The Weary BluesDroning a drowsy syncopated tune,Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other nightBy the pale dull pallor of an old gas lightHe did a lazy sway . . .He did a lazy sway . . .To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory keyHe made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!Swaying to and fro on his rickety stoolHe played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!Coming from a black man’s soul.
O Blues!In a deep song voice with a melancholy toneI heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—”Ain’t got nobody in all this world,Ain’t got nobody but ma self.
I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’And put ma troubles on the shelf.
“Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more—”I got the Weary Blues And I can’t be satisfied.
Got the Weary BluesAnd can’t be satisfied—I ain’t happy no mo’And I wishthat I had died.”And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.
HarlemHere on the edge of hellStands Harlem—Remembering the old lies,The old kicks in the back,The old “Be patient”They told us before.
Sure, we remember.Now when the man at the corner storeSays sugar’s gone up another two cents,And bread one,And there’s a new tax on cigarettes—We remember the job we never had,Never could get,And can’t have nowBecause we’re colored.
So we stand here On the edge of hellin HarlemAnd look out on the world And wonder What we’re gonna doIn the face of what We remember.
Song for a Dark GirlbyLangston Hughes
Way down south in Dixie—(Break the heart of me)They hung my dark 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.
Paper details:
Read: Langston Hughes “Song for a Dark Girl”; “Harlem”; “Weary Blues”
Topic: Discuss the theme of pessimism in the three assigned Hughes’ poems
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