African American Poetry: A Digital Anthology

Waring Cuney, "Play a Blues for Louise" (1929)

O jazz band,
Play a blues for Louise tonight--
Play a moanin' sobbin' song
For a good gal
Whose man done her wrong.
O play a blues for Louise tonight.

She packed her trunk
An' left dis town---
Said she was Chicago boun'.
Play a heart-broken song
For a po' heart-broken gal.
Play a blues for her.

De ole wheels turn
An' regret runs through her mind
About a man who was unkind.
O play a song of pain
For a heart-sick gal
On a fast, fast train.

O play a blues for Louise tonight.


Published in Saturday Evening Quill, 1929

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