two dollars
  Buys shoes for the baby.
  House rent to pay.
  Gin on Saturday,
  Church on Sunday.
     My God!
  Babies and gin and church
  and women and Sunday
  all mixed up with dimes and
  dollars and clean spitoons
  and house rent to pay.
     Hey, boy!
  A bright bowl of brass is beautiful to the Lord.
  Bright polished brass like the cymbals
  Of King David's dancers,
  Like the wine cups of Solomon.
     Hey, boy!
  A clean spitoon on the altar of the Lord.
  A clean bright spitoon all newly polished, –
  At least I can offer that.
  Com’ mere, boy!
  
  
  RUBY BROWN
  
  She was young and beautiful
  And golden like the sunshine
  That warmed her body.
  And because she was colored
  Mayville had no place to offer her,
  Nor fuel for the clean flame of joy
  That tried to burn within her soul.
  
  One day,
  Sitting on old Mrs. Latham's back porch
  Polishing the silver,
  She asked herself two questions
  And they ran something like this:
  What can a colored girl do
  On the money from a white woman's kitchen?
  And ain't there any joy in this town?
  
  Now the streets down by the river
  Know more about this pretty Ruby Brown,
  And the sinister shuttered houses of the bottoms
  Hold a yellow girl
  Seeking an answer to her questions.
  The good church folk do not mention
  Her name any more.
  
  But the white men,
  Habitués of the high shuttered houses,
  Pay more money to her now
  Than they ever did before,
  When she worked in their kitchens.
  
  
  THE NEW CABARET GIRL
  
  That little yaller gal
  Wid blue-green eyes:
  If her daddy ain't white
  Would be a surprise.
  
  She don't drink gin
  An' she don't like corn.
  I asked her one night
  Where she was born.
  
  An' she say, Honey,
  I don't know
  Where I come from
  Or where I go.
  
  That crazy little yaller gal
  Wid blue-green eyes:
  If her daddy ain't 'fay
  Would be a surprise.
  
  An' there she sets a cryin'
  In de cabaret
  A lookin' all sad
  When she ought to play.
  
  My God, I says,
  You can't live that way!
  Babe, you can't
  Live that way!
  
  
  CLOSING TIME
  
  Starter!
  
     Her face is pale
     In the doorway light.
     Her lips blood red
     And her skin blue white.
  
  Taxi!
  
     I'm tired.
  
  Deep ... River… 
     O, God, please!
  
  The river and the moon hold memories.
  
     Cornets play.
     Dancers whirl.
     Death, be kind
  
     What was the cover charge, kid?
  
  To a little drowned girl.
  
  
  PRIZE FIGHTER
  
  Only dumb guys fight.
     If I wasn't dumb
     I wouldn't be fightin'.
     I could make six dollars a day
     On the docks
     And I'd save more than I do now.
  Only dumb guys fight.
  
  CRAP GAME
  Lemme roll 'em, boy.
  I got ma tail curled!
  If a seven don't come
  'Leven ain't far away.
  An' if I craps,
  Dark baby,
  Trouble
  Don't last all de time.
  Hit 'em, bones!
  
  
  BALLAD OF GIN MARY
  
  Carried me to de court,
  Judge was settin' there.
  Looked all around me,
  Didn't have a friend nowhere.
  
  Judge Pierce he says, Mary.
  Old Judge says, Mary Jane,
  Ever time I mounts this bench
  I sees yo' face again.
  
  O, Lawd!     O, Lawd!
  O, Lawd ... Lawdee!
  Seems like bad licker,
  Judge, won't let me be.
  
  Old Judge says you's a drunkard.
  Fact is you worries me.
  Gwine give you eighteen months
  So licker'll let you be.
  
  Eighteen months in jail !
  O, eighteen months locked in!
  Won't be so bad in jail.
  But I'll' miss ma gin.
  
  O, please sir, Judge, have mercy!
  Have mercy, please, on me!
  Old hard-faced Judge says eighteen months
  Till licker'll let you be.
  
  
  DEATH OF DO DIRTY: A ROUNDER'S SONG
  
  O, you can't find a buddy
  Any old time
  'Ll help you out
  When you ain't got a dime.
  
  He was a friend o'mine.
  
  They called him Do Dirty,
  Cause he was black
  An' had cut his gal
  An' shot a man in de back.
  
  Ma friend o' mine.
  
  But when I was hungry,
  Had nothin' to eat,
  He bought me corn bread
  An' a stew o' meat.
  
  Good friend o' mine.
  
  An' when de cops got me
  An' put me in jail
  If Dirty had de money,
  He'd go ma bail.
  
  O, friend o'mine.
  
  That night he got kilt
  I was standin' in de street.
  Somebody comes by
  An' says yo' boy is gettin' beat.
  
  Ma friend o mine.
  
  But when I got there
  An' seen de ambulance
  A guy was sayin'
  He ain't got a chance.
  
  Best friend o mine.
  
  An' de ones that kilt him, –
  Damn their souls, – 
  I'm gonna fill 'em up full o'
  Bullet holes.
  
  Ma friend o mine.
  
  
  ELEVATOR BOY
  
  I got a job now
  Runnin' an elevator
  In the Dennison Hotel in Jersey.
  Job ain't no good though.
  No money around.
     Jobs are just chances
     Like everthing else.
     Maybe a little luck now,
     Maybe not.
     Maybe a good job sometimes:
     Step out o' the barrel, boy.
  Two new suits an'
  A woman to sleep with.
     Maybe no luck for a long time.
     Only the elevators
     Goin' up an' down,
     Up an' down,
     Or somebody elses' shoes
     To shine,
     Or greasy pots in a dirty kitchen.
  I been runnin' this
  Elevator too long
  Guess I'll quit now.
  
  
  PORTER
  
  I must say
  Yes, sir,
  To you all the time, .
  Yes, sir!
  Yes, sir!
  All my days
  Climbing up a great big mountain
  Of yes, sirs!
  
  Rich old white man
  Owns the world.
  Gimme yo' shoes
  To shine.
  
  Yes, sir!
  
  
  SPORT
  
  Life
  For him
  Must be
  The shivering of
  A great drum
  Beaten with swift sticks
  Then at the closing hour
  The lights go out
  And there is no music at all
  And death becomes
  An empty cabaret
  And eternity an unblown saxophone
  And yesterday
  A glass of gin
  Drunk long
  Ago.
  
  
  SATURDAY NIGHT
  
  Play it once.
  O, play some more.
  Charlie is a gambler
  An' Sadie is a whore.
     A glass o' whiskey
     An' a glass o’ gin:
     Strut, Mr. Charlie,
     Till de dawn comes in.
  Pawn yo' gold watch
  An' diamond ring.
  Git a quart o' licker,
  Let's shake dat thing!
     Skee-de-dad!    De-dad!
     Doo-doo-doo!
     Won't be nothin' left
     When de worms git through
     An' you's a long time
     Dead
     When you is
     Dead, too.
  So beat dat drum, boy!
  Shout dat song:
  Shake 'em up an' shake 'em up
  All night long
     Hey!    Hey!
     Ho …  Hum!
     Do, it, Mr. Charlie,
     Till de red dawn come.
  
  
  GLORY! HALLELUIAH!
  
  JUDGMENT DAY
  
  They put ma body in de ground,
  Ma soul went flyin' o' de town.
  
  Lord Jesus!
  
  Went flyin' to de stars an' moon
  A shoutin' God, I's comin' soon.
  
  O Jesus!
  
  Lord in heaben,
  Crown on His head,
  Says don't be 'fraid
  Cause you ain't dead.
  
  Kind Jesus!
  
  An' now I'm settin' clean an' bright
  In de sweet o' ma Lord's sight, – 
     Clean an' bright,
        Clean an' bright.
  
  
  PRAYER MEETING
  
  Glory!    Halleluiah!
  De dawn's a-comin'!
  Glory!    Halleluiah!
  De dawn's a-comin'!
  A black old woman croons
  In the amen-corner of the
  Ebecanezer Baptist Church.
  A black old woman croons, – 
  De dawn's a-comin'!
  
  
  FEET O' JESUS
  
  At de feet o' Jesus,
  Sorrow like a sea.
  Lordy, let yo' mercy
  Come driftin' down on me.
  
  At de feet o' Jesus,
  At yo' feet I stand.
  O, ma little Jesus,
  Please reach out yo' hand.
  
  
  PRAYER
  
  I ask you this:
  Which way to go?
  I ask you this:
  Which sin to bear?
  Which crown to put
  Upon my hair?
  I do not know,
  Lord God,
  I do not know,
  
  
  SHOUT
  
  Listen to yo' prophets,
     Little Jesus!
  Listen to yo' saints!
  
  
  FIRE
  
  Fire,
  Fire, Lord!
  Fire gonna burn ma soul!
  
  I ain't been good,
  I ain't been clean, – 
  I been stinkin', low-down, mean.
  
  Fire,
  Fire, Lord!
  Fire gonna burn ma soul!
  
  Tell me, brother,
  Do you believe
  If you wanta go to heaben
  Got to moan an' ġrieve?
  
  Fire,
  Fire, Lord!
  Fire gonna burn ma soul!
  
  I been stealin',
  Been tellin' lies,
  Had more women
  Than Pharaoh had wives.
  
  Fire,
  Fire, Lord!
  Fire gonna burn ma soul!
  I means Fire, Lord!
  Fire gonna burn ma soul!
  
  
  MOAN
  
  I'm deep in trouble,
  Nobody to understand,
     Lord, Lord!
  
  Deep in trouble,
  Nobody to understand,
     O, Lord!
  
  Gonna pray to ma Jesus,
  Ask him to gimme His hand.
     Ma Lord!
  
  I'm moanin', moanin',
  Nobody cares just why.
     No, Lord!
  
  Moanin', moanin',
  Feels like I could die.
     O, Lord!
  
  Sho, there must be peace,
     Ma Jesus,
  Somewhere in yo' sky.
     Yes, Lord!
  
  
  ANGELS WINGS
  
  De angels wings is white as snow,
     O, white as snow,
        White
             as
                  snow.
  De angels wings is white as snow,
     But I drug ma wings
     In de dirty mire.
     O, I drug ma wings
     All through de fire.
  But de angels wings is white as snow,
     White
          as
              snow.
  
  
  SINNER
  
  Have mercy, Lord!
  
  Po' an' black
  An' humble an' lonesome
  An' a sinner in yo' sight.
  
  Have mercy, Lord!
  
  
  BEALE STREET LOVE
  
  BEALE STREET LOVE
  
  Love
  Is a brown man's fist
  With hard knuckles
  Crushing the lips,
  Blackening the eyes, – 
  Hit me again,
  Says Clorinda.
  
  
  CORA
  
  I broke ma heart this mornin'.
  Ain't got no heart no mo'.
  Next time a man comes near me
  Gonna shut an' lock ma door
  Cause they treats em mean, – 
  The ones I loves.
  They always treats me mean. 
  
  
  WORKIN' MAN
  
  I works all day
  Wid a pick an' a shovel.
  Comes home at night, – 
  It ain't nothin' but a hovel.
  
  I calls for ma woman
  When I opens de door.
  She's out in de street, –
  Ain't nothin' but a 'hore.
  
  I does her good
  An' I treats her fine,
  But she don't gimme lovin'
  Cause she ain't de right kind.
  
  I'm a hard workin' man
  An' I sho pays double
  Cause I tries to be good
  An' gits nothin' but trouble.
  
  
  BAD LUCK CARD
  
  Cause you don't love me
  Is awful, awful hard.
  Gypsy done showed me
  Ma bad luck card.
  
  There ain't no good left
  In this world for me.
  Gypsy done tole me, —
  Unlucky as can be.
  
  I don't know what
  Po’ weary me can do.
  Gypsy says I'd kill ma self
  If I was you.
  
  
  BABY
  
  Albert!
  Hey, Albert!
  Don't you play in dat road.
     You see dem trucks
     A goin' by.
     One run ovah you
     An' you die.
  Albert, don't you play in dat road.
  
  
  EVIL WOMAN
  
  I ain't gonna mistreat ma
  Good gal any more.
  I'm just gonna kill her
  Next time she makes me sore.
  
  I treats her kind but
  She don't do me right.
  She fights an' quarrels most
  Ever night.
  
  I can't have no woman's
  Got such low-down ways,
  Cause a blue-gummed woman
  Ain't de style now days.
  
  I brought her from de South
  An' she's goin' on back
  Else I'll use her head
  For a carpet tack.
  
  
  A RUINED GAL
  
  Standin' by de lonesome riverside
  After de boat's done gone,
     Po' weary me
     Won't be nobody's bride
     Cause I is long gone wrong.
  
  Standin' by de weary riverside
  When de boat comes in,
     Po' lonesome me
     Won't meet nobody
     Cause I ain't got no friend.
  
  By de edge o' de weary riverside
  Night-time's comin' down.
     Ain't nothin' for a ruined gal
     But jump overboard an' drown.
  
  O, de lonesome riverside,
  O, de wicked water.
     Damn ma black old mammy's soul
     For ever havin' a daughter.
  
  
  MINNIE SINGS HER BLUES
  
  Cabaret, cabaret!
  That's where ma man an' me go.
  Cabaret, cabaret!
  That's where we go, –
  Leaves de snow outside
  An' our troubles at de door.
  
  Jazz band, jazz band!
  Ma man an' me dance.
  When I cuddles up to him
  No other gal's got a chance.
  
  Baby, O, Baby,
  I'm midnight mad.
  If ma daddy didn't love me
  It sho would be sad.
  If he didn't love me
  I'd go away
  An' dig me a grave this very day.
  
  Blues  …     blues !
  Blue, blue, blues !
  I'd sho have them blues.
  
  
  DRESSED UP
  
  I had ma clothes cleaned
  Just like new.
  I put 'em on but
  I still feels blue.
  
  I bought a new hat,
  Sho is fine,
  But I wish I had back that
  Old gal o’ mine.
  
  I got new shoes, – 
  They don't hurt ma feet,
  But I ain't got nobody
  For to call me sweet.
  
  
  BLACK GAL
  
  I's always been a workin' girl.
  I treated Albert fine.
  Ain't cut him wid no razor,
  Ain't never been unkind.
  
  Yet it seems like always
  Men takes all they can from me
  Then they goes an' finds a yaller gal
  An' lets me be.
  
  I dressed up Albert Johnson.
  I bought him suits o'clothes,
  An' soon as he got out de barrel
  Then out ma door he goes.
  
  Yet I ain't never been no bad one.
  Can't help it cause I'm black.
  I hates them rinney yaller gals
  An' I wants ma Albert back.
  Ma little, short, sweet, brownskin boy, – 
  Oh, God, I wants him back!
  
  
  FROM THE GEORGIA ROADS
  
  SUN SONG
  
  Sun and softness,
  Sun and the beaten hardness of the earth,
  Sun and the song of all the sun-stars
  Gathered together, —
  Dark ones of Africa,
  bring you my songs
  To sing on the Georgia roads.
  
  
  MAGNOLIA FLOWERS
  
  The quiet fading out of life
  In a corner full of ugliness.
  
  I went lookin' for magnolia flowers
  But I didn't find 'em.
  I went lookin' for magnolia flowers in the dusk
  And there was only this corner
  Full of ugliness.
  
  'Scuse me,
  I didn't mean to stump ma toe on you, lady.
  There ought to be magnolias
  Somewhere in this dusk.
  
  'Scuse me,
  I didn't mean to stump ma toe on you.
  
  
  MULATTO
  
  I am your son, 'white man!
  
  Georgia dusk
  And the turpentine woods.
  One of the pillars of the temple fell.
  
  You are my son!
  like hell!
  
  The moon over the turpentine woods.
  The Southern night
  Full of stars,
  Great big yellow stars.
  Juicy bodies
  Of nigger wenches
  Blue black
  Against black fences.
  O, you little bastard boy,
  What's a body but a toy?
  The scent of pine wood stings the soft night air.
       What's the body of your mother?
  Silver moonlight everywhere.
       What's the body of your mother?
  Sharp pine scent in the evening air.
  A nigger night,
  A nigger joy,
  A little yellow
  Bastard boy.
  
  Naw, you ain't my brother .
  Niggers ain't my brother.
  Not ever.
  Niggers ain't my brother.
  
  The Southern night is full of stars,
  Great big yellow stars.
       O, sweet as earth,
       Dusk dark bodies
       Give sweet birth
  To little yellow bastard boys.
  
  Git on back there in the night,
  You ain't white.
  
  The bright stars scatter everywhere.
  Pine wood scent in the evening air.
       A nigger night,
       A nigger joy.
  
  I am your son, white man!
  
  A little yellow
  Bastard boy.
  
  
  RED SILK STOCKINGS
  
  Put on yo' red silk stockings,
  Black gal.
  Go out an' let de white boys
  Look at yo' legs.
  
  Ain't nothin' to do for you, nohow,
  Round this town, —
  You's too pretty.
  Put on yo' red silk stockings, gal,
  An' tomorrow's chile'll
  Be a high yaller.
  
  Go out an' let de white boys
  Look at yo' legs.
  
  
  JAZZ BAND IN A PARISIAN CABARET
  
  Play that thing,
  Jazz band!
  Play it for the lords and ladies,
  For the dukes and counts,
  For the whores and gigolos,
  For the American millionaires,
  And the school teachers
  Out for a spree.
  Play it,
  Jazz band!
  You know that tune
  That laughs and cries at the same time.
  You know it
      May I?
      Mais oui.
      Mien Gott!
      Parece una rumba.
  Play it, jazz band!
  You've got seven languages to speak in
  And then some,
  Even if you do come from Georgia.
      Can I go home wid yuh, sweetie?
      Sure.
  
  
  SONG FOR A DÁRK GIRL
  
  Way Down South in Dixie
      (Break the heart of me)
  They hung my black young lover
  To a cross roads tree.
  
  Way Down South in Dixie
      (Bruised body high in air)
  I asked the white Lord Jesus
      What was the use of prayer.
  
  Way Down South in Dixie
      (Break the heart of me)
  Love is a naked shadow
      On a gnarled and naked tree.
  
  
  MAMMY
  
  I'ın waiting for ma mammy, —
      She is Death.
  
  Say it very softly.
  Say it very slowly if you choose.
  
  I'm waiting for ma mammy, —
  Death.
  
  LAUGHERS
  Dream singers,
  Story tellers,
  Dancers,
  Loud laughers in the hands of Fate —
      My people.
  Dish-washers,
  Elevator-boys,
  Ladies' maids,
  Crap-shooters,
  Cooks,
  Waiters,
  Jazzers,
  Nurses of babies,
  Loaders of ships,
  Rounders,
  Number writers,
  Comedians in vaudeville
  And band-men in circuses —
  Dream-singers all, —
  My people.
  Story-tellers all, —
      My people.
      Dancers —
  God! What dancers!
      Singers —
  God!   What singers!
  Singers and dancers,
  Dancers and laughers.
  
     Laughers?
  Yes, laughers . . . laughers . . . laughers —
  Loud-mouthed laughers in the hands
     Of Fate.
  
  
  AND BLUES
  
  LAMENT OVER LOVE
  
  I hope ma chile'll
  Never love a man.
  I say I hope ma chile'll
  Never love a man.
  Cause love can hurt you
  Mo'n anything else can.
  
  I'm goin' down to de river
  An' I ain't goin' there to swim.
  Goin' down to de river,
  Ain't goin' there to swim.
  Ma true love's left me, an’
  I'm goin' there to think about him.
  
  Love is like whiskey,
  Love is like red, red wine.
  Love is like whiskey,
  O, like sweet red wine.
  If you wants to be happy
  You got to love all de time.
  
  I'm goin' up in a tower
  Tall as a tree is tall.
  Say up in a tower
  Tall as a tree is tall.
  Gonna think about ma man an'
  Let ma fool-self fall.
  
  
  GAL'S CRY FOR A DYING LOVER
  
  Heard de owl a hootin',
  Knowed somebody's 'bout to die.
  Heard de owl a hootin',
  Knowed somebody's 'bout to die.
  Put ma head un'neath de kiver,
  Started in to moan an' cry.
  
  Hound dawg's barkin'
  Means he's gonna leave this world.
  Hound dawg's barkin'
  Means he's gonna leave this world.
  O, Lawd have mercy
  On a po' black girl.
  
  Black an' ugly
  But he sho do treat me kind.
  I'm black an' ugly
  But he sho do treat me kind.
  High-in-heaben Jesus,
  Please don't take this man o' mine.
  
  
  YOUNG GAL'S BLUES
  
  I'm gonna walk to de graveyard
  'Hind ma friend Miss Cora Lee.
  Gonna walk to de graveyard
  'Hind ma dear friend Cora Lee
  Cause when I'm dead some
  Body'll have to walk behind me.
  
  I'm goin' to de po' house
  To see ma old Aunt Clew.
  Goin' to de po' house
  To see ma old Aunt Clew.
  When I'm old an' ugly
  I'll want to see somebody, too.
  
  De po' house is lonely
  An' de grave is cold.
  O, de po' house is lonely,
  De graveyard grave is cold.
  But I'd rather be dead than
  To be ugly an' old.
  
  When love is gone what
  Can a young gal do?
  When love is gone, O,
  What can a young gal do?
  Keep on a-lovin' me, daddy,
  Cause I don't want to be blue.
  
  
  MIDWINTER BLUES
  
  In de middle of de winter,
  Snow all over de ground.
  In de middle of de winter,
  Snow all over de ground, —
  'Twas de night befo' Christmas
  Ma good man turned me down.
  
  Don' know's I'd mind his goin'
  But he left me when de coal was low.
  Don’ know's I'd mind his goin'
  But he left when de coal was low.
  Now, if a man loves a woman
  That ain't no time to go.
  
  He told me that he loved me
  But he must a been tellin' a lie.
  He told me that he loved me.
  He must a been tellin' a lie.
  But he's the only man I'll
  Love till de day I die.
  
  I'm gonna buy me a rose bud
  An' plant it at ma back door.
  Gonna buy me a rose bud
  And plant it at ma back door,
  So when I'm dead they
  Won't need no flowers from de store.
  
  
  LISTEN HERE BLUES
  
  Sweet girls, sweet girls,
  Listen here to me.
  All you sweet girls,
  Listen here to me:
  Gin an' whiskey
  Kin make you lose yo' 'ginity.
  
  I used to be a good chile,
  Lawd, in Sunday School.
  Used to be a good chile, —
  Always in Sunday School,
  Till these licker-headed rounders
  Made me everbody's fool.
  
  Good girls, good girls,
  Listen here to me.
  Oh, you good girls,
  Better listen to me:
  Don't you fool wid no men cause
  They'll bring you misery.
  
  
  HARD DADDY
  
  I went to ma daddy,
  Says Daddy I have got de blues.
  Went to ma daddy,
  Says Daddy I have got de blues.
  Ma daddy says Honey
  Can't you bring no better news?
  
  I cried on his shoulder but
  He turned his back on me.
  Cried on his shoulder but
  He turned his back on me.
  He said a woman's cryin's
  Never gonna bother me.
  
  I wish I had wings to
  Fly like de eagle flies.
  Wish I had wings to
  Fly like de eagle flies.
  I'd fly on ma man an'
  I'd scratch out both his eyes.
  
  
  BOUND NO'TH BLUES
  
  Goin' down de road, Lawd,
  Goin' down de road.
  Down de road, Lawd,
  Way, way down de road.
  Got to find somebody
  To help me carry dis load.
  
  Road's in front o' me,
  Nothin' to do but walk.
  Road's in front o me,
  Walk ... and walk ... and walk.
  I'd like to meet a good friend
  To come along an' talk.
  
  Hates to be lonely,
  Lawd, I hates to be sad.
  Says I hates to be lonely,
  Hates to be lonely an' sad,
  But ever friend you finds seems
  Like they try to do you bad.
  
  Road, road, road, O!
  Road, road ... road .. . . road, road!
  Road, road, road, O!
  On de No'thern road.
  These Mississippi towns ain't
  Fit fer a hoppin' toad.
  
  
  MA MAN
  
  When ma man looks at me
  He knocks me off ma feet.
  When ma man looks at me
  He knocks me off ma feet.
  He's got those 'lectric-shockin' eyes an'
  De way he shocks me sho is sweet.
  
  He kin play a banjo.
  Lordy, he kin plunk, plunk, plunk.
  He kin play a banjo.
  I mean plunk, plunk ... plunk, plunk.
  He plays good when he's sober
  An' better, better, better when he's drunk.
  
  Eagle-rockin',
  Daddy, eagle-rock with me.
  Eagle rockin',
  Come an eagle-rock with me.
  Honey baby,
  Eagle-rockish as I kin be!
  
  
  HEY! HEY!
  
  Sun's a risin',
  This is gonna be ma song.
  Sun's a risin',
  This is gonna be ma song.
  I could be blue but
  I been blue all night long.