Out of the sunshine and out of the heat,Out of the dust of the grimy street,A song fluttered down in the form of a dove,And it bore me a message, the one word–Love! Ah, I was toiling, and oh, I was sad:I had forgotten the way to be glad.Now, smiles for my sadness and for […]

Dey ‘s a so’t o’ threatenin’ feelin’ in de blowin’ of de breeze,An’ I ‘s feelin’ kin’ o’ squeamish in de night;I ‘s a-walkin’ ‘roun’ a-lookin’ at de diffunt style o’ trees,An’ a-measurin’ dey thickness an’ dey height.Fu’ dey ‘s somep’n mighty ‘spicious in de looks de da’kies give,Ez dey pass me an’ my fambly […]

Wen I git up in de mo’nin’ an’ de clouds is big an’ black,Dey’s a kin’ o’ wa’nin’ shivah goes a-scootin’ down my back;Den I says to my ol’ ooman ez I watches down de lane,“Don’t you so’t o’ reckon, Lizy, dat we gwine to have some rain?” “Go on, man,” my Lizy answah, “you […]

W’en de clouds is hangin’ heavy in de sky,An’ de win’s ‘s a-taihin’ moughty vig’rous by,I don’ go a-sighin’ all erlong de way;I des’ wo’k a-waitin’ fu’ de close o’ day. Case I knows w’en evenin’ draps huh shadders down,I won’ care a smidgeon fu’ de weathah’s frown;Let de rain go splashin’, let de thundah […]

Heel and toe, heel and toe,That is the song we sing;Turn to your partner and curtsey low,Balance and forward and swing.Corners are draughty and meadows are white,This is the game for a winter’s night. Hands around, hands around,Trip it, and not too slow;Clear is the fiddle and sweet its sound,Keep the girls’ cheeks aglow.Still let […]

De win’ is hollahin’ “Daih you” to de shuttahs an’ de fiah,De snow’s a-sayin’ “Got you” to de groun’,Fu’ de wintah weathah ‘s come widout a-askin’ ouah desiah,An’ he ‘s laughin’ in his sleeve at whut he foun’;Fu’ dey ain’t nobody ready wid dey fuel er dey food,An’ de money bag look timid lak, fu’ […]

When to sweet music my lady is dancingMy heart to mild frenzy her beauty inspires.Into my face are her brown eyes a-glancing,And swift my whole frame thrills with tremulous fires.Dance, lady, dance, for the moments are fleeting,Pause not to place yon refractory curl;Life is for love and the night is for sweeting;Dreamily, joyously, circle and […]

When Phyllis sighs and from her eyesThe light dies out; my soul repliesWith misery of deep-drawn breath,E’en as it were at war with death. When Phyllis smiles, her glance beguilesMy heart through love-lit woodland aisles,And through the silence high and clear,A wooing warbler’s song I hear. But if she frown, despair comes down,I put me […]

Hain’t you see my Mandy Lou,Is it true?Whaih you been f’om day to day,Whaih, I say?Dat you say you nevah seenDis hyeah queenWalkin’ roun’ f’om fiel’ to streetSmilin’ sweet? Slendah ez a saplin’ tree;Seems to meWen de win’ blow f’om de bayShe jes’ swayLak de reg’lar saplin’ doEf hit’s grewStraight an’ graceful, ‘dout a limb,Sweet […]

Belated wanderer of the ways of spring,Lost in the chill of grim November rain,Would I could read the message that you bringAnd find in it the antidote for pain. Does some sad spirit out beyond the day,Far looking to the hours forever dead,Send you a tender offering to layUpon the grave of us, the living […]

Wintah, summah, snow er shine,Hit’s all de same to me,Ef only I kin call you mine,An’ keep you by my knee. Ha’dship, frolic, grief er caih,Content by night an’ day,Ef only I kin see you whaihYou wait beside de way. Livin’, dyin’, smiles er teahs,My soul will still be free,Ef only thoo de comin’ yeahsYou […]

Wen de colo’ed ban’ comes ma’chin’ down de street,Don’t you people stan’ daih starin’; lif yo’ feet!Ain’t dey playin’? Hip, hooray!Stir yo’ stumps an’ cleah de way,Fu’ de music dat dey mekin’ can’t be beat. Oh, de major man’s a-swingin’ of his stick,An’ de pickaninnies crowdin’ roun’ him thick;In his go’geous uniform,He ‘s de lightnin’ […]

Grass commence a-comin’Thoo de thawin’ groun’,Evah bird dat whistlesKeepin’ noise erroun’;Cain’t sleep in de mo’nin’,Case befo’ it ‘s lightBluebird an’ de robin,Done begun to fight. Bluebird sass de robin,Robin sass him back,Den de bluebird scol’ him‘Twell his face is black.Would n’ min’ de quoilin’All de mo’nin’ long,‘Cept it wakes me early,Case hit ‘s done in […]

Little lady at de do’,W’y you stan’ dey knockin’?Nevah seen you ac’ befo’In er way so shockin’.Don’ you know de sin it isFu’ to git my temper rizWen I ‘s got de rheumatizAn’ my jints is lockin’? No, ol’ Miss ain’t sont you down,Don’ you tell no story;I been seed you hangin’ ‘roun’Dis hyeah te’itory.You […]

At the golden gate of songStood I, knocking all day long,But the Angel, calm and cold,Still refused and bade me, “Hold.” Then a breath of soft perfume,Then a light within the gloom;Thou, Love, camest to my side,And the gates flew open wide. Long I dwelt in this domain,Knew no sorrow, grief, or pain;Now you bid […]

Gray is the palace where she dwells,Grimly the poplars standThere by the window where she sits,My Lady of Castle Grand. There does she bide the livelong day,Grim as the poplars are,Ever her gaze goes reaching out,Steady, but vague and far. Bright burn the fires in the castle hall,Brightly the fire-dogs stand;But cold is the body […]

Hit ‘s been drizzlin’ an’ been sprinklin’,Kin’ o’ techy all day long.I ain’t wet enough fu’ toddy,I ‘s too damp to raise a song,An’ de case have set me t’inkin’,Dat dey ‘s folk des lak de rain,Dat goes drizzlin’ w’en dey’s talkin’,An’ won’t speak out flat an’ plain. Ain’t you nevah set an’ listenedAt a […]

Hurt was the nation with a mighty wound,And all her ways were filled with clam’rous sound.Wailed loud the South with unremitting grief,And wept the North that could not find relief.Then madness joined its harshest tone to strife:A minor note swelled in the song of life.‘Till, stirring with the love that filled his breast,But still, unflinching […]

Who dat knockin’ at de do’?Why, Ike Johnson,–yes, fu’ sho!Come in, Ike. I ‘s mighty gladYou come down. I t’ought you ‘s madAt me ’bout de othah night,An’ was stayin’ ‘way fu’ spite.Say, now, was you mad fu’ trueWen I kin’ o’ laughed at you?Speak up, Ike, an’ ‘spress yo’se’f. ‘T ain’t no use a-lookin’ […]

Dey was talkin’ in de cabin, dey was talkin’ in de hall;But I listened kin’ o’ keerless, not a-t’inkin’ ’bout it all;An’ on Sunday, too, I noticed, dey was whisp’rin’ mighty much,Stan’in’ all erroun’ de roadside w’en dey let us out o’ chu’ch.But I did n’t t’ink erbout it ‘twell de middle of de week,An’ […]