{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_27195/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_27195","id":"gutenberg_27195","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27195","summary":null,"tags":["African Americans -- Poetry","African Americans -- Songs and music","American poetry -- African American authors","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Poetry","Folk poetry, American","Folk songs, English -- United States"],"text":"Produced by Audrey Longhurst, S.D. and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------+\n\nTranscriber's Note: Other than the minor corrections and changes listed\nat the end of this text, all spelling and punctuation is as it appeared\nin the original. Musical notations appearing in the original book have\nbeen replaced with [music]. Macrons and breves were used as\npronunciation aids for vowels. They appear here as [=a] for macrons and\n[)a] for breves. The placement of footnote markers was irregular in the\noriginal--this has been retained.\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------+\n\n\n\n\n                       NEGRO FOLK RHYMES\n\n\n\n\n                     [Publisher's Device]\n\n                     THE MACMILLAN COMPANY\n              NEW YORK . BOSTON . CHICAGO . DALLAS\n                    ATLANTA . SAN FRANCISCO\n\n                    MACMILLAN & CO., Limited\n                   LONDON . BOMBAY . CALCUTTA\n                           MELBOURNE\n\n                THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.\n                            TORONTO\n\n\n\n\n                       NEGRO FOLK RHYMES\n                      _Wise and Otherwise_\n\n                          WITH A STUDY\n\n                               BY\n                        THOMAS W. TALLEY,\n                       OF FISK UNIVERSITY\n\n                          [Decoration]\n\n                            New York\n                      THE MACMILLAN COMPANY\n                              1922\n\n                      _All rights reserved_\n\n\n              PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\n\n\n                        Copyright, 1922,\n                    By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.\n                             * * *\n            Set up and printed. Published January, 1922.\n\n\n                            Press of\n                  J. J. Little & Ives Company\n                        New York, U.S.A.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nOf the making of books by individual authors there is no end; but a\ncultivated literary taste among the exceptional few has rendered almost\nimpossible the production of genuine folk-songs. The spectacle,\ntherefore, of a homogeneous throng of partly civilized people dancing to\nthe music of crude instruments and evolving out of dance-rhythm a\nlyrical or narrative utterance in poetic form is sufficiently rare in\nthe nineteenth century to challenge immediate attention. In _Negro Folk\nRhymes_ is to be found no inconsiderable part of the musical and poetic\nlife-records of a people; the compiler presents an arresting volume\nwhich, in addition to being a pioneer and practically unique in its\nfield, is as nearly exhaustive as a sympathetic understanding of the\nNegro mind, careful research, and labor of love can make it. Professor\nTalley of Fisk University has spared himself no pains in collecting and\npiecing together every attainable scrap and fragment of secular rhyme\nwhich might help in adequately interpreting the inner life of his own\npeople.\n\nBeing the expression of a race in, or just emerging from bondage, these\nsongs may at first seem to some readers trivial and almost wholly devoid\nof literary merit. In phraseology they may appear crude, lacking in that\nelegance and finish ordinarily associated with poetic excellence; in\nimagery they are at times exceedingly winter-starved, mediocre, common,\ndrab, scarcely ever rising above the unhappy environment of the singers.\nThe outlook upon life and nature is, for the most part, one of\nimaginative simplicity and child-like naivete; superstitions crowd in\nupon a worldly wisdom that is elementary, practical, and obvious; and a\nwarped and crooked human nature, developed and fostered by\ncircumstances, shows frequently through the lines. What else might be\nexpected? At the time when these rhymes were in process of being created\nthe conditions under which the American Negro lived and labored were not\ncalculated to inspire him with a desire for the highest artistic\nexpression. Restricted, cramped, bound in unwilling servitude, he looked\nabout him in his miserable little world to see whatever of the beautiful\nor happy he might find; that which he discovered is pathetically slight,\nbut, such as it is, it served to keep alive his stunted artist-soul\nunder the most adverse circumstances. He saw the sweet pinks under a\nblue sky, or observed the fading violets and the roses that fall, as he\npassed to a tryst under the oak trees of a forest, and wrought these\nthings into his songs of love and tenderness. Friendless and otherwise\nwithout companionship he lived in imagination with the beasts and birds\nof the great out-of-doors; he knew personally Mr. Coon, Brother Rabbit,\nMr. 'Possum and their associates of the wild; Judge Buzzard and Sister\nTurkey appealed to his fancy as offering material for what he supposed\nto be poetic treatment. Wherever he might find anything in his lowly\nposition which seemed to him truly useful or beautiful, he seized upon\nit and wove about it the sweetest song he could sing. The result is not\nso much poetry of a high order as a valuable illustration of the\npersistence of artist-impulses even in slavery.\n\nIn some of these folk-songs, however, may be found certain qualities\nwhich give them dignity and worth. They are, when properly presented,\nrhythmical to the point of perfection. I myself have heard many of them\nchanted with and without the accompaniment of clapping hands, stamping\nfeet, and swaying bodies. Unfortunately a large part of their liquid\nmelody and flexibility of movement is lost through confinement in cold\nprint; but when they are heard from a distance on quiet summer nights\nor clear Southern mornings, even the most fastidious ear is satisfied\nwith the rhythmic pulse of them. That pathos of the Negro character\nwhich can never be quite adequately caught in words or transcribed in\nmusic is then augmented and intensified by the peculiar quality of the\nNegro voice, rich in overtones, quavering, weird, cadenced, throbbing\nwith the sufferings of a race. Or perhaps that well-developed sense of\nhumor which has, for more than a century, made ancestral sorrows\nbearable finds fuller expression in the lilting turn of a note than in\nthe flashes of wit which abundantly enliven the pages of this volume.\nThere is one lyric in particular which, in evident sincerity of feeling,\nsimple and unaffected grace, and regularity of form, appeals to me as\nhaving intrinsic literary value:\n\n    She hug' me, an' she kiss' me,\n    She wrung my han' an' cried.\n    She said I wus de sweetes' thing\n    Dat ever lived or died.\n\n    She hug' me an' she kiss' me.\n    Oh Heaben! De touch o' her han'!\n    She said I wus de puttiest thing\n    In de shape o' mortal man.\n\n    I told her dat I love' her,\n    Dat my love wus bed-cord strong;\n    Den I axed her w'en she'd have me,\n    An' she jes' say, \"Go 'long!\"\n\nThere is also a dramatic quality about many of these rhymes which must\nnot be overlooked. It has long been my observation that the Negro is\npossessed by nature of considerable, though not as yet highly developed,\nhistrionic ability; he takes delight in acting out in pantomime whatever\nhe may be relating in song or story. It is not surprising, then, to find\nthat the play-rhymes, originating from the \"call\" and \"response,\" are\nreally little dramas when presented in their proper settings. \"Caught By\nThe Witch\" would not be ineffective if, on a dark night, it were acted\nin the vicinity of a graveyard! And one ballad--if I may be permitted to\ndignify it by that name--called \"Promises of Freedom\" is characterized\nby an unadorned narrative style and a dramatic ending which are\nassociated with the best English folk-ballads. The singer tells simply\nand, one feels, with a grim impersonality of how his mistress promised\nto set him free; it seemed as if she would never die--but \"she's somehow\ngone\"! His master likewise made promises,\n\n    Yes, my ole Mosser promise' me;\n    But \"his papers\" didn't leave me free.\n    A dose of pizen he'pped 'im along.\n    May de Devil preach 'is f[=u]ner'l song.\n\nThe manner of this conclusion is strikingly like that of the Scottish\nballad, \"Edward,\"\n\n    The curse of hell frae me sall ye beir,\n              Mither, Mither,\n    The curse of hell frae me sall ye beir,\n    Sic counseils ye gave to me O.\n\nIn both a story of cruelty is suggested in a single artistic line and\nended with startling, dramatic abruptness.\n\nIn fact, these two songs probably had their ultimate origin in not\nwidely dissimilar types of illiterate, unsophisticated human society.\nProfessor Talley's \"Study in Negro Folk Rhymes,\" appended to this volume\nof songs, is illuminating. One may not be disposed to accept without\nconsiderable modification his theories entire; still his account from\npersonal, first-hand knowledge of the beginnings and possible evolution\nof certain rhymes in this collection is apparently authentic. Here we\nhave again, in the nineteenth century, the record of a singing, dancing\npeople creating by a process approximating communal authorship a mass\nof verse embodying tribal memories, ancestral superstitions, and racial\nwisdom handed down from generation to generation through oral tradition.\nThese are genuine folk-songs--lyrics, ballads, rhymes--in which are\ncrystallized the thought and feeling, the universally shared lore of a\nfolk. Recent theorizers on poetic origins who would insist upon\nindividual as opposed to community authorship of certain types of\nsong-narrative might do well to consider Professor Talley's\ncharacteristic study. And students of comparative literature who love to\nrecreate the life of a tribe or nation from its song and story will\ndiscover in this collection a mine of interesting material.\n\nFisk University, the center of Negro culture in America, is to be\ncongratulated upon having initiated the gathering and preservation of\nthese relics, a valuable heritage from the past. Just how important for\nliterature this heritage may prove to be will not appear until this\ninstitution--and others with like purposes--has fully developed by\ncultivation, training, and careful fostering the artistic impulses so\nabundantly a part of the Negro character. A race which has produced,\nunder the most disheartening conditions, a mass of folk-poetry such as\n_Negro Folk Rhymes_ may be expected to create with unlimited\nopportunities for self-development, a literature and a distinctive music\nof superior quality.\n\n                                                  WALTER CLYDE CURRY.\n\n  Vanderbilt University,\n  September 30, 1921.\n\n\n\n\nPART I\n\nNEGRO FOLK RHYMES\n\n\n\n\nDANCE RHYME SECTION\n\n\nJONAH'S BAND PARTY\n\n    Setch a kickin' up san'! Jonah's Ban'!\n    Setch a kickin' up san'! Jonah's Ban'!\n    \"Han's up sixteen! Circle to de right!\n    We's gwine to git big eatin's here to-night.\"\n\n    Setch a kickin' up san'! Jonah's Ban'!\n    Setch a kickin' up san'! Jonah's Ban'!\n    \"Raise yo' right foot, kick it up high,\n    Knock dat [1]Mobile Buck in de eye.\"\n\n    Setch a kickin' up san'! Jonah's Ban'!\n    Setch a kickin' up san'! Jonah's Ban'!\n    \"Stan' up, flat foot, [1]Jump dem Bars!\n    [1]Karo back'ards lak a train o' kyars.\"\n\n    Setch a kickin' up san'! Jonah's Ban'!\n    Setch a kickin' up san'! Jonah's Ban'!\n    \"Dance 'round, Mistiss, show 'em de p'int;\n    Dat Nigger don't know how to [1]Coonjaint.\"\n\n[1] These are dance steps. For explanation read the Study in Negro Folk\nRhymes.\n\n\nLOVE IS JUST A THING OF FANCY\n\n    Love is jes a thing o' fancy,\n    Beauty's jes a blossom;\n    If you wants to git y[=o]' finger bit,\n    Stick it at a 'possum.\n\n    Beauty, it's jes skin deep;\n    Ugly, it's to de bone.\n    Beauty, it'll jes fade 'way;\n    But Ugly'll h[=o]l' 'er own.\n\n\nSTILL WATER CREEK\n\n    'Way down yon'er on Still Water Creek,\n    I got stalded an' stayed a week.\n    I see'd Injun Puddin and Punkin pie,\n    But de black cat stick 'em in de yaller cat's eye.\n\n    'Way down yon'er on Still Water Creek,\n    De Niggers grows up some ten or twelve feet.\n    Dey goes to bed but dere hain't no use,\n    Caze deir feet sticks out fer de chickens t' roost.\n\n    I got hongry on Still Water Creek,\n    De mud to de hub an' de hoss britchin weak.\n    I stewed bullfrog chitlins, baked polecat pie;\n    If I goes back dar, I sh[=o]'s gwine to die.\n\n\n'POSSUM UP THE GUM STUMP\n\n    'Possum up de gum stump,\n    Dat raccoon in de holler;\n    Twis' 'im out, an' git 'im down,\n    An' I'll gin you a half a doller.\n\n    'Possum up de gum stump,\n    Yes, cooney in de holler;\n    A pretty gal down my house\n    Jes as fat as she can waller.\n\n    'Possum up de gum stump,\n    His jaws is black an' dirty;\n    To come an' kiss you, pretty gal,\n    I'd run lak a gobbler tucky.\n\n    'Possum up de gum stump,\n    A good man's hard to f[=i]n';\n    You'd better love me, pretty gal,\n    You'll git de yudder k[=i]n'.\n\n\nJOE AND MALINDA JANE\n\n    Ole Joe jes swore upon 'is life\n    He'd make Merlindy Jane 'is wife.\n    W'en she hear 'im up 'is love an' tell,\n    She jumped in a bar'l o' mussel shell.\n    She scrape 'er back till de skin come off.\n    Nex' day she die wid de Whoopin' Cough.\n\n\nWALK, TALK, CHICKEN WITH YOUR HEAD PECKED!\n\n    Walk, talk, chicken wid y[=o]' head pecked!\n    You can crow w'en youse been dead.\n    Walk, talk, chicken wid y[=o]' head pecked!\n    You can h[=o]l' high y[=o]' bloody head.\n\n    You's whooped dat Blue Hen's Chicken,\n    You's beat 'im at his game.\n    If dere's some fedders on him,\n    Fer dat you's not to blame.\n\n    Walk, talk, chicken wid y[=o]' head pecked!\n    You beat ole Johnny Blue!\n    Walk, talk, chicken wid y[=o]' head pecked!\n    Say: \"Cock-a-doo-dle-doo--!\"\n\n\nTAILS\n\n    De coon's got a long ringed bushy tail,\n    De 'possum's tail is bare;\n    Dat rabbit hain't got no tail 'tall,\n    'Cep' a liddle bunch o' hair.\n\n    De gobbler's got a big fan tail,\n    De pattridge's tail is small;\n    Dat peacock's tail 's got great big eyes,\n    But dey don't see nothin' 'tall.\n\n\nCAPTAIN DIME\n\n    Cappun Dime is a fine w'ite man.\n    He wash his face in a fry'n' pan,\n    He comb his head wid a waggin wheel,\n    An' he die wid de toothache in his heel.\n\n    Cappun Dime is a mighty fine feller,\n    An' he sh[=o]' play kyards wid de Niggers in de cellar,\n    But he will git drunk, an' he won't smoke a pipe,\n    Den he will pull de watermillions 'fore dey gits ripe.\n\n\nCROSSING THE RIVER\n\n    I went down to de river an' I couldn' git 'cross.\n    I jumped on er mule an' I thought 'e wus er hoss.\n    Dat mule 'e wa'k in an' git mired up in de san';\n    You'd oughter see'd dis Nigger make back fer de lan'!\n\n    I want to cross de river but I caint git 'cross;\n    So I mounted on a ram, fer I thought 'e wus er hoss.\n    I plunged him in, but he sorter fail to swim;\n    An' I give five dollars fer to git 'im out ag'in.\n\n    Yes, I went down to de river an' I couldn' git 'cross,\n    So I give a whole dollar fer a ole blin' hoss;\n    Den I souzed him in an' he sink 'stead o' swim.\n    Do you know I got wet clean to my ole hat brim?\n\n\nT-U-TURKEY\n\n    T-u, tucky, T-u, ti.\n    T-u, tucky, buzzard's eye.\n    T-u, tucky, T-u, ting.\n    T-u, tucky, buzzard's wing.\n    Oh, Mistah Washin'ton! Don't whoop me,\n    Whoop dat Nigger Back 'hind dat tree.\n    He stole tucky, I didn' steal none.\n    Go wuk him in de co'n field jes fer fun.\n\n\nCHICKEN IN THE BREAD TRAY\n\n    \"Auntie, will y[=o]' dog bite?\"--\n        \"No, Chile! No!\"\n    Chicken in de bread tray\n        A makin' up dough.\n\n    \"Auntie, will y[=o]' broom hit?\"--\n        \"Yes, Chile!\" Pop!\n    Chicken in de bread tray;\n        \"Flop! Flop! Flop!\"\n\n    \"Auntie, will y[=o]' oven bake?\"--\n        \"Yes. Jes fry!\"--\n    \"What's dat chicken good fer?\"--\n        \"Pie! Pie! Pie!\"\n\n    \"Auntie, is y[=o]' pie good?\"--\n        \"Good as you could 'spec'.\"\n    Chicken in de bread tray;\n        \"Peck! Peck! Peck!\"\n\n\nMOLLY COTTONTAIL, OR, GRAVEYARD RABBIT\n\n    Ole Molly Cottontail,\n    At night, w'en de moon's pale;\n    You don't fail to tu'n tail,\n    You always gives me leg bail.[2]\n\n    Molly in de Bramble-brier,\n    Let me git a little nigher;\n    Prickly-pear, it sting lak fire!\n    Do please come pick out de brier!\n\n    Molly in de pale moonlight,\n    Y[=o]' tail is sh[=o] a pretty white;\n    You takes it fer 'way out'n sight.\n    \"Molly! Molly! Molly Bright!\"\n\n    Ole Molly Cottontail,\n    You sets up on a rotten rail!\n    You tears through de graveyard!\n    You makes dem ugly [3]hants wail.\n\n    Ole Molly Cottontail,\n    Won't you be shore not to fail\n    [4]To give me y[=o]' right h[=i]n' foot?\n    My luck, it won't be fer sale.\n\n[2] Leg bail = to run away.\n\n[3] Hants = ghosts or spirits.\n\n[4] This embraces the old superstition that carrying in one's pocket the\nright hind foot of a rabbit, which has habitually lived about a\ncemetery, brings good luck to its possessor.\n\n\nJUBA[5]\n\n    Juba dis, an' Juba dat,\n    Juba [6]skin dat Yaller Cat. Juba! Juba!\n\n    Juba jump an' Juba sing.\n    Juba, [6]cut dat Pigeon's Wing. Juba! Juba!\n\n    Juba, kick off Juba's shoe.\n    Juba, dance dat [6]Jubal Jew. Juba! Juba!\n\n    Juba, whirl dat foot about.\n    Juba, blow dat candle out. Juba! Juba!\n\n    Juba circle, [6]Raise de Latch.\n    Juba do dat [6]Long Dog Scratch. Juba! Juba!\n\n[5] This peculiar kind of dance rhyme is explained in the Study in Negro\nFolk Rhymes.\n\n[6] The expressions marked [6] are various kinds of dance steps.\n\n\nON TOP OF THE POT\n\n    Wild goose gallop an' gander trot;\n    Walk about, Mistiss, on top o' de pot!\n\n    Hog jowl bilin', an' tunnup greens hot,\n    Walk about, Billie, on top o' de pot!\n\n    Chitlins, hog years, all on de spot,\n    Walk about, ladies, on top o' de pot!\n\n\nSTAND BACK, BLACK MAN[7]\n\n    _Oh!_\n          Stan' back, black man,\n          You cain't shine;\n          Y[=o]' lips is too thick,\n          An' you hain't my k[=i]n'.\n\n    _Aw!_\n          Git 'way, black man,\n          You jes haint fine;\n          I'se done quit foolin'\n          Wid de nappy-headed kind.\n\n    _Say?_\n          Stan' back, black man!\n          Cain't you see\n          Dat a kinky-headed chap\n          Hain't nothin' side o' me?\n\n[7] In a few places in the South, just following the Civil War, the\nMulattoes organized themselves into a little guild known as \"The Blue\nVein Circle,\" from which those who were black were excluded. This is one\nof their rhymes.\n\n\nNEGROES NEVER DIE\n\n    Nigger! Nigger never die!\n    He gits choked on Chicken pie.\n    Black face, white shiny eye. Nigger! Nigger!\n\n    Nigger! Nigger never knows!\n    Mashed nose, an' crooked toes;\n    Dat's de way de Nigger goes. Nigger! Nigger!\n\n    Nigger! Nigger always sing;\n    Jump up, cut de Pidgeon's wing;\n    Whirl, an' give his feet a fling. Nigger! Nigger!\n\n\nJAWBONE\n\n    Samson, shout! Samson, moan!\n    Samson, bring on y[=o]' Jawbone.\n\n    Jawbone, walk! Jawbone, talk!\n    Jawbone, eat wid a knife an fo'k.\n\n    Walk, Jawbone! Jinny, come alon'!\n    Yon'er goes Sally wid de bootees on.\n\n    Jawbone, ring! Jawbone, sing!\n    Jawbone, kill dat wicked thing.\n\n\nINDIAN FLEA\n\n    Injun flea, bit my knee;\n    Kaze I wouldn' drink ginger tea.\n\n    Flea bite hard, flea bite quick;\n    Flea bite burn lak dat seed tick.\n\n    Hit dat flea, flea not dere.\n    I'se so mad I pulls my hair.\n\n    I go wild an' fall in de creek.\n    To wash 'im off, I'd stay a week.\n\n\nAS I WENT TO SHILOH\n\n    As I went down\n    To Shiloh Town;\n    I rolled my barrel of Sogrum down.\n    Dem lasses rolled;\n    An' de hoops, dey bust;\n    An' blowed dis Nigger clear to Thundergust!\n\n\nJUMP JIM CROW\n\n    Git fus upon y[=o]' heel,\n    An' den upon y[=o]' toe;\n    An ebry time you tu'n 'round,\n    You jump Jim Crow.\n\n    Now fall upon y[=o]' knees,\n    Jump up an' bow low;\n    An' ebry time you tu'n 'round,\n    You jump Jim Crow.\n\n    Put y[=o]' han's upon y[=o]' hips,\n    Bow low to y[=o]' beau;\n    An' ebry time you tu'n 'round,\n    You jump Jim Crow.\n\n\n\n\nDANCE RHYME SONG SECTION\n\n[music]\n\n\nJAYBIRD\n\n    De Jaybird jump from lim' to lim',\n    An' he tell Br'er Rabbit to do lak him.\n    Br'er Rabbit say to de cunnin' elf:\n    \"You jes want me to fall an' kill myself.\"\n\n    Dat Jaybird a-settin' on a swingin' lim'.\n    He wink at me an' I wink at him.\n    He laugh at me w'en my gun \"crack.\"\n    It kick me down on de flat o' my back.\n\n    Nex' day de Jaybird dance dat lim'.\n    I grabs my gun fer to shoot at him.\n    W'en I \"crack\" down, it split my chin.\n    \"Ole Aggie Cunjer\" fly lak sin.\n\n    Way down yon'er at de risin' sun,\n    Jaybird a-talkin' wid a forked tongue.\n    [8]He's been down dar whar de bad mens dwell.\n    \"Ole Friday Devil,\" fare--you--well!\n\n[8] A superstition. For explanation, see Study in Negro Folk Rhymes.\n\n\nOFF FROM RICHMOND\n\n    I'se off from Richmon' sooner in de mornin'.\n    I'se off from Richmon' bef[=o]' de break o' day.\n    I slips off from Mosser widout pass an' warnin'\n    Fer I mus' see my Donie wharever she may stay.\n\n\nHE IS MY HORSE\n\n    One day as I wus a-ridin' by,\n    Said dey: \"Ole man, y[=o]' hoss will die\"--\n         \"If he dies, he is my loss;\n         An' if he lives, he is my hoss.\"\n\n    Nex' day w'en I come a-ridin' by,\n    Dey said: \"Ole man, y[=o]' hoss may die.\"--\n         \"If he dies, I'll tan 'is skin;\n         An' if he lives, I'll ride 'im ag'in.\"\n\n    Den ag'in w'en I come a-ridin' by,\n    Said dey: \"Ole man, y[=o]' hoss mought die.\"--\n         \"If he dies, I'll eat his co'n;\n         An' if he lives, I'll ride 'im on.\"\n\n\nJUDGE BUZZARD[9]\n\n    Dere sets Jedge Buzzard on de Bench.\n    Go tu'n him off wid a monkey wrench!\n    Jedge Buzzard try Br'er Rabbit's case;\n    An' he say Br'er Tarepin win dat race.\n    Here sets Jedge Buzzard on de Bench.\n    Knock him off wid dat monkey wrench!\n\n[9] See Study in Negro Rhymes for explanation.\n\n\nSHEEP AND GOAT\n\n    Sheep an' goat gwine to de paster;\n    Says de goat to de sheep: \"Cain't you walk a liddle faster?\"\n\n    De sheep says: \"I cain't, I'se a liddle too full.\"\n    Den de goat say: \"You can wid my ho'ns in y[=o]' wool.\"\n\n    But de goat fall down an' skin 'is shin\n    An' de sheep split 'is lip wid a big broad grin.\n\n\nJACKSON, PUT THAT KETTLE ON!\n\n    Jackson, put dat kittle on!\n    Fire, steam dat coffee done!\n    Day done broke, an' I got to run\n    Fer to meet my gal by de risin' sun.\n\n    My ole Mosser say to me,\n    Dat I mus' drink [10]sassfac tea;\n    But Jackson stews dat coffee done,\n    An' he sh[=o]' gits his po'tion: Son!\n\n[10] Sassfac = sassafras.\n\n\nDINAH'S DINNER HORN\n\n    It's a c[=o]l', frosty mornin',\n    An' de Niggers goes to wo'k;\n    Wid deir axes on deir shoulders,\n    An' widout a bit o' [11]shu't.\n\n    Dey's got ole husky ashcake,\n    Widout a bit o' fat;\n    An' de white folks'll grumble,\n    If you eats much o' dat.\n\n    I runs down to de henhouse,\n    An' I falls upon my knees;\n    It's 'nough to make a rabbit laugh\n    To hear my tucky sneeze.\n\n    I grows up on dem meatskins,\n    I comes down on a bone;\n    I hits dat co'n bread fifty licks,\n    I makes dat butter moan.\n\n    It's glory in y[=o]' honor!\n    An' don't you want to go?\n    I sholy will be ready\n    Fer dat dinnah ho'n to blow.\n\n    Dat ole bell, it goes \"Bangity--bang!\"\n    Fer all dem white folks bo'n.\n    But I'se not ready fer to go\n    Till Dinah blows her ho'n.\n\n    \"Poke--sallid!\" \"Poke--sallid!\"\n    Dat ole ho'n up an' blow.\n    Jes think about dem good ole greens!\n    Say? Don't you want to go?\n\n[11] Shu't = shirt.\n\n\nMY MULE\n\n    Las' Saddy mornin' Mosser said:\n    \"Jump up now, Sambo, out'n bed.\n    Go saddle dat mule, an' go to town;\n    An' bring home Mistiss' mornin' gown.\"\n\n    I saddled dat mule to go to town.\n    I mounted up an' he buck'd me down.\n    Den I jumped up from out'n de dust,\n    An' I rid him till I thought he'd bust.\n\n\nBULLFROG PUT ON THE SOLDIER CLOTHES\n\n    Bullfrog put on de soldier clo's.\n    He went down yonder fer to shoot at de crows;\n    Wid a knife an' a fo'k between 'is toes,\n    An' a white hankcher fer to wipe 'is nose.\n\n    Bullfrog put on de soldier clo's.\n    He's a \"dead shore shot,\" gwineter kill dem crows.\n    He takes \"Pot,\" an' \"Skillet\" from de Fiddler's Ball.\n    Dey're to dance a liddle jig while Jim Crow fall.\n\n    Bullfrog put on de soldier clo's.\n    He went down de river fer to shoot at de crows.\n    De powder flash, an' de crows fly 'way;\n    An' de Bullfrog shoot at 'em all nex' day.\n\n\nSAIL AWAY, LADIES!\n\n    Sail away, ladies! Sail away!\n    Sail away, ladies! Sail away!\n    Nev' min' what dem white folks say,\n    May de Mighty bless you. Sail away!\n\n    Nev' min' what y[=o]' daddy say,\n    Shake y[=o]' liddle foot an' fly away.\n    Nev' min' if y[=o]' mammy say:\n    \"De Devil'll git you.\" Sail away!\n\n\nTHE BANJO PICKING\n\n    Hush boys! Hush boys! Don't make a noise,\n    While ole Mosser's sleepin'.\n    We'll run down de Graveyard, an' take out de bones,\n    An' have a liddle Banjer pickin'.\n\n    I takes my Banjer on a Sunday mornin'.\n    Dem ladies, dey 'vites me to come.\n    We slips down de hill an' picks de liddle chune:\n    \"Walk, Tom Wilson Here Afternoon.\"\n\n    [12]\"Walk Tom Wilson Here Afternoon\";\n    \"You Cain't Dance Lak ole Zipp Coon.\"\n    Pick [12]\"Dinah's Dinner Ho'n\" \"Dance 'Round de Room.\"\n    \"Sweep dat Kittle Wid a Bran' New Broom.\"\n\n[12] Those marked [12] are found elsewhere in this volume. We were\nunable to obtain the other three.\n\n\nOLD MOLLY HARE\n\n    Ole Molly har'!\n    What's you doin' thar?\n    \"I'se settin' in de fence corner, smokin' seegyar.\"\n\n    Ole Molly har'!\n    What's you doin' thar?\n    \"I'se pickin' out a br'or, settin' on a Pricky-p'ar.\"\n\n    Ole Molly har'!\n    What's you doin' thar?\n    \"I'se gwine cross de Cotton Patch, hard as I can t'ar.\"\n\n    Molly har' to-day,\n    So dey all say,\n    Got her pipe o' clay, jes to smoke de time 'way.\n\n    \"De dogs say 'boo!'\n    An' dey barks too,\n    I hain't got no time fer to talk to you.\"\n\n\nONE NEGRO TUNE USED WITH \"AN OPOSSUM HUNT\"\n\n[music]\n\n\nAN OPOSSUM HUNT\n\n    'Possum meat is good an' sweet,\n    I always finds it good to eat.\n    My dog tree, I went to see.\n    A great big 'possum up dat tree.\n    I retch up an' pull him in,\n    Den dat ole 'possum 'gin to grin.\n\n    I tuck him home an' dressed him off,\n    Dat night I laid him in de fros'.\n    De way I cooked dat 'possum sound,\n    I fust parboiled, den baked him brown.\n    I put sweet taters in de pan,\n    'Twus de bigges' eatin' in de lan'.\n\n\nDEVILISH PIGS\n\n    I wish I had a load o' poles,\n    To fence my new-groun' lot;\n    To keep dem liddle bitsy debblish pigs\n    Frum a-rootin' up all I'se got.\n\n    Dey roots my cabbage, roots my co'n;\n    Dey roots up all my beans.\n    Dey speilt my fine sweet-tater patch,\n    An' dey ruint my tunnup greens.\n\n    I'se rund dem pigs, an' I'se rund dem pigs.\n    I'se gittin' mighty hot;\n    An' one dese days w'en nobody look,\n    Dey'll root 'round in my pot.\n\n\nPROMISES OF FREEDOM\n\n    My ole Mistiss promise me,\n    W'en she died, she'd set me free.\n    She lived so long dat 'er head got bal',\n    An' she give out'n de notion a dyin' at all.\n\n    My ole Mistiss say to me:\n    \"Sambo, I'se gwine ter set you free.\"\n    But w'en dat head git slick an' bal',\n    De Lawd couldn' a' killed 'er wid a big green maul.\n\n    My ole Mistiss never die,\n    Wid 'er nose all hooked an' skin all dry.\n    But my ole Miss, she's somehow gone,\n    An' she lef' \"Uncle Sambo\" a-hillin' up co'n.\n\n    Ole Mosser lakwise promise me,\n    W'en he died, he'd set me free.\n    But ole Mosser go an' make his Will\n    Fer to leave me a-plowin' ole Beck still.\n\n    Yes, my ole Mosser promise me;\n    But \"his papers\" didn' leave me free.\n    A dose of pizen he'ped 'im along.\n    May de Devil preach 'is f[=u]ner'l song.\n\n\nWHEN MY WIFE DIES\n\n    W'en my wife dies, gwineter git me anudder one;\n    A big fat yaller one, jes lak de yudder one.\n    I'll hate mighty bad, w'en she's been gone.\n    Hain't no better 'oman never nowhars been bo'n.\n\n    W'en I comes to die, you mus'n' bury me deep,\n    But put Sogrum molasses close by my feet.\n    Put a pone o' co'n bread way down in my han'.\n    Gwineter sop on de way to de Promus' Lan'.\n\n    W'en I goes to die, Nobody mus'n' cry,\n    Mus'n' dress up in black, fer I mought come back.\n    But w'en I'se been dead, an' almos' fergotten;\n    You mought think about me an' keep on a-trottin'.\n\n    Railly, w'en I'se been dead, you needn' bury me at tall.\n    You mought pickle my bones down in alkihall;\n    Den fold my han's \"so,\" right across my breas';\n    An' go an' tell de folks I'se done gone to \"res'.\"\n\n\nONE TUNE USED WITH \"BAA! BAA! BLACK SHEEP!\"\n\n[music]\n\n\nBAA! BAA! BLACK SHEEP\n\n    \"Baa! Baa! Black Sheep,\n    Has you got wool?\"\n    \"Yes, good Mosser,\n    Free bags full.\n    One fer ole Mistis,\n    One fer Miss Dame,\n    An' one fer de good Nigger\n    Jes across de lane.\"\n    P[=o][=o]r liddle Black Sheep,\n    P[=o][=o]r liddle lammy;\n    P[=o][=o]r liddle Black Sheep's\n    Got no mammy.\n\n\nHE WILL GET MR. COON\n\n    Ole Mistah Coon, at de break o' day,\n    You needn' think youse gwineter git 'way.\n    Caze ole man Ned, he know how to run,\n    An' he's sh[=o]' gone fer to git 'is gun.\n\n    You needn' clam to dat highes' lim',\n    You cain't git out'n de retch o' him.\n    You can stay up dar till de sun done set.\n    I'll bet you a dollar dat he'll git you yet.\n\n    Ole Mistah Coon, you'd well's to give up.\n    You had well's to give up, I say.\n    Caze ole man Ned is straight atter you,\n    An' he'll git you sh[=o]' this day.\n\n\nBRING ON YOUR HOT CORN\n\n    Bring along y[=o]' hot co'n,\n    Bring along y[=o]' col' co'n;\n    But I say bring along,\n    Bring along y[=o]' [13]Jimmy-john.\n\n    Some loves de hot co'n,\n    Some loves de col' co'n;\n    But I loves, I loves,\n    I loves dat Jimmy-john.\n\n[13] Jimmy-john = a whiskey jug.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE ROOSTER\n\n    I had a liddle rooster,\n    He crowed bef[=o]' day.\n    'Long come a big owl,\n    An' toted him away.\n\n    But de rooster fight hard,\n    An' de owl let him go.\n    Now all de pretty hens\n    Wants dat rooster fer deir beau.\n\n\nSUGAR IN COFFEE\n\n    Sheep's in de meader a-mowin' o' de hay.\n    De honey's in de bee-gum, so dey all say.\n    My head's up an' I'se boun' to go.\n    Who'll take sugar in de coffee-o?\n\n    I'se de prettiest liddle gal in de county-o.\n    My mammy an' daddy, dey bofe say so.\n    I looks in de glass, it don't say, \"No\";\n    So I'll take sugar in de coffee-o.\n\n\nTHE TURTLE'S SONG[14]\n\n    Mud turkle settin' on de end of a log,\n    A-watchin' of a tadpole a-turnin' to a frog.\n    He sees Br'er B'ar a-pullin' lak a mule.\n    He sees Br'er Tearpin a-makin' him a fool.\n\n    Br'er B'ar pull de rope an' he puff an' he blow;\n    But he cain't git de Tearpin out'n de water from below.\n    Dat big clay root is a-holdin' dat rope,\n    Br'er Tearpin's got 'im fooled, an' dere hain't no hope.\n\n    Mud turkle settin' on de end o' dat log;\n    Sing fer de tadpole a-turnin' to a frog,\n    Sing to Br'er B'ar a-pullin' lak a mule,\n    Sing to Br'er Tearpin a-makin' 'im a fool:--\n\n    \"Oh, Br'er Rabbit! Y[=o]' eyes mighty big!\"\n    \"Yes, Br'er Turkle! Dey're made fer to see.\"\n    \"Oh, Br'er Tearpin! Y[=o]' house mighty cu'ous!\"\n    \"Yes, Br'er Turkle, but it jest suits me.\"\n\n    \"Oh, Br'er B'ar! You pulls mighty stout.\"\n    \"Yes, Br'er Turkle! Dat's right smart said!\"\n    \"Right, Br'er B'ar! Dat sounds bully good,\n    But you'd oughter git a liddle m[=o]' pull in de head.\"\n\n[14] For explanation see Study in Negro Folk Rhymes.\n\n\nRACCOON AND OPOSSUM FIGHT\n\n    De raccoon an' de 'possum\n    Under de hill a-fightin';\n    Rabbit almos' bust his sides\n    Laughin' at de bitin'.\n\n    De raccoon claw de 'possum\n    Along de ribs an' head;\n    'Possum tumble over an' grin,\n    Playin' lak he been dead.\n\n\nCOTTON EYED JOE\n\n    Hol' my fiddle an' hol' my bow,\n    Whilst I knocks ole Cotton Eyed Joe.\n\n    I'd a been dead some seben years ago,\n    If I hadn' a danced dat Cotton Eyed Joe.\n\n    Oh, it makes dem ladies love me so,\n    W'en I comes 'roun' pickin' ole Cotton Eyed Joe!\n\n    Yes, I'd a been married some forty year ago,\n    If I hadn' stay'd 'roun' wid Cotton Eyed Joe.\n\n    I hain't seed ole Joe, since way las' Fall;\n    Dey say he's been sol' down to Guinea Gall.\n\n\nRABBIT SOUP\n\n    Rabbit soup! Rabbit sop!\n    Rabbit e't my tunnup top.\n\n    Rabbit hop, rabbit jump,\n    Rabbit hide behin' dat stump.\n\n    Rabbit stop, twelve o'clock,\n    Killed dat rabbit wid a rock.\n\n    Rabbit's mine. Rabbit's skin'.\n    Dress 'im off an' take 'im in.\n\n    Rabbit's on! Dance an' whoop!\n    Makin' a pot o' rabbit soup!\n\n\nOLD GRAY MINK\n\n    I once did think dat I would sink,\n    But you know I wus dat ole gray mink.\n\n    Dat ole gray mink jes couldn' die,\n    W'en he thought about good chicken pie.\n\n    He swum dat creek above de mill,\n    An' he's killing an' eatin' chicken still.\n\n\nRUN, NIGGER, RUN!\n\n    Run, Nigger, run! De [15]Patter-rollers'll ketch you.\n    Run, Nigger, run! It's almos' day.\n\n    Dat Nigger run'd, dat Nigger flew,\n    Dat Nigger tore his shu't in two.\n\n    All over dem woods and frou de paster,\n    Dem Patter-rollers shot; but de Nigger git faster,\n\n    Oh, dat Nigger whirl'd, dat Nigger wheel'd,\n    Dat Nigger tore up de whole co'n field.\n\n[15] Patrollers, or white guards; on duty at night during the days of\nslavery; whose duty it was to see that slaves without permission to go,\nstayed at home.\n\n\nSHAKE THE PERSIMMONS DOWN\n\n    De raccoon up in de 'simmon tree.\n    Dat 'possum on de groun'.\n    De 'possum say to de raccoon: \"Suh!\"\n    \"Please shake dem 'simmons down.\"\n\n    De raccoon say to de 'possum: \"Suh!\"\n    (As he grin from down below),\n    \"If you wants dese good 'simmons, man,\n    Jes clam up whar dey grow.\"\n\n\nTHE COW NEEDS A TAIL IN FLY-TIME\n\n    Dat ole black sow, she can root in de mud,\n    She can tumble an' roll in de slime;\n    But dat big red cow, she git all mired up,\n    So dat cow need a tail in fly-time.\n\n    Dat ole gray hoss, wid 'is ole bob tail,\n    You mought buy all 'is ribs fer a dime;\n    But dat ole gray hoss can git a kiver on,\n    Whilst de cow need a tail in fly-time.\n\n    Dat Nigger Overseer, dat's a-ridin' on a mule,\n    Cain't make hisse'f white lak de lime;\n    Mosser mought take 'im down fer a notch or two,\n    Den de cow'd need a tail in fly-time.\n\n\nJAYBIRD DIED WITH THE WHOOPING COUGH\n\n    De Jaybird died wid de Whoopin' Cough,\n    De Sparrer died wid de colic;\n    'Long come de Red-bird, skippin' 'round,\n    Sayin': \"Boys, git ready fer de Frolic!\"\n\n    De Jaybird died wid de Whoopin' Cough,\n    De Bluebird died wid de Measles;\n    'Long come a Nigger wid a fiddle on his back,\n    'Vitin' Crows fer to dance wid de Weasels.\n\n    Dat Mockin'-bird, he romp an' sing;\n    Dat ole Gray Goose come prancin'.\n    Dat Thrasher stuff his mouf wid plums,\n    Den he caper on down to de dancin'.\n\n    Dey hopped it low, an' dey hopped it high;\n    Dey hopped it to, an' dey hopped it by;\n    Dey hopped it fer, an' dey hopped it nigh;\n    Dat fiddle an' bow jes make 'em fly.\n\n\nWANTED! CORNBREAD AND COON\n\n    I'se gwine now a-huntin' to ketch a big fat coon.\n    Gwineter bring him home, an' bake him, an' eat him wid a spoon.\n    Gwineter baste him up wid gravy, an' add some onions too.\n    I'se gwineter shet de Niggers out, an' stuff myse'f clean through.\n\n    I wants a piece o' hoecake; I wants a piece o' bread,\n    An' I wants a piece o' Johnnycake as big as my ole head.\n    I wants a piece o' ash cake: I wants dat big fat coon!\n    An' I sh[=o]' won't git hongry 'fore de middle o' nex' June.\n\n\nLITTLE RED HEN\n\n    My liddle red hen, wid a liddle white foot,\n    Done built her nes' in a huckleberry root.\n    She lay m[=o]' aigs dan a flock on a fahm.\n    Anudder liddle drink wouldn' do us no harm.\n\n    My liddle red hen hatch fifty red chicks\n    In dat liddle ole nes' of huckleberry sticks.\n    Wid one m[=o]' drink, ev'y chick'll make two!\n    Come, bring it on, Honey, an' let's git through.\n\n\nRATION DAY\n\n    Dat ration day come once a week,\n    Ole Mosser's rich as Gundy;\n    But he gives us 'lasses all de week,\n    An' buttermilk fer Sund'y.\n\n    Ole Mosser give me a pound o' meat.\n    I e't it all on Mond'y;\n    Den I e't 'is 'lasses all de week,\n    An' buttermilk fer Sund'y.\n\n    Ole Mosser give me a peck o' meal,\n    I fed and cotch my tucky;\n    But I e't dem 'lasses all de week,\n    An' buttermilk fer Sund'y.\n\n    Oh laugh an' sing an' don't git tired.\n    We's all gwine home, some Mond'y,\n    To de honey ponds an' fritter trees;\n    An' ev'ry day'll be Sund'y.\n\n\nMY FIDDLE\n\n    If my ole fiddle wus jes in chune,\n    She'd bring me a dollar ev'y Friday night in June.\n    W'en my ole fiddle is fixed up right,\n    She bring me a dollar in nearly ev'y night.\n    W'en my ole fiddle begin to sing,\n    She make de whole plantation ring.\n    She bring me in a dollar an' sometime m[=o]'.\n    Hurrah fer my ole fiddle an' bow!\n\n\nDIE IN THE PIG-PEN FIGHTING\n\n    Dat ole sow said to de barrer:\n    \"I'll tell you w'at let's do:\n    Let's go an' git dat broad-axe\n    And die in de pig-pen too.\"\n\n    \"Die in de pig-pen fightin'!\n    Yes, die, die in de wah!\n    Die in de pig-pen fightin',\n    Yes, die wid a bitin' jaw!\"\n\n\nMASTER IS SIX FEET ONE WAY\n\n    Mosser is six foot one way, an' free foot tudder;\n    An' he weigh five hunderd pound.\n    Britches cut so big dat dey don't suit de tailor,\n    An' dey don't meet half way 'round.\n\n    Mosser's coat come back to a claw-hammer p'int.\n    (Speak sof' or his Bloodhound'll bite us.)\n    His long white stockin's mighty clean an' nice,\n    But a liddle m[=o]' holier dan righteous.\n\n\nFOX AND GEESE\n\n    Br'er Fox wa'k out one moonshiny night,\n    He say to hisse'f w'at he's a gwineter do.\n    He say, \"I'se gwineter have a good piece o' meat,\n    Bef[=o]' I leaves dis townyoo.\n    Dis townyoo, dis townyoo!\n    Yes, bef[=o]' I leaves dis townyoo!\"\n\n    Ole mammy Sopentater jump up out'n bed,\n    An' she poke her head outside o' de d[=o]'.\n    She say: \"Ole man, my gander's gone.\n    I heared 'im w'en he holler 'quinny-quanio,'\n    'Quinny-quanio, quinny-quanio!'\n    Yes, I heared 'im w'en he holler 'quinny-quanio.'\"\n\n\nGOOSEBERRY WINE\n\n      Now 'umble Uncle Steben,\n      I wonders whar youse gwine?\n      Don't never tu'n y[=o]' back, Suh,\n      On dat good ole gooseberry wine!\n\n      Oh walk chalk, Ginger Blue!\n      Git over double trouble.\n      You needn' min' de wedder\n      So's de win' don't blow you double.\n\n    _Now!_\n      Uncle Mack! Uncle Mack!\n      Did you ever see de lak?\n      Dat good ole sweet gooseberry wine\n      Call Uncle Steben back.\n\n\nI'D RATHER BE A NEGRO THAN A POOR WHITE MAN\n\n          My name's Ran, I wuks in de san';\n          But I'd druther be a Nigger dan a p[=o]' white man.\n\n          Gwineter hitch my oxes side by side,\n          An' take my gal fer a big fine ride.\n\n          Gwineter take my gal to de country st[=o]';\n          Gwineter dress her up in red calico.\n\n          You take Kate, an' I'll take Joe.\n          Den off we'll go to de pahty-o.\n\n          Gwineter take my gal to de Hullabaloo,\n          Whar dere hain't no [16]Crackers in a mile or two.\n\n    _Interlocution_:\n\n          (Fiddler) \"Oh, Sal! Whar's de milk\n               strainer cloth?\"\n\n          (Banjo Picker) \"Bill's got it wropped\n              'round his ole sore leg.\"\n\n          (Fiddler) \"Well, take it down to de\n              gum spring an' give it a cold water\n              rench; I 'spizes nastness anyway.\n              I'se got to have a clean\n              cloth fer de milk.\"\n\n          He don't lak whisky but he jest drinks a can.\n          Honey! I'd druther be a Nigger dan a p[=o]' white man.\n\n          I'd druther be a Nigger, an' plow ole Beck\n          Dan a white [16]Hill Billy wid his long red neck.\n\n[16] Names applied by Negroes to the poorer class of white people in the\nSouth.\n\n\nTHE HUNTING CAMP\n\n    Sam got up one mornin'\n    A mighty big fros'.\n    Saw \"A louse, in de huntin' camp\n    As big as any hoss!\"\n\n    Sam run 'way down de mountain;\n    But w'en Mosser got dar,\n    He swore it twusn't nothin'\n    But a big black b'ar.\n\n\nTHE ARK\n\n    Ole Nora had a lots o' hands\n    A clearin' new ground patches.\n    He said he's gwineter build a Ark,\n    An' put tar on de hatches.\n\n    He had a sassy Mo'gan hoss\n    An' gobs of big fat cattle;\n    An' he driv' em all aboard de Ark,\n    W'en he hear de thunder rattle.\n\n    An' den de river riz so fas'\n    Dat it bust de levee railin's.\n    De lion got his dander up,\n    An' he lak to a broke de palin's.\n\n    An' on dat Ark wus daddy Ham;\n    No udder Nigger on dat packet.\n    He soon got tired o' de Barber Shop,\n    Caze he couln' stan' de racket.\n\n    An' den jes to amuse hisse'f,\n    He steamed a board an' bent it, Son.\n    Dat way he got a banjer up,\n    Fer ole Ham's de fust to make one.\n\n    Dey danced dat Ark from [=e]en to [=e]en,\n    Ole Nora called de Figgers.\n    Ole Ham, he sot an' knocked de chunes,\n    De happiest of de Niggers.\n\n\nGRAY AND BLACK HORSES\n\n    I went down to de woods an' I couldn' go 'cross,\n    So I paid five dollars fer an ole gray hoss.\n    De hoss wouldn' pull, so I s[=o]l' 'im fer a bull.\n    De bull wouldn' holler, so I s[=o]l' 'im fer a dollar.\n    De dollar wouldn' pass, so I throwed it in de grass.\n    Den de grass wouldn' grow. Heigho! Heigho!\n\n    Through dat huckleberry woods I couldn' git far,\n    So I paid a good dollar fer an ole black mar'.\n    W'en I got down dar, de trees wouldn' bar;\n    So I had to gallop back on dat ole black mar'.\n    \"Bookitie-bar!\" Dat ole black mar'; \"Bookitie-bar!\" Dat ole black mar'.\n    Yes she trabble so hard dat she jolt off my ha'r.\n\n\nRATTLER\n\n    Go call ole Rattler from de bo'n.\n    Here Rattler! Here!\n    He'll drive de cows out'n de co'n,\n    Here Rattler! Here!\n\n    Rattler is my huntin' dog.\n    Here Rattler! Here!\n    He's good fer rabbit, good fer hog,\n    Here Rattler! Here!\n\n    He's good fer 'possum in de dew.\n    Here Rattler! Here!\n    Sometimes he gits a chicken, too.\n    Here Rattler! Here!\n\n\nBROTHER BEN AND SISTER SAL\n\n    Ole Br'er Ben's a mighty good ole man,\n    He don't steal chickens lak he useter.\n    He went down de chicken roos' las' Friday night,\n    An' tuck off a dominicker rooster.\n\n    Dere's ole Sis Sal, she climbs right well,\n    But she cain't 'gin to climb lak she useter.\n    So yonder she sets a shellin' out co'n\n    To Mammy's ole bob-tailed rooster.\n\n    Yes, ole Sis Sal's a mighty fine ole gal,\n    She's sh[=o]' extra good an' clever.\n    She's done tuck a notion all her own,\n    Dat she hain't gwineter marry never.\n\n    Ole Sis Sal's got a foot so big,\n    Dat she cain't wear no shoes an' gaiters.\n    So all she want is some red calico,\n    An' dem big yaller yam sweet taters.\n\n    Now looky, looky here! Now looky, looky there!\n    Jes looky!--Looky 'way over yonder!--\n    Don't you see dat ole gray goose\n    A-smilin' at de gander?\n\n\nSIMON SLICK'S MULE\n\n    Dere wus a liddle kickin' man,\n    His name wus Simon Slick.\n    He had a mule wid cherry eyes.\n    Oh, how dat mule could kick!\n\n    An', Suh, w'en you go up to him,\n    He shet one eye an' smile;\n    Den 'e telegram 'is foot to you,\n    An' sen' you half a mile!\n\n\nNOBODY LOOKING\n\n    Well: I look dis a way, an' I look dat a way,\n          An' I heared a mighty rumblin'.\n          W'en I come to find out, 'twus dad's black sow,\n          A-rootin' an' a-grumblin'.\n\n    Den:  I slipped away down to de big White House.\n          Miss Sallie, she done gone 'way.\n          I popped myse'f in de rockin' chear,\n          An' I rocked myse'f all day.\n\n    Now:  I looked dis a way, an' I looked dat a way,\n          An' I didn' see nobody in here.\n          I jes run'd my head in de coffee pot,\n          An' I drink'd up all o' de beer.\n\n\nHOECAKE\n\n    If you wants to bake a hoecake,\n    To bake it good an' done;\n    Jes' slap it on a Nigger's heel,\n    An' hol' it to de sun.\n\n    Dat snake, he bake a hoecake,\n    An' sot de toad to mind it;\n    Dat toad he up an' go to sleep,\n    An' a lizard slip an' find it!\n\n    My mammy baked a hoecake,\n    As big as Alabamer.\n    She throwed it 'g'inst a Nigger's head\n    An' it ring jes' lak a hammer.\n\n    De way you bakes a hoecake,\n    In de ole Virginy 'tire;\n    You wrops it 'round a Nigger's heel,\n    An' h[=o]l's it to de fire.\n\n\nI WENT DOWN THE ROAD\n\n               I went down de road,\n               I went in a whoop;\n               An' I met Aunt Dinah\n               Wid a chicken pot o' soup.\n    Sing: \"I went away from dar; hook-a-doo-dle, hook-a-doo-dle.\"\n          \"I went away from dar; hook-a-doo-dle-doo!\"\n               I drunk up dat soup,\n               An' I let her go by;\n               An' I t[=o]l' her nex' time\n               To bring Missus' pot pie.\n    Sing: \"Oh far'-you-well; hook-a-doo-dle, hook-a-doo-dle;\n          Oh far'-you-well, an' a hook-a-doo-dle-doo!\"\n\n\nTHE OLD HEN CACKLED\n\n    De ole hen she cackled,\n    An' stayed down in de bo'n.\n    She git fat an' sassy,\n    A-eatin' up de co'n.\n\n    De ole hen she cackled,\n    Git great long yaller laigs.\n    She swaller down de oats,\n    But I don't git no aigs.\n\n    De ole hen she cackled,\n    She cackled in de lot,\n    De nex' time she cackled,\n    She cackled in de pot.\n\n\nI LOVE SOMEBODY\n\n    I loves somebody, yes, I do;\n    An' I wants somebody to love me too.\n    Wid my chyart an' oxes stan'in' 'roun',\n    Her pretty liddle foot needn' tetch de groun'.\n\n    I loves somebody, yes, I do,\n    Dat randsome, handsome, Stickamastew.\n    Wid her reddingoat an' waterfall,\n    She's de pretty liddle gal dat beats 'em all.\n\n\nWE ARE \"ALL THE GO\"\n\n    Yes!   We's \"All-de-go,\" boys; we's \"All-de-go.\"\n           Me an' my Lulu gal's \"All-de-go.\"\n            I jes' loves my sweet pretty liddle Lulu Ann,\n              But de way she gits my money I cain't hardly understan'.\n              W'en she up an' call me \"Honey!\" I fergits my name is Sam,\n              An' I hain't got one nickel lef' to git a me a dram.\n\n    Still: We's \"All-de-go,\" boys; we's \"All-de-go.\"\n           Me an' my Lulu gal's \"All-de-go.\"\n            She's always gwine a-fishin', w'en she'd oughter not to go;\n              An' now she's all a troubled wid de frostes an' de snow.\n              I tells you jes one thing dat I'se done gone an' foun':\n              De Nigs cain't git no livin' 'round de C[=o]'t House steps\n                                                               an' town.\n\n\nAUNT DINAH DRUNK\n\n    Ole Aunt Dinah, she got drunk.\n    She fell in de fire, an' she kicked up a chunk.\n    Dem embers got in Aunt Dinah's shoe,\n    An' dat black Nigger sh[=o]' got up an' flew.\n\n    I likes Aunt Dinah mighty, mighty well,\n    But dere's jes' one thing I hates an' 'spize:\n    She drinks m[=o]' whisky dan de bigges' fool,\n    Den she up an' tell ten thousand lies.\n\n    Yes, I won't git drunk an' kick up a chunk.\n         I won't git drunk an' kick up a chunk.\n         I won't git drunk an' kick up a chunk,\n         'Way down on de ole Plank Road.\n         Oh shoo my Love! My turkle dove.\n         Oh shoo my Love! My turkle dove.\n         Oh shoo my Love! My turkle dove.\n         'Way down on de ole Plank Road.\n\n\nTHE OLD WOMAN IN THE HILLS\n\n    Once: Dere wus an ole 'oman\n          Dat lived in de hills;\n          Put rocks in 'er stockin's,\n          An' sent 'em to mill.\n\n    Den:  De ole miller swore,\n          By de pint o' his knife;\n          Dat he never had ground up\n          No rocks in his life.\n\n    So:   De ole 'oman said\n          To dat miller nex' day:\n          \"You railly must 'scuse me,\n          It's de onliest way.\"\n\n          \"I heared you made meal,\n          A-grindin' on stones.\n          I mus' 'ave heared wrong,\n          It mus' 'ave been bones.\"\n\n\nA SICK WIFE\n\n    Las' Sadday night my wife tuck sick,\n    An' what d'you reckon ail her?\n    She e't a tucky gobbler's head\n    An' her stomach, it jes' fail her.\n\n    She squall out: \"Sam, bring me some mint!\n    Make catnip up an' sage tea!\"\n    I goes an' gits her all dem things,\n    But she throw 'em back right to me.\n\n    Says I: \"Dear Honey! Mind nex' time!\"\n            \"Don't eat from 'A to Izzard'\"\n            \"I thinks you won' git sick at all,\n            If you saves p[=o]' me de gizzard.\"\n\n\nMY WONDERFUL TRAVEL\n\n          I come down from ole Virginny,\n          'Twas on a Summer day;\n          De wedder was all frez up,\n          'An' I skeeted all de way!\n\n    _Interlocution_:\n\n          Hand my banjer down to play,\n          Wanter pick fer dese ladies right away;\n\n          \"W'en dey went to bed,\n          Dey couldn' shet deir eyes,\"\n          An' \"Dey was stan'in' on deir heads,\n          A-pickin' up de pies.\"\n\n\nI WOULD NOT MARRY A BLACK GIRL[17]\n\n    I wouldn' marry a black gal,\n    I'll tell you de reason why:\n    When she goes to comb dat head\n    De naps'll 'gin to fly.\n\n    I wouldn' marry a black gal,\n    I'll tell you why I won't:\n    When she'd oughter wash her face--\n    Well, I'll jes say she don't.\n\n    I woudn' marry a black gal,\n    An' dis is why I say:\n    When you has her face around,\n    It never gits good day.\n\n[17] For discussion see Study in Negro Folk Rhymes.\n\n\nHARVEST SONG\n\n    Las' year wus a good crap year,\n    An' we raised beans an' 'maters.\n    We didn' make much cotton an' co'n;\n    But, Goodness Life, de taters!\n\n    You can plow dat ole gray hoss,\n    I'se gwineter plow dat mulie;\n    An' w'en we's geddered in de craps,\n    I'se gwine down to see Julie.\n\n    I hain't gwineter wo'k on de railroad.\n    I hates to wo'k on de fahm.\n    I jes wants to set in de cool shade,\n    Wid my head on my Julie's ahm.\n\n    You swing Lou, an' I'll swing Sue.\n    Dere hain't no diffunce 'tween dese two.\n    You swing Lou, I'll swing my beau;\n    I'se gwineter buy my gal red calico.\n\n\nYEAR OF JUBILEE\n\n    Niggers, has you seed ole Mosser;\n    (Red mustache on his face.)\n    A-gwine 'roun' sometime dis mawnin',\n    'Spectin' to leave de place?\n\n    Nigger Hands all runnin' 'way,\n    Looks lak we mought git free!\n    It mus' be now de [18]Kingdom Come\n    In de Year o' Jubilee.\n\n    Oh, yon'er comes ole Mosser\n    Wid his red mustache all white!\n    It mus' be now de Kingdom Come\n    Sometime to-morrer night.\n\n    Yanks locked him in de smokehouse cellar,\n    De key's throwed in de well:\n    It sh[=o]' mus' be de Kingdom Come.\n    Go ring dat Nigger field-bell!\n\n[18] Kingdom Come = Freedom.\n\n\nSHEEP SHELL CORN\n\n    _Oh_: De Ram blow de ho'n an' de sheep shell co'n;\n    An' he sen' it to de mill by de buck-eyed Whippoorwill.\n    Ole Joe's dead an' gone but his [19]Hant blows de ho'n;\n    An' his hound howls still from de top o' dat hill.\n\n    _Yes_: De Fish-hawk said unto Mistah Crane;\n    \"I wishes to de Lawd dat you'd sen' a liddle rain;\n    Fer de water's all muddy, an de creek's gone dry;\n    If it 'twasn't fer de tadpoles we'd all die.\"\n\n    _Oh_: When de sheep shell co'n wid de rattle of his ho'n\n    I wishes to de Lawd I'd never been bo'n;\n    Caze when de Hant blows de ho'n, de sperits all dance,\n    An' de hosses an' de cattle, dey whirls 'round an' prance.\n\n    _Oh_: Yonder comes Skillet an' dere goes Pot;\n    An' here comes Jawbone 'cross de lot.\n    Walk Jawbone! Beat de Skillet an' de Pan!\n    You cut dat Pigeon's Wing, Black Man!\n\n    _Now_: Take keer, gemmuns, an' let me through;\n    Caze I'se gwineter dance wid liddle Mollie Lou.\n    But I'se never seed de lak since I'se been bo'n,\n    When de sheep shell co'n wid de rattle of his ho'n!\n\n[19] Hant = spirit or ghost.\n\n\nPLASTER\n\n    Chilluns:\n          Mammy an' daddy had a hoss,\n          Dey want a liddle bigger.\n          Dey sticked a plaster on his back\n          An' drawed a liddle Nigger.\n\n    Den:\n          Mammy an' daddy had a dog,\n          His tail wus short an' chunky.\n          Dey slapped a plaster 'round dat tail,\n          An' drawed it lak de monkey.\n\n    Well:\n          Mammy an' daddy's dead an' gone.\n          Did you ever hear deir story?\n          Dey sticked some plasters on deir heels,\n          An' drawed 'em up to Glory!\n\n\nUNCLE NED\n\n    Jes lay down de shovel an' de hoe.\n    Jes hang up de fiddle an' de bow.\n    No more hard work fer ole man Ned,\n    Fer he's gone whar de good Niggers go.\n\n    He didn' have no years fer to hear,\n    Didn' have no eyes fer to see,\n    Didn' have no teeth fer to eat corn cake,\n    An' he had to let de beefsteak be.\n\n    Dey called 'im \"Ole Uncle Ned,\"\n    A long, long time ago.\n    Dere wusn't no wool on de top o' his head\n    In de place whar de wool oughter grow.\n\n    When ole man Ned wus dead,\n    Mosser's tears run down lak rain;\n    But ole Miss, she wus a liddle sorter glad,\n    Dat she wouldn' see de ole Nigger 'gain.\n\n\nTHE MASTER'S \"STOLEN\" COAT\n\n    Ole Mosser bought a brand new coat,\n    He hung it on de wall.\n    Dat Nigger [20]stole dat coat away,\n    An' wore it to de Ball.\n\n    His head look lak a Coffee pot,\n    His nose look lak de spout,\n    His mouf look lak de fier place,\n    Wid de ashes all tuck out.\n\n    His face look lak a skillet lid,\n    His years lak two big kites.\n    His eyes look lak two big biled aigs,\n    Wid de yallers in de whites.\n\n    His body 'us lak a stuffed toad frog,\n    His foot look lak a board.\n    Oh-oh! He thinks he is so fine,\n    But he's greener dan a gourd.\n\n[20] Stole, here, means taken temporarily with intention to return.\n\n\nI WOULDN'T MARRY A YELLOW OR A WHITE NEGRO GIRL[21]\n\n    I sho' loves dat gal dat dey calls Sally [22]\"Black,\"\n    An' I sorter loves some of de res';\n    I first loves de gals fer lovin' me,\n    Den I loves myse'f de bes'.\n\n    I wouldn' marry dat yaller Nigger gal,\n    An' I'll tell you de reason why:\n    Her neck's drawed out so stringy an' long,\n    I'se afeared she 'ould never die.\n\n    I wouldn' marry dat White Nigger gal,\n    (Fer gracious sakes!) dis is why:\n    Her nose look lak a kittle spout;\n    An' her skin, it hain't never dry.\n\n[21] For discussion see Study in Negro Folk Rhymes.\n\n[22] \"Black\" here is not the real name. This name is applied because of\nthe complexion of the girls to whom it was sung.\n\n\nDON'T ASK ME QUESTIONS\n\n    Don't ax me no questions,\n    An' I won't tell you no lies;\n    But bring me dem apples,\n    An' I'll make you some pies.\n\n    An' if you ax questions,\n    'Bout my havin' de flour;\n    I fergits to use 'lasses\n    An' de pie'll be all sour.\n\n    Dem apples jes wa'k here;\n    An' dem 'lasses, dey run.\n    Hain't no place lak my house\n    Found un'er de sun.\n\nTHE OLD SECTION BOSS\n\n    I once knowed an ole Sexion Boss but he done been laid low.\n    I once knowed an ole Sexion Boss but he done been laid low.\n    He \"Caame frum gude ole Ireland some fawhrty year ago.\"\n\n    W'en I ax 'im fer a job, he say: \"Nayger, w'at can yer do?\"\n    W'en I ax 'im fer a job, he say: \"Nayger, w'at can yer do?\"\n    \"I can line de track; tote de jack, de pick an' shovel too.\"\n\n    Says he: \"Nayger, de railroad's done, an' de chyars is on de track,\"\n    Says he: \"Nayger, de railroad's done, an' de chyars is on de track,\"\n    \"Transportation brung yer here, but y[=o]' money'll take yer back.\"\n\n    I went down to de Deepo, an' my ticket I sh[=o]' did draw.\n    I went down to de Deepo, an' my ticket I sh[=o]' did draw.\n    To take me over dat ole Iron Mountain to de State o' Arkansaw.\n\n    As I went sailin' down de road, I met my mudder-in-law.\n    I wus so tired an' hongry, man, dat I couldn' wuk my jaw.\n    Fer I hadn't had no decent grub since I lef' ole Arkansaw.\n\n    Her bread wus hard corndodgers; dat meat, I couldn' chaw.\n    Her bread wus hard corndodgers; dat meat, I couldn' chaw.\n    You see; dat's de way de Hoosiers feeds way out in Arkansaw.\n\n\nTHE NEGRO AND THE POLICEMAN\n\n    \"Oh Mistah Policeman, tu'n me loose;\n    Hain't got no money but a good excuse.\"\n    Oh hello, Sarah Jane!\n\n    Dat ole Policeman treat me mean,\n    He make me wa'k to Bowlin' Green.\n    Oh hello, Sarah Jane!\n\n    De way he treat me wus a shame.\n    He make me wear dat Ball an' Chain.\n    Oh hello, Sarah Jane!\n\n    I runs to de river, I can't git 'cross;\n    Dat Police grab me an' swim lak a hoss.\n    Oh hello, Sarah Jane!\n\n    I goes up town to git me a gun,\n    Dat ole Police sh[=o]' make me run.\n    Oh hello, Sarah Jane!\n\n    I goes crosstown sorter walkin' wid a hump\n    An' dat ole Police sh[=o]' make me jump.\n    Oh hello, Sarah Jane!\n\n    Sarah Jane, is dat y[=o]' name?\n    Us boys, we calls you Sarah Jane.\n    Well, hello, Sarah Jane!\n\n\nHAM BEATS ALL MEAT\n\n    Dem white folks set up in a Dinin' Room\n    An' dey charve dat mutton an' lam'.\n    De Nigger, he set 'hind de kitchen door,\n    An' he eat up de good sweet ham.\n\n    Dem white folks, dey set up an' look so fine,\n    An' dey eats dat ole cow meat;\n    But de Nigger grin an' he don't say much,\n    Still he know how to git what's sweet.\n\n    Deir ginger cakes taste right good sometimes,\n    An' deir Cobblers an' deir jam.\n    But fer every day an' Sunday too,\n    Jest gimme de good sweet ham.\n\n    Ham beats all meat,\n    Always good an' sweet.\n    Ham beats all meat,\n    I'se always ready to eat.\n    You can bake it, bile it, fry it, stew it,\n    An' still it's de good sweet ham.\n\n\nSUZE ANN\n\n    Yes: I loves dat gal wid a blue dress on,\n         Dat de white folks calls Suze Ann.\n         She's jes' dat gal what stole my heart,\n         'Way down in Alabam'.\n\n    But: She loves a Nigger about nineteen,\n         Wid his lips all painted red;\n         Wid a liddle fuz around his mouf;\n         An' no brains in his head.\n\n    Now: Looky, looky Eas'! Oh, looky, looky Wes'!\n         I'se been down to ole Lou'zan';\n         Still dat ar gal I loves de bes'\n         Is de gal what's named Suze Ann.\n         Oh, head 'er! Head 'er! Ketch 'er!\n         Jump up an' [23]\"Jubal Jew.\"\n         Fer de Banger Picker's sayin':\n         He hain't got nothin' to do.\n\n[23] Jubal Jew is a kind of dance step.\n\n\nWALK TOM WILSON\n\n    Ole Tom Wilson, he had 'im a hoss;\n    His legs so long he couldn' git 'em 'cross.\n    He laid up dar lak a bag o' meal,\n    An' he spur him in de flank wid his toenail heel.\n\n    Ole Tom Wilson, he come an' he go,\n    Frum cabin to cabin in de county-o.\n    W'en he go to bed, his legs hang do'n,\n    An' his foots makes poles fer de chickens t' roost on.\n\n    Tom went down to de river, an' he couldn' go 'cross.\n    Tom tromp on a 'gater an' 'e think 'e wus a hoss.\n    Wid a mouf wide open, 'gater jump from de san',\n    An' dat Nigger look clean down to de Promus' Lan'.\n\n    Wa'k Tom Wilson, git out'n de way!\n    Wa'k Tom Wilson, don't wait all de day!\n    Wa'k Tom Wilson, here afternoon;\n    Sweep dat kitchen wid a bran' new broom.\n\nCHICKEN PIE\n\n    If you wants to make an ole Nigger feel good,\n    Let me tell you w'at to do:\n    Jes take off a chicken from dat chicken roost,\n    An' take 'im along wid you.\n    Take a liddle dough to roll 'im up in,\n    An' it'll make you wink y[=o]' eye;\n    Wen dat good smell gits up y[=o]' nose,\n    Frum dat home-made chicken pie.\n\n    Jes go round w'en de night's sorter dark,\n    An' dem chickens, dey can't see.\n    Be shore dat de bad dog's all tied up,\n    Den slip right close to de tree.\n    Now retch out y[=o]' han' an' pull 'im in,\n    Den run lak a William goat;\n    An' if he holler, squeeze 'is neck,\n    An' shove 'im un'er y[=o]' coat.\n\n    Bake dat Chicken pie!\n    It's mighty hard to wait\n    When you see dat Chicken pie,\n    Hot, smokin' on de plate.\n    Bake dat Chicken pie!\n    Yes, put in lots o' spice.\n    Oh, how I hopes to Goodness\n    Dat I gits de bigges' slice.\n\n\nI AM NOT GOING TO HOBO ANY MORE\n\n    My mammy done tol' me a long time ago\n    To always try fer to be a good boy;\n    To lay on my pallet an' to waller on de fl[=o]';\n    An' to never leave my daddy's house.\n    I hain't never gwineter hobo no m[=o]'. By George!\n    I hain't never gwineter hobo no m[=o]'.\n\n    Yes, bef[=o]' I'd live dat ar hobo life,\n    I'll tell you what I'd jes go an' do:\n    I'd court dat pretty gal an' take 'er fer my wife,\n    Den jes lay 'side dat ar hobo life.\n    I hain't never gwineter hobo no m[=o]'. By George!\n    I hain't never gwineter hobo no m[=o]'.\n\n\nFORTY-FOUR\n\n    If de people'll jes gimme\n    Des a liddle bit o' peace,\n    I'll tell 'em what happen\n    To de Chief o' Perlice.\n    He met a robber\n    Right at de d[=o]'!\n    An' de robber, he shot 'im\n    Wid a forty-f[=o]'!\n    He shot dat Perliceman.\n    He shot 'im sh[=o]'!\n    What did he shoot 'im wid?\n    A forty-f[=o]'.\n\n    Dey sent fer de Doctah\n    An' de Doctah he come.\n    He come in a hurry,\n    He come in a run.\n    He come wid his instriments\n    Right in his han',\n    To progue an' find\n    Dat forty-f[=o]', Man!\n    De Doctah he progued;\n    He progued 'im sh[=o]'!\n    But he jes couldn' find\n    Dat forty-f[=o]'.\n\n    Dey sent fer de Preachah,\n    An' de preachah he come.\n    He come in a walk,\n    An' he come in to talk.\n    He come wid 'is Bible,\n    Right in 'is han',\n    An' he read from dat chapter,\n    Forty-f[=o]', Man!\n    Dat Preachah, he read.\n    He read, I know.\n    What Chapter did he read frum?\n    'Twus Forty-f[=o]'!\n\n\n\n\nPLAY RHYME SECTION\n\n\nBLINDFOLD PLAY CHANT\n\n    Oh blin' man! Oh blin' man!\n    You cain't never see.\n    Just tu'n 'round three times\n    You cain't ketch me.\n\n    Oh tu'n Eas'! Oh tu'n Wes'!\n    Ketch us if you can.\n    Did you thought dat you'd cotch us,\n    Mistah blin' man?\n\n\nFOX AND GEESE PLAY\n\n    [24](Fox _Call_) \"Fox in de mawnin'!\"\n    (Goose _Sponse_) \"Goose in de evenin'!\"\n\n    (Fox _Call_) \"How many geese you got?\"\n    (Goose _Sponse_) \"More 'an you're able to ketch!\"\n\n[24] For explanation of \"call,\" and \"sponse,\" see Study in Negro Folk\nRhymes.\n\n\nHAWK AND CHICKENS PLAY\n\n    [25](Chicken's _Call_) \"Chickamee, chickamee, cranie-crow.\"\n          I went to de well to wash my toe.\n          W'en I come back, my chicken wus gone.\n          W'at time, ole Witch?\n    (Hawk _Sponse_) \"One\"\n\n    (Hawk _Call_) \"I wants a chick.\"\n    (Chicken's _Sponse_) \"Well, you cain't git mine.\"\n\n    (Hawk _Call_) \"I shall have a chick!\"\n    (Chicken's _Sponse_) \"You shan't have a chick!\"\n\n[25] For explanation of \"call,\" and \"sponse,\" see Study in Negro Folk\nRhymes.\n\n\nCAUGHT BY THE WITCH PLAY\n\n    (Human _Call_) \"Molly, Molly, Molly-bright!\"\n    (Witch _Sponse_) \"Three sc[=o]' an' ten!\"\n\n    (Human _Call_) \"Can we git dar 'fore candle-light?\"\n    (Witch _Sponse_) \"Yes, if y[=o]' legs is long an' light.\"\n\n    (Conscience's Warning _Call_) \"You'd better watch out,\n    Or de witches'll git yer!\"\n\n\nGOOSIE-GANDER PLAY RHYME[26]\n\n    \"Goosie, goosie, goosie-gander!\n    What d'you say?\"--\"Say: 'Goose!'\"--\n    \"Ve'y well, go right along, Honey!\n    I tu'ns y[=o]' years a-loose.\"\n\n    \"Goosie, goosie, goosie-gander!\n    What d'you say?\"--\"Say: 'Gander'\"\n    \"Ve'y well. Come in de ring, Honey!\n    I'll pull y[=o]' years way yander!\"\n\n[26] For explanation read the Study in Negro Folk Rhymes.\n\n\nHAWK AND BUZZARD\n\n    Once: De Hawk an' de buzzard went to roost,\n        An' de hawk got up wid a broke off tooth.\n\n    Den: De hawk an' de buzzard went to law,\n        An' de hawk come back wid a broke up jaw.\n\n    But lastly: Dat buzzard tried to plead his case,\n        Den he went home wid a smashed in face.\n\n\nLIKES AND DISLIKES\n\n    I sho' loves Miss Donie! Oh, yes, I do!\n            She's neat in de waist,\n            Lak a needle in de case;\n            An' she suits my taste.\n\n    I'se gwineter run wid Mollie Roalin'! Oh, yes, I will!\n            She's pretty an' nice\n            Lak a bottle full o' spice,\n            But she's done drap me twice.\n\n    I don't lak Miss Jane! Oh no, I don't.\n            She's fat an' stout,\n            Got her mouf sticked out,\n            An' she laks to pout.\n\n\nSUSIE GIRL\n\n    Ring 'round, Miss Susie gal,\n    Ring 'round, \"My Dovie.\"\n    Ring 'round, Miss Susie gal.\n    Bless you! \"My Lovie.\"\n\n    Back 'way, Miss Susie gal.\n    Back 'way, \"My Money.\"\n    Now come back, Miss Susie gal.\n    Dat's right! \"My Honey.\"\n\n    Swing me, Miss Susie gal.\n    Swing me, \"My Starlin'.\"\n    Jes swing me, my Susie gal.\n    Yes \"Love!\" \"My Darlin'.\"\n\n\nSUSAN JANE\n\n    I know somebody's got my Lover;\n    Susan Jane! Susan Jane!\n    Oh, cain't you tell me; help me find 'er?\n    Susan Jane! Susan Jane!\n\n    If I lives to see nex' Fall;\n    Susan Jane! Susan Jane!\n    I hain't gwineter sow no wheat at all.\n    Susan Jane! Susan Jane!\n\n    'Way down yon'er in de middle o' de branch;\n    Susan Jane! Susan Jane!\n    De ole cow pat an' de buzzards dance.\n    Susan Jane! Susan Jane!\n\n\nPEEP SQUIRREL\n\n    Peep squir'l, ying-ding-did-lum;\n    Peep squir'l, it's almos' day,\n    Look squir'l, ying-ding-did-lum,\n    Look squir'l, an' run away.\n\n    Walk squir'l, ying-ding-did-lum;\n    Walk squir'l, fer dat's de way.\n    Skip squir'l, ying-ding-did-lum;\n    Skip squir'l, all dress in gray.\n\n    Run squir'l! Ying-ding-did-lum!\n    Run squir'l! Oh, run away!\n    I cotch you squir'l! Ying-ding-did-lum!\n    I cotch you squir'l! Now stay, I say.\n\n\nDID YOU FEED MY COW?\n\n    \"Did yer feed my cow?\" \"Yes, Mam!\"\n    \"Will yer tell me how?\" \"Yes, Mam!\"\n    \"Oh, w'at did yer give 'er?\" \"Cawn an' hay.\"\n    \"Oh, w'at did yer give 'er?\" \"Cawn an' hay.\"\n\n    \"Did yer milk 'er good?\" \"Yes, Mam!\"\n    \"Did yer do lak yer should?\" \"Yes, Mam!\"\n    \"Oh, how did yer milk 'er?\" \"Swish! Swish! Swish!\"\n    \"Oh, how did yer milk 'er?\" \"Swish! Swish! Swish!\"\n\n    \"Did dat cow git sick?\" \"Yes, Mam!\"\n    \"Wus she kivered wid tick?\" \"Yes, Mam!\"\n    \"Oh, how wus she sick?\" \"All bloated up.\"\n    \"Oh, how wus she sick?\" \"All bloated up.\"\n\n    \"Did dat cow die?\" \"Yes, Mam!\"\n    \"Wid a pain in 'er eye?\" \"Yes, Mam!\"\n    \"Oh, how did she die?\" \"Uh-! Uh-! Uh-!\"\n    \"Oh, how did she die?\" \"Uh-! Uh-! Uh-!\"\n\n    \"Did de Buzzards come?\" \"Yes, Mam!\"\n    \"Fer to pick 'er bone?\" \"Yes, Mam!\"\n    \"Oh, how did they come?\" \"Flop! Flop! Flop!\"\n    \"Oh, how did they come?\" \"Flop! Flop! Flop!\"\n\n\nA BUDGET\n\n    If I lives to see nex' Spring\n    I'se gwineter buy my wife a big gold ring.\n\n    If I lives to see nex' Fall,\n    I'se gwinter buy my wife a waterfall.\n\n    \"When Christmas comes?\" You cunnin' elf!\n    I'se gwineter spen' my money on myself.\n\n\nTHE OLD BLACK GNATS\n\n    Dem ole black gnats, dey is so bad\n    I cain't git out'n here.\n    Dey stings, an' bites, an' runs me mad;\n    I cain't git out'n here.\n\n    Dem ole black gnats dey sings de song,\n    \"You cain't git out'n here.\n    Ole Satan'll git you bef[=o]' long;\n    You cain't git out'n here.\"\n\n    Dey burns my years, gits in my eye;\n    An' I cain't git out'n here.\n    Dey makes me dance, dey makes me cry;\n    An' I cain't git out'n here.\n\n    I fans an' knocks but dey won't go 'way!\n    I cain't git out'n here.\n    Dey makes me wish 'twus Jedgment Day;\n    Fer I cain't git out'n here.\n\n\nSUGAR LOAF TEA\n\n    Bring through y[=o]' [27]Sugar-l[=o]'-tea, bring through y[=o]'\n                                                            [27]Candy,\n    All I want is to wheel, an' tu'n, an' bow to my Love so handy.\n\n    You tu'n here on Sugar-l[=o]'-tea, I'll tu'n there on Candy.\n    All I want is to wheel, an' tu'n, an' bow to my Love so handy.\n\n    Some gits drunk on Sugar-l[=o]'-tea, some gits drunk on Candy,\n    But all I wants is to wheel, an' tu'n, an' bow to my Love so handy.\n\n[27] Nicknames applied in imagination to the women engaged in playing in\nthe Play Song.\n\n\nGREEN OAK TREE! ROCKY'O\n\n    Green oak tree! Rocky'o! Green oak tree! Rocky'o!\n    Call dat one you loves, who it may be,\n    To come an' set by de side o' me.\n    \"Will you hug 'im once an' kiss 'im twice?\"\n    \"W'y! I wouldn' kiss 'im once fer to save 'is life!\"\n    Green oak tree! Rocky'o! Green oak tree! Rocky'o!\n\n\nKISSING SONG\n\n    A sleish o' bread an' butter fried,\n    Is good enough fer y[=o]' sweet Bride.\n    Now choose y[=o]' Lover, w'ile we sing,\n    An' call 'er nex' onto de ring.\n\n    \"Oh my Love, how I loves you!\n    Nothin' 's in dis worl' above you.\n    Dis right han', fersake it never.\n    Dis heart, you mus' keep forever.\n    One sweet kiss, I now takes from you;\n    Caze I'se gwine away to leave you.\"\n\n\nKNEEL ON THIS CARPET\n\n    Jes choose y[=o]' Eas'; jes choose y[=o]' Wes'.\n    Now choose de one you loves de bes'.\n    If she hain't here to take 'er part\n    Choose some one else wid all y[=o]' heart.\n\n    Down on dis chyarpet you mus' kneel,\n    Shore as de grass grows in de fiel'.\n    Salute y[=o]' Bride, an' kiss her sweet,\n    An' den rise up upon y[=o]' feet.\n\n\nSALT RISING BREAD\n\n    I loves saltin', saltin' bread.\n    I loves saltin', saltin' bread.\n    Put on dat skillet, nev' mind de lead;\n    Caze I'se gwineter cook dat saltin' bread;\n    Yes, ever since my mammy's been dead,\n    I'se been makin' an' cookin' dat saltin' bread.\n\n    I loves saltin', saltin' bread.\n    I loves saltin', saltin' bread.\n    You loves biscuit, butter, an' fat?\n    I can dance Shiloh better 'an dat.\n    Does you turn 'round an' shake y[=o]' head?--\n    Well; I loves saltin', saltin' bread.\n\n    I loves saltin', saltin' bread.\n    I loves saltin', saltin' bread.\n    W'en you ax y[=o]' mammy fer butter an' bread,\n    She don't give nothin' but a stick across y[=o]' head.\n    On cracklin's, you say, you wants to git fed?\n    Well, I loves saltin', saltin' bread.\n\n\nPRECIOUS THINGS\n\n    Hol' my rooster, h[=o]l' my hen,\n    Pray don't tetch my [28]Gooshen Ben'.\n\n    Hol' my bonnet, h[=o]l' my shawl,\n    Pray don't tetch my waterfall.\n\n    H[=o]l' my han's by de finger tips,\n    But pray don't tetch my sweet liddle lips.\n\n[28] Grecian Bend.\n\n\nHE LOVES SUGAR AND TEA\n\n    Mistah Buster, he loves sugar an' tea.\n    Mistah Buster, he loves candy.\n    Mistah Buster, he's a Jim-dandy!\n    He can swing dem gals so handy.\n\n    Charlie's up an' Charlie's down.\n    Charlie's fine an' dandy.\n    Ev'ry time he goes to town,\n    He gits dem gals stick candy.\n\n    Dat Niggah, he love sugar an' tea.\n    Dat Niggah love dat candy.\n    Fine Niggah! He can wheel 'em 'round,\n    An' swing dem ladies handy.\n\n    Mistah Sambo, he love sugar an' tea.\n    Mistah Sambo love his candy.\n    Mistah Sambo; he's dat han'some man\n    What goes wid sister Mandy.\n\n\nHERE COMES A YOUNG MAN COURTING\n\n    Here comes a young man a courtin'! Courtin'! Courtin'!\n    Here comes a young man a-courtin'! It's Tidlum Tidelum Day.\n    \"Say! Won't you have one o' us? Us, Sir? Us, Sir?\n    Say! Won't you have one o' us, Sir?\" dem brown skin ladies say.\n\n    \"You is too black an' rusty! Rusty! Rusty!\n    You is too black an' rusty!\" said Tidlum Tidelum Day.\n    \"We hain't no blacker 'an you, Sir! You, Sir! You, Sir!\n    We hain't no blacker 'an you, Sir!\" dem brown skin ladies say.\n\n    \"Pray! Won't you have one o' us, Sir? Us, Sir? Us, Sir?\n    Pray! Won't you have one o' us, Sir?\" say yaller gals all gay.\n    \"You is too ragged an' dirty! Dirty! Dirty!\n    You is too ragged an' dirty!\" said Tidlum Tidelum Day.\n\n    \"You shore is got de bighead! Bighead! Bighead!\n    You shore is got de bighead! You needn' come dis way.\n    We's good enough fer you, Sir! You, Sir! You, Sir!\n    We's good enough fer you, Sir!\" dem yaller gals all say.\n\n    \"De fairest one dat I can see, dat I can see, dat I can see,\n    De fairest one dat I can see,\" said Tidlum Tidelum Day.\n    \"My Lulu, come an' wa'k wid me, wa'k wid me, wa'k wid me.\n    My Lulu, come an' wa'k wid me. 'Miss Tidlum Tidelum Day.'\"\n\n\nANCHOR LINE\n\n    I'se gwine out on de Anchor Line, Dinah!\n    I won't git back 'fore de summer time, Dinah!\n    W'en I come back be \"dead in line,\"\n    I'se gwineter bring you a dollar an' a dime,\n    Shore as I gits in from de Anchor Line, Dinah!\n\n    If you loves me lak I loves you, Dinah!\n    No Coon can cut our love in two, Dinah!\n    If you'll jes come an' go wid me,\n    Come go wid me to Tennessee,\n    Come go wid me; I'll set you free,--Dinah!\n\n\nSALLIE\n\n    Sallie! Sallie! don't you want to marry?\n    Sallie! Sallie! do come an' tarry!\n    Sallie! Sallie! Mammy says to tell her when.\n    Sallie! Sallie! She's gwineter kill dat turkey hen!\n\n    Sallie! Sallie! When you goes to marry,\n    (Sallie! Sallie!) Marry a fahmin man(!)\n    (Sallie! Sallie!) Ev'ry day'll be Mond'y,\n    (Sallie! Sallie!) Wid a hoe-handle in y[=o]' han'!\n\n\nSONG TO THE RUNAWAY SLAVE[29]\n\n    Go 'way from dat window, \"My Honey, My Love!\"\n    Go 'way from dat window! I say.\n    De baby's in de bed, an' his mammy's lyin' by,\n    But you cain't git y[=o]' lodgin' here.\n\n    Go 'way from dat window, \"My Honey, My Love!\"\n    Go 'way from dat window! I say;\n    Fer ole Mosser's got 'is gun, an' to Miss'ip' youse been s[=o]l';\n    So you cain't git y[=o]' lodgin' here.\n\n    Go 'way from dat window, \"My Honey, My Love!\"\n    Go 'way from dat window! I say.\n    De baby keeps a-cryin'; but you'd better un'erstan'\n    Dat you cain't git y[=o]' lodgin' here.\n\n    Go 'way from dat window, \"My Honey, My Love!\"\n    Go 'way from dat window! I say;\n    Fer de Devil's in dat man, an' you'd better un'erstan'\n    Dat you cain't git y[=o]' lodgin' here.\n\n[29] The story went among Negroes that a runaway slave husband returned\nevery night, and knocked on the window of his wife's cabin to get food.\nOther slaves having betrayed the secret that he was still in the\nvicinity, he was sold in the woods to a slave trader at reduced price.\nThis trader was to come next day with bloodhounds to hunt him down. On\nthe night after the sale, when the runaway slave husband knocked, the\nslave wife pinched their baby to make it cry. Then she sang the above\nsong (as if singing to the baby), so that he might, if possible, effect\nhis escape.\n\n\nDOWN IN THE LONESOME GARDEN\n\n    Hain't no use to weep, hain't no use to moan;\n    Down in a lonesome gyardin.\n    You cain't git no meat widout pickin' up a bone,\n    Down in a lonesome gyardin.\n\n    Look at dat gal! How she puts on airs,\n    Down in de lonesome gyardin!\n    But whar did she git dem closes she w'ars,\n    Down in de lonesome gyardin?\n\n    It hain't gwineter rain, an' it hain't gwineter snow;\n    Down in my lonesome gyardin.\n    You hain't gwinter eat in my kitchen doo',\n    Nor down in my lonesome gyardin.\n\n\nLITTLE SISTER, WON'T YOU MARRY ME?\n\n    Liddle sistah in de barn, jine de weddin'.\n    Youse de sweetest liddle couple dat I ever did see.\n    Oh Love! Love! Ahms all 'round me!\n    Say, liddle sistah, won't you marry me?\n\n    Oh step back, gal, an' don't you come a nigh me,\n    Wid all dem sassy words dat you say to me.\n    Oh Love! Love! Ahms all 'roun' me!\n    Oh liddle sistah, won't you marry me?\n\n\nRAISE A \"RUCUS\" TO-NIGHT\n\n    Two liddle Niggers all dressed in white,\n                                             (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n    Want to go to Heaben on de tail of a kite.\n                                            (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n    De kite string broke; dem Niggers fell;\n                                            (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n    Whar dem Niggers go, I hain't gwineter tell.\n                                             (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n\n    A Nigger an' a w'ite man a playin' seben up;\n                                             (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n    De Nigger beat de w'ite man, but '[=e]'s skeered to pick it up.\n                                             (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n    Dat Nigger grabbed de money, an' de w'ite man fell.\n                                             (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n    How de Nigger run, I'se not gwineter tell.\n                                             (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n\n    Look here, Nigger! Let me tell you a naked fac';\n                                             (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n    You mought a been cullud widout bein' dat black;\n                                             (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n    Dem 'ar feet look lak youse sh[=o]' walkin' back;\n                                             (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n    An' y[=o]' ha'r, it look lak a chyarpet tack.\n                                             (Raise a rucus to-night.)\n\n    Oh come 'long, chilluns, come 'long,\n    W'ile dat moon are shinin' bright.\n    Let's git on board, an' float down de river,\n    An' raise dat rucus to-night.\n\n\nSWEET PINKS AND ROSES\n\n    Sweet pinks an' roses, strawbeers on de vines,\n    Call in de one you loves, an' kiss 'er if you minds.\n    Here sets a pretty gal,\n    Here sets a pretty boy;\n    Cheeks painted rosy, an' deir eyes battin' black.\n    You kiss dat pretty gal, an' I'll stan' back.\n\n\n\n\nPASTIME RHYME SECTION\n\n\nSATAN\n\n    De Lawd made man, an' de man made money.\n    De Lawd made de bees, an' de bees made honey.\n    De Lawd made ole Satan, an' ole Satan he make sin.\n    Den de Lawd, He make a liddle hole to put ole Satan in.\n\n    Did you ever see de Devil, wid his iron handled shovel,\n    A scrapin' up de san' in his ole tin pan?\n    He cuts up mighty funny, he steals all y[=o]' money,\n    He blinds you wid his san'. He's tryin' to git you, man!\n\n\nJOHNNY BIGFOOT\n\n    Johnny, Johnny Bigfoot!\n    Want a pair o' shoes?\n    Go kick two cows out'n deir skins.\n    Run Brudder, tell de news!\n\n\nTHE THRIFTY SLAVE\n\n    Jes wuk all day,\n    Den go huntin' in de wood.\n    Ef you cain't ketch nothin',\n    Den you hain't no good.\n    Don't look at Mosser's chickens,\n    Caze dey're roostin' high.\n    Big pig, liddle pig, root hog or die!\n\n\nWILD NEGRO BILL\n\n    I'se wild Nigger Bill\n    Frum Redpepper Hill.\n    I never did wo'k, an' I never will.\n\n    I'se done killed de Boss.\n    I'se knocked down de hoss.\n    I eats up raw goose widout apple sauce!\n\n    I'se Run-a-way Bill,\n    I knows dey mought kill;\n    But ole Mosser hain't cotch me, an' he never will!\n\n\nYOU LOVE YOUR GIRL\n\n    You loves y[=o]' gal?\n    Well, I loves mine.\n    Y[=o]' gal hain't common?\n    Well, my gal's fine.\n\n    I loves my gal,\n    She hain't no goose--\n    Blacker 'an blackberries,\n    Sweeter 'an juice.\n\n\nFRIGHTENED AWAY FROM A CHICKEN-ROOST\n\n    I went down to de hen house on my knees,\n    An' I thought I heared dat chicken sneeze.\n    You'd oughter seed dis Nigger a-gittin' 'way frum dere,\n    But 'twusn't nothin' but a rooster sayin' his prayer.\n    How I wish dat rooster's prayer would en',\n    Den perhaps I mought eat dat ole gray hen.\n\n\nBEDBUG\n\n    De June-bug's got de golden wing,\n    De Lightning-bug de flame;\n    De Bedbug's got no wing at all,\n    But he gits dar jes de same.\n\n    De Punkin-bug's got a punkin smell,\n    De Squash-bug smells de wust;\n    But de puffume of dat ole Bedbug,\n    It's enough to make you bust.\n\n    Wen dat Bedbug come down to my house,\n    I wants my walkin' cane.\n    Go git a pot an' scald 'im hot!\n    Good-by, Miss Lize Jane!\n\n\nHOW TO GET TO GLORY LAND\n\n    If you wants to git to Glory Land,\n    I'll tell you what to do:\n    Jes grease y[=o]' heels wid mutton sue,\n    W'en de Devil's atter you.\n    Jes grease y[=o]' heel an' grease y[=o]' han',\n    An' slip 'way--over into Glory Lan'.\n\n\nDESTITUTE FORMER SLAVE OWNERS\n\n    Missus an' Mosser a-walkin' de street,\n    Deir han's in deir pockets an' nothin' to eat.\n    She'd better be home a-washin' up de dishes,\n    An' a-cleanin' up de ole man's raggitty britches.\n    He'd better run 'long an' git out de hoes\n    An' clear out his own crooked weedy corn rows;\n    De Kingdom is come, de Niggers is free.\n    Hain't no Nigger slaves in de Year Jubilee.\n\n\nFATTENING FROGS FOR SNAKES\n\n    You needn' sen' my gal hoss apples\n    You needn' sen' her 'lasses candy;\n    She would keer fer de lak o' you,\n    Ef you'd sen' her apple brandy.\n\n    W'y don't you git some common sense?\n    Jes git a liddle! Oh fer land sakes!\n    Quit y[=o]' foolin', she hain't studyin' you!\n    Youse jes fattenin' frogs fer snakes!\n\n\nTHE MULE'S KICK\n\n    Is dis me, or not me,\n    Or is de Devil got me?\n    Wus dat a muskit shot me?\n    Is I laid here more'n a week?--\n    Dat ole mule do kick amazin',\n    An' I 'spec's he's now a-grazin'\n    On de t'other side de creek.\n\n\nCHRISTMAS TURKEY\n\n    I prayed to de Lawd fer tucky-o.\n    Dat tucky wouldn' come.\n    I prayed, an' I prayed 'til I'se almos' daid.\n    No tucky at my home.\n\n    Chrismus Day, she almos' here;\n    My wife, she mighty mad.\n    She want dat tucky mo' an' mo'.\n    An' she want 'im mighty bad.\n\n    I prayed 'til de scales come on my knees,\n    An' still no tucky come.\n    I tuck myse'f to my tucky roos',\n    An' I brung my tucky home.\n\n\nA FULL POCKETBOOK\n\n    De goose at de barn, he feel mighty funny,\n    Caze de duck find a pocketbook chug full o' money.\n    De goose say: \"Whar is you gwine, my Sonny?\"\n    An' de duck, he say: \"Now good-by, Honey.\"\n\n    De duck chaw terbacker an' de goose drink wine,\n    Wid a stuffed pocketbook dey sh[=o]' had a good time;\n    De grasshopper played de fiddle on a punkin vine\n    'Till dey all fall over on a sorter dead line.\n\n\nNO ROOM TO POKE FUN\n\n    Nev' m[=i]n' if my nose are flat,\n    An' my face are black an' sooty;\n    De Jaybird hain't so big in song,\n    An' de Bullfrog hain't no beauty.\n\n\nCROOKED NOSE JANE\n\n    I courted a gal down de lane.\n    Her name, it wus Crooked Nose Jane.\n    Her face wus white speckled, her lips wus all red,\n    An' she look jes as lean as a weasel half-fed.\n\n\nBAD FEATURES\n\n    Blue gums an' black eyes;\n    Run 'round an' tell lies.\n    Liddle head, liddle wit;\n    Big long head, not a bit.\n\n    Wid his long crooked toes,\n    An' his heel right roun';\n    Dat flat-footed Nigger\n    Make a hole in de groun'.\n\n\nMISS SLIPPY SLOPPY\n\n    Ole Miss Slippy Sloppy jump up out'n bed,\n    Den out'n de winder she poke 'er nappy head,\n    \"Jack! O Jack! De gray goose's dead.\n    Dat fox done gone an' bit off 'er head!\"\n\n    Jack run up de hill an' he call Mosser's hounds;\n    An' w'en dat fox hear dem turble sounds,\n    He sw'ar by his head an' his hide all 'round,\n    Dat he don't want no dinner, but a hole in de ground.\n\n\nHOW TO MAKE IT RAIN\n\n    Go kill dat snake an' hang him high,\n    Den tu'n his belly to de sky.\n    De storm an' rain'll come bye an' bye.\n\n\nA WIND-BAG\n\n    A nigger come a-struttin' up to me las' night;\n    In his han' wus a walkin' cane,\n    He tipped his hat an' give a low bow;\n    \"Howdy-doo! Miss Lize Jane!\"\n\n    But I didn' ax him how he done,\n    Which make a hint good pinned,\n    Dat I'd druther have a paper bag,\n    When it's sumpin' to be filled up wid wind.\n\n\nGOING TO BE GOOD SLAVES\n\n    Ole Mosser an' Missus has gone down to town,\n    Dey said dey'd git us somethin' an' dat hain't no jokes.\n    I'se gwineter be good all de whilst dey're all 'way,\n    An' I'se gwineter wear stockin's jes lak de white folks.\n\n\nPAGE'S GEESE[30]\n\n    Ole man Page'll be in a turble rage,\n    W'en he find out, it'll raise his dander.\n    Yankee soldiers bought his geese, fer one cent a-piece,\n    An' sent de pay home by de gander.\n\n[30] The Northern soldiers during the Civil War took all of a Southern\nplanter's geese except one lone gander. They put one penny, for each\ngoose taken, into a small bag and tied this bag around the gander's\nneck. They then sent him home to his owner with the pay of one penny for\neach goose taken. The Negroes of the community at once made up this\nlittle song.\n\n\nTO WIN A YELLOW GIRL\n\n    If you wants to win a yaller gal,\n    I tell you what you do;\n    You \"borrow\" Mosser's Beaver hat,\n    An' slip on his Long-tailed Blue.\n\n\nSEX LAUGH\n\n    You'se heared a many a gal laugh,\n    An' say: \"He! He-he! He-he-he!\"\n    But you hain't heared no boy laugh,\n    An' say: \"She! She-she! She-she-she!\"\n\n\nOUTRUNNING THE DEVIL\n\n    I went upon de mountain,\n    An' I seed de Devil comin'.\n    I retched an' got my hat an' coat,\n    An' I beat de Devil runnin'.\n\n    As I run'd down across de fiel',\n    A rattlesnake bit me on de heel.\n    I rears an' pitches an' does my bes',\n    An' I falls right back in a hornet's nes'.\n\n    For w'en I wus a sinnah man,\n    I rund by leaps an' boun's.\n    I wus afeard de Devil 'ould ketch me\n    Wid his ole three legged houn's.\n\n    But now I'se come a Christun,\n    I kneels right down an' prays,\n    An' den de Devil runs from me--\n    I'se tried dem other ways.\n\n\nHOW TO KEEP OR KILL THE DEVIL\n\n    If you wants to see de Devil smile,\n    Simpully do lak his own chile.\n\n    If you wants to see de Devil git spunk,\n    Swallow whisky, an' git drunk.\n\n    If you wants to see de Devil live,\n    Cuss an' swar an' never give.\n\n    If you wants to see de Devil run,\n    Jes tu'n a loose de Gospel gun.\n\n    If you wants to see de Devil fall,\n    Hit him wid de Gospel ball.\n\n    If you wants to see de Devil beg,\n    Nail him wid a Gospel peg.\n\n    If you wants to see de Devil sick,\n    Beat him wid a Gospel stick.\n\n    If you wants to see de Devil die,\n    Feed him up on Gospel pie.\n\n    But de Devil w'ars dat iron shoe,\n    An' if you don't watch, he'll slip it on you.\n\n\nJOHN HENRY\n\n    John Henry, he wus a steel-drivin' man.\n    He died wid his hammer in his han'.\n    O come long boys, an' line up de track,\n    For John Henry, he hain't never comin' back.\n\n    John Henry said to his Cappun: \"Boss,\n    A man hain't nothin' but a man,\n    An' 'fore I'll be beat in dis sexion gang,\n    I'll die wid a hammer in my han'.\"\n\n    John Henry, he had a liddle boy,\n    He helt 'im in de pam of his han';\n    An' de las' word he say to dat chile wus:\n    \"I wants you to be my steel-drivin' man.\"\n\n    John Henry, he had a pretty liddle wife,\n    An' her name, it wus Polly Ann.\n    She walk down de track, widout lookin' back,\n    For to see her big fine steel-drivin' man.\n\n    John Henry had dat pretty liddle wife,\n    An' she went all dress up in red.\n    She walk ev'y day down de railroad track\n    To de place whar her steel-drivin' man fell dead.\n\n\nTHE NASHVILLE LADIES[31]\n\n    Dem Nashville ladies dress up fine.\n    Got longpail hoopskirts hanging down beh[=i]n'!\n    Got deir bonnets to deir shoulders an' deir noses in de sky!\n    Big pig! Liddle pig! Root hog, or die!\n\n[31] The name of the place was used where the rhyme was repeated.\n\n\nTHE RASCAL\n\n    I'se de bigges' rascal fer my age.\n    I now speaks from dis public stage.\n    I'se stole a cow; I'se stole a calf,\n    An' dat hain't more 'an jes 'bout half.\n\n    Yes, Mosser!--Lover of my soul!--\n    \"How many chickens has I stole?\"\n    Well; three las' night, an' two night befo';\n    An' I'se gwine 'fore long to git four m[=o]'.\n\n    But you see dat hones' Billy Ben,\n    He done e't more dan erry three men.\n    He e't a ham, den e't a side;\n    He would a e't m[=o]', but you know he died.\n\n\nCOFFEE GROWS ON WHITE FOLKS' TREES\n\n    Coffee grows on w'ite folks' trees,\n    But de Nigger can git dat w'en he please.\n    De w'ite folks loves deir milk an' brandy,\n    But dat black gal's sweeter dan 'lasses candy.\n\n    Coffee grows on w'ite folks trees,\n    An' dere's a river dat runs wid milk an' brandy.\n    De rocks is broke an' filled wid gold,\n    So dat yaller gal loves dat high-hat dandy.\n\n\nAUNT JEMIMA\n\n    Ole Aunt Jemima grow so tall,\n    Dat she couldn' see de groun'.\n    She stumped her toe, an' down she fell\n    From de Blackwoods clean to town.\n\n    W'en Aunt Jemima git in town,\n    An' see dem \"tony\" ways,\n    She natchully faint an' back she fell\n    To de Backwoods whar she stays.\n\n\nTHE MULE'S NATURE\n\n    If you sees a mule tied up to a tree,\n    You mought pull his tail an' think about me.\n    For if a Nigger don't know de natcher of a mule,\n    It makes no diffunce what 'comes of a fool.\n\n\nI'M A \"ROUND-TOWN\" GENTLEMAN\n\n    I hain't no wagon, hain't no dray,\n    Jes come to town wid a load o' hay.\n    I hain't no cornfield to go to bed\n    Wid a lot o' hay-seeds in my head.\n    I'se a \"round-town\" Gent an' I don't choose\n    To wuk in de mud, an' do widout shoes.\n\n\nTHIS SUN IS HOT\n\n    Dis sun are hot,\n    Dis hoe are heavy,\n    Dis grass grow furder dan I can reach;\n    An' as I looks\n    At dis Cotton fiel',\n    I thinks I mus' 'a' been called to preach.\n\n\nUNCLE JERRY FANTS\n\n    Has you heared 'bout Uncle Jerry Fants?\n    He's got on some cu'ious shapes.\n    He's de one what w'ars dem white duck pants,\n    An' he sot down on a bunch o' grapes.\n\n\nKEPT BUSY\n\n    Jes as soon as de sun go down,\n    My True-love's on my min'.\n    An' jes as soon as de daylight breaks\n    De white folks is got me a gwine.\n\n    She's de sweetes' thing in town;\n    An' when I sees dat Nig,\n    She make my heart go \"pitty-pat,\"\n    An' my head go \"whirly-gig.\"\n\n\nCROSSING A FOOT-LOG\n\n    Me an' my wife an' my bobtail dog\n    Start 'cross de creek on a hick'ry log.\n    We all fall in an' git good wet,\n    But I helt to my liddle brown jug, you bet!\n\n\nWATERMELON PREFERRED\n\n    Dat hambone an' chicken are sweet.\n    Dat 'possum meat are sholy fine.\n    But give me,--now don't you cheat!--\n    (Oh, I jes wish you would give me!)\n    Dat watermillion, smilin' on de vine.\n\n\n\"THEY STEAL\" GOSSIP\n\n    _You know:_\n          Some folks say dat a Nigger won't steal,\n          But Mosser cotch six in a watermillion fiel';\n          A-cuttin', an' a-pluggin' an' a-tearin' up de vines,\n          A-eatin' all de watermillions, an' a-stackin' up de rinds.\n\n    _Uh-huh! Yes, I heared dat:_\n          Ole Mosser stole a middlin' o' meat,\n          Ole Missus stole a ham;\n          Dey sent 'em bofe to de Wuk-house,\n          An' dey had to leave de land.\n\n\nFOX AND RABBIT DRINKING PROPOSITIONS\n\n    Fox on de low ground,\n    Rabbit on de hill.\n    Says he: \"I'll take a drink,\n    An' leave you a gill.\"\n\n    De fox say: \"Honey,\n    (You sweet liddle elf!)\n    Jes hand me down de whole cup;\n    I wants it fer myself.\"\n\n\nA TURKEY FUNERAL\n\n    Dis tucky once on earth did dwell;\n    An' \"Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!\"\n    But now he gives me bigges' joy,\n    An' rests from all his trouble.\n\n    Yes, now he's happy, so am I;\n    No hankerin' fer a feas':\n    Because I'se stuffed wid tucky meat,\n    An' he struts in tucky peace.\n\n\nOUR OLD MULE\n\n    We had an ole mule an' he wouldn' go \"gee\";\n    So I knocked 'im down wid a single-tree.\n    To daddy dis wus some mighty bad news,\n    So he made me jump up an' outrun de Jews.\n\n\nTHE COLLEGE OX\n\n    Ole Ox! Ole Ox! How'd you come up here?\n    You'se sh[=o]' plowed de cotton fields for many a, many a year.\n    You'se been kicked an' cuffed about wid heaps an' heaps abuse.\n    Now! Now, you comes up here fer some sort o' College use.\n\n\nCARE IN BREAD-MAKING\n\n    W'en you sees dat gal o' mine,\n    Jes tell 'er fer me, if you please,\n    Nex' time she goes to make up bread\n    To roll up 'er dirty sleeves.\n\n\nWHY LOOK AT ME?\n\n    What's you lookin' at me fer?\n    I didn' come here to stay.\n    I wants dis bug put in y[=o]' years,\n    An' den I'se gwine away.\n\n    I'se got milk up in my bucket,\n    I'se got butter up in my bowl;\n    But I hain't got no Sweetheart\n    Fer to save my soul.\n\n\nA SHORT LETTER\n\n    She writ me a letter\n    As long as my eye.\n    An' she say in dat letter:\n    \"My Honey!--Good-by!\"\n\n\nDOES MONEY TALK?\n\n    Dem whitefolks say dat money talk.\n    If it talk lak dey tell,\n    Den ev'ry time it come to Sam,\n    It up an' say: \"Farewell!\"\n\n\nI'LL EAT WHEN I'M HUNGRY\n\n    I'll eat when I'se hongry,\n    An' I'll drink when I'se dry;\n    An' if de whitefolks don't kill me,\n    I'll live till I die.\n\n    In my liddle log cabin,\n    Ever since I'se been born;\n    Dere hain't been no nothin'\n    'Cept dat hard salt parch corn.\n\n    But I knows whar's a henhouse,\n    An' de tucky he charve;\n    An' if ole Mosser don't kill me,\n    I cain't never starve.\n\n\nHEAR-SAY\n\n    Hello! Br'er Jack. How do you do?\n    I'se been a-hearin' a heaps o' things 'bout you.\n    I'll jes declar! It beats de Dickuns!\n    Dey's been tryin' to say you's been a-stealin' chickens!\n\n\nNEGRO SOLDIER'S CIVIL WAR CHANT\n\n    Ole [32]Abe (God bless 'is ole soul!)\n    Got a plenty good victuals, an' a plenty good clo'es.\n    Got powder, an' shot, an' lead,\n    To bust in Adam's liddle Confed'\n    In dese hard times.\n\n    Oh, once dere wus union, an' den dere wus peace;\n    De slave, in de cornfield, bare up to his knees.\n    But de Rebel's in gray, an' Sesesh's in de way,\n    An' de slave'll be free\n    In dese hard times.\n\n[32] Abraham Lincoln.\n\n\nPARODY ON \"NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP\"\n\n    Uh-huh: \"Now I lays me down to sleep!\"--\n    While dead oudles o' bedbugs 'round me creep,--\n    Well: If dey bites me bef[=o]' \"I\" wake,\n    I hopes \"deir\" ole jawbones'll break.\n\n\nI'LL GET YOU, RABBIT!\n\n    Rabbit! Rabbit! You'se got a mighty habit,\n    A-runnin' through de grass,\n    Eatin' up my cabbages;\n    But I'll git you shore at las'.\n\n    Rabbit! Rabbit! Ole rabbit in de bottoms,\n    A-playin' in de san',\n    By to-morrow mornin',\n    You'll be in my fryin' pan.\n\n\nTHE ELEPHANT\n\n    My mammy gimme fifteen cents\n    Fer to see dat elephan' jump de fence.\n    He jump so high, I didn' see why,\n    If she gimme a dollar he mought not cry.\n\n    So I axed my mammy to gimme a dollar,\n    Fer to go an' hear de elephan' holler.\n    He holler so loud, he skeered de crowd.\n\n    Nex' he jump so high, he tetch de sky;\n    An' he won't git back 'fore de fo'th o' July.\n\n\nA FEW NEGROES BY STATES\n\n    Alabammer Nigger say he love mush.\n    Tennessee Nigger say: \"Good Lawd, hush!\"\n\n    Fifteen cents in de panel of de fence,\n    South Ca'lina Nigger hain't got no sense.\n\n    Dat Kentucky Nigger jes think he's fine,\n    'Cause he drink dat Gooseberry wine.\n\n    I'se done heared some twenty year ago\n    Dat de Missippi Nigger hafter sleep on de fl[=o]'.\n\n    Lousanner Nigger fall out'n de bed,\n    An' break his head on a pone o' co'n bread.\n\n\nHOW TO PLEASE A PREACHER\n\n    If you wants to see dat Preachah laugh,\n    Jes change up a dollar, an' give 'im a half.\n    If you wants to make dat Preachah sing,\n    Kill dat tucky an' give him a wing.\n    If you wants to see dat Preachah cry,\n    Kill dat chicken an' give him a thigh.\n\n\nLOOKING FOR A FIGHT\n\n    I went down town de yudder night,\n    A-raisin' san' an' a-wantin' a fight.\n    Had a forty dollar razzer, an' a gatlin' gun,\n    Fer to shoot dem Niggers down one by one.\n\n\nI'LL WEAR ME A COTTON DRESS\n\n    Oh, will you wear red? Oh, will you wear red?\n    Oh, will you wear red, Milly Biggers?\n    \"I won't wear red,\n    It's too much lak Missus' head.\n    I'll wear me a cotton dress,\n    Dyed wid copperse an' oak-bark.\"\n\n    Oh, will you wear blue? Oh, will you wear blue?\n    Oh, will you wear blue, Milly Biggers?\n    \"I won't wear blue,\n    It's too much lak Missus' shoe.\n    I'll wear me a cotton dress,\n    Dyed wid copperse an' oak-bark.\"\n\n    You sholy would wear gray? You sholy would wear gray?\n    You sholy would wear gray, Milly Biggers?\n    \"I won't wear gray,\n    It's too much lak Missus' way.\n    I'll wear me a cotton dress,\n    Dyed wid copperse an' oak-bark.\"\n\n    Well, will you wear white? Well, will you wear white?\n    Well, will you wear white, Milly Biggers?\n    \"I won't wear white,\n    I'd get dirty long 'fore night.\n    I'll wear me a cotton dress,\n    Dyed wid copperse an' oak-bark.\"\n\n    Now, will you wear black? Now, will you wear black?\n    Now, will you wear black, Milly Biggers?\n    \"I mought wear black,\n    Case it's de color o' my back;\n    An' it looks lak my cotton dress,\n    Dyed wid [33]copperse an' oak-bark.\"\n\n[33] Copperse is copperas, or sulphate of iron.\n\n\nHALF WAY DOINGS\n\n    My dear Brudders an' Sisters,\n    As I comes here to-day,\n    I hain't gwineter take no scripture verse\n    Fer what I'se gwineter say.\n\n    My words I'se gwineter cut off short\n    An' I 'spects to use dis tex':\n    \"Dis half way doin's hain't no 'count\n    Fer dis worl' nor de nex'.\"\n\n    Dis half way doin's, Brudderin,\n    Won't never do, I say.\n    Go to y[=o]' wuk, an' git it done,\n    An' den's de time to play.\n\n    Fer w'en a Nigger gits lazy,\n    An' stops to take short naps,\n    De weeds an' grass is shore to grow\n    An' smudder out his craps.\n\n    Dis worl' dat we's a livin' in\n    Is sumpen lak a cotton row:\n    Whar each an' ev'ry one o' us\n    Is got his row to hoe.\n\n    An' w'en de cotton's all laid by,\n    De rain, it spile de bowls,\n    If you don't keep busy pickin'\n    In de cotton fiel' of y[=o]' souls.\n\n    Keep on a-plowin', an' a-hoein';\n    Keep on scrapin' off de rows;\n    An' w'en de year is over\n    You can pay off all you owes.\n\n    But w'en you sees a lazy Nigger\n    Stop workin', shore's you're born,\n    You'se gwineter see him comin' out\n    At de liddle end of de horn.\n\n\nTWO TIMES ONE\n\n    Two times one is two.\n    Won't you jes keep still till I gits through?\n    Three times three is nine.\n    You 'tend to y[=o]' business, an' I'll 'tend to mine.\n\n\nHE PAID ME SEVEN (PARODY)\n\n    \"Our Fadder, Which are in Heaben!\"--\n    White man owe me leben and pay me seben.\n    \"D'y Kingdom come! D'y Will be done!\"--\n    An' if I hadn't tuck dat, I wouldn' git none.\n\n\nPARODY ON \"REIGN, MASTER JESUS, REIGN!\"\n\n    Oh rain! Oh rain! Oh rain, \"good\" Mosser!\n    Rain, Mosser, rain! Rain hard!\n    Rain flour an' lard an' a big hog head\n    Down in my back yard.\n\n    An' w'en you comes down to my cabin,\n    Come down by de corn fiel'.\n    If you cain't bring me a piece o' meat,\n    Den bring me a peck o' meal.\n\n    Oh rain! Oh rain! Oh rain, \"good\" Mosser!\n    Dat good rain gives m[=o]' rest.\n    \"What d'you say? You Nigger, dar!\"--\n    \"Wet ground grows grass best.\"\n\n\nA REQUEST TO SELL\n\n    Gwineter ax my daddy to sell ole Rose,\n    So's I can git me some new cl[=o]'s.\n    Gwineter ax my daddy to sell ole Nat,\n    So's I can git a bran' new hat.\n    Gwineter ax my daddy to sell ole Bruise,\n    Den I can git some Brogran shoes.\n    Now, I'se gwineter fix myse'f \"jes so,\"\n    An' take myse'f down to Big Shiloh.\n    I'se gwine right down to Big Shiloh\n    To take dat t'other Nigger's beau.\n\n\nWE'LL STICK TO THE HOE\n\n    We'll stick to de hoe, till de sun go down.\n    We'll rise w'en de rooster crow,\n    An' go to de fiel' whar de sun shine hot,\n    To de fiel' whar de sugar cane grow.\n    Yes, Chilluns, we'll all go!\n    We'll go to de fiel' whar de sun shine hot.\n    To de fiel' whar de sugar cane grow.\n\n    Oh, sing 'long boys, fer de wuk hain't hard!\n    Oh scrape an' clean up de row.\n    Fer de grass musn' grow, while de sun shine hot,\n    In de fiel' whar de sugar cane grow.\n    No, Chilluns. No, No!\n    Dat grass musn' grow, while de sun shine hot,\n    In de fiel' whar de sugar cane grow.\n\n    Don't think 'bout de time, fer de time hain't long.\n    Y[=o]' life soon come an' go;\n    Den good-bye fiel' whar de sun shine hot,\n    To de fiel' whar de sugar cane grow.\n    Yes, Chilluns. We'll all go!\n    Good-by to de fiel' whar de sun shine hot,\n    To de fiel' whar de sugar cane grow.\n\n\nA FINE PLASTER\n\n    W'en it's sheep skin an' beeswax,\n    It sh[=o]'s a mighty fine plaster:\n    De m[=o]' you tries to pull it off,\n    De m[=o]' it sticks de faster.\n\n\nA DAY'S HAPPINESS\n\n    Fust: I went out to milk an' I didn' know how,\n          I milked dat goat instid o' dat cow;\n          While a Nigger a-settin' wid a gapin' jaw,\n          Kept winkin' his eye at a tucky in de straw.\n\n    Den:  I went out de gate an' I went down de road,\n          An' I met Miss 'Possum an' I met Mistah Toad;\n          An' ev'y time Miss 'Possum 'ould sing,\n          Mistah Toad 'ould cut dat Pigeon's Wing.\n\n    But:  I went in a whoop, as I went down de road;\n          I had a bawky team an' a heavy load.\n          I cracked my whip, an' ole Beck sprung,\n          An' she busted out my wagin tongue.\n\n    Well: Dat night dere 'us a-gittin' up, shores you're born.\n          De louse go to supper, an' de flea blow de horn.\n          Dat raccoon paced, an' dat 'possum trot;\n          Dat ole goose laid, an' de gander sot.\n\n\nMASTER KILLED A BIG BULL\n\n    Mosser killed a big bull,\n    Missus cooked a dish full,\n    Didn't give poor Nigger a mouf full.\n        Humph! Humph!\n\n    Mosser killed a fat lam'.\n    Missus brung a basket,\n    An' give poor Nigger de haslet.\n        Eh-eh! Eh-eh!\n\n    Mosser killed a fat hog\n    Missus biled de middlin's,\n    An' give poor Nigger de chitlin's.\n        Sh[=o]! Sh[=o]!\n\n\nYOU HAD BETTER MIND MASTER\n\n    'Way down yon'er in 'Possum Trot,\n    (In ole Miss'sip' whar de sun shines hot)\n    Dere hain't no chickens an' de Niggers eats c'on;\n    You hain't never see'd de lak since youse been bo'n,\n    You'd better m[=i]n' Mosser an' keep a stiff lip,\n    So's you won't git s[=o]l' down to ole Miss'sip'.\n\n\n\n\nLOVE RHYME SECTION\n\n\nPRETTY LITTLE PINK\n\n    My pretty liddle Pink,\n    I once did think,\n    Dat we-uns sh[=o]' would marry;\n    But I'se done give up,\n    Hain't got no hope,\n    I hain't got no time to tarry.\n    I'll drink coffee dat flows,\n    From oaks dat grows,\n    'Long de river dat flows wid brandy.\n\n\nA BITTER LOVERS' QUARREL--ONE SIDE\n\n    You nasty dog! You dirty hog!\n    You thinks somebody loves you.\n    I tells you dis to let you know\n    I thinks myse'f above you.\n\n\nROSES RED\n\n    Rose's red, vi'lets blue.\n    Sugar is sweet but not lak you.\n    De vi'lets fade, de roses fall;\n    But you gits sweeter, all in all.\n\n    As shore as de grass grows 'round de stump,\n    You is my darlin' Sugar Lump.\n    W'en de sun don't shine de day is cold,\n    But my love fer you do not git old.\n\n    De ocean's deep, de sky is blue;\n    Sugar is sweet, an' so is you;\n    De ocean waves an' de sky gits pale,\n    But my love are true, an' it never fail.\n\n\nYOU HAVE MADE ME WEEP\n\n    You'se made me weep, you'se made me mourn,\n    You'se made me tears an' sorrow.\n    So far' you well, my pretty liddle gal,\n    I'se gwine away to-morrow.\n\n\nMOURNING SLAVE FIANCEES\n\n    Look down dat lonesome road! Look down!\n    De way are dark an' c[=o]l'.\n    Dey makes me weep, dey makes me mourn;\n    All 'cause my love are s[=o]l'.\n\n    O don't you see dat turkle dove,\n    What mourns from vine to vine?\n    She mourns lak I moans fer my love,\n    Lef' many a mile behin'.\n\n\nDO I LOVE YOU?\n\n    Does I love you wid all my heart?--\n    I loves you wid my liver;\n    An' if I had you in my mouf,\n    I'd spit you in de river.\n\n\nLOVERS' GOOD-NIGHT\n\n    Cotton fields white in de bright moonlight,\n    Now kiss y[=o]' gal' an' say \"Good-night.\"\n    If she don't kiss you, jes go on 'way;\n    Hain't no need a-stayin' ontel nex' day.\n\n\nVINIE\n\n    I loves coffee, an' I loves tea.\n    I axes you, Vinie, does you love me?\n\n    My day's study's Vinie, an' my midnight dreams,\n    My apples, my peaches, my tunnups, an' greens.\n\n    Oh, I wants dat good 'possum, an' I wants to be free;\n    But I don't need no sugar, if Vinie love me.\n\n    De river is wide, an' I cain't well step it.\n    I loves you, dear Vinie; an' you know I cain't he'p it.\n\n    Dat sugar is sweet, an' dat butter is greasy;\n    But I loves you, sweet Vinie; don't be oneasy.\n\n    Some loves ten, an' some loves twenty,\n    But I loves you, Vinie, an' dat is a plenty.\n\n    Oh silver, it shine, an' lakwise do tin.\n    De way I loves Vinie, it mus' be a sin.\n\n    Well, de cedar is green, an' so is de pine.\n    God bless you, Vinie! I wish you 'us mine.\n\n\n\n\nLOVE SONG RHYME SECTION\n\n\nSHE HUGGED ME AND KISSED ME\n\n    I see'd her in de Springtime,\n    I see'd her in de Fall,\n    I see'd her in de Cotton patch,\n    A cameing from de Ball.\n\n    She hug me, an' she kiss me,\n    She wrung my han' an' cried.\n    She said I wus de sweetes' thing\n    Dat ever lived or died.\n\n    She hug me an' she kiss me.\n    Oh Heaben! De touch o' her han'!\n    She said I wus de puttiest thing\n    In de shape o' mortal man.\n\n    I told her dat I love her,\n    Dat my love wus bed-cord strong;\n    Den I axed her w'en she'd have me,\n    An' she jes say \"Go long!\"\n\n\nIT IS HARD TO LOVE\n\n    It's hard to love, yes, indeed 'tis.\n    It's hard to be broke up in min'.\n    You'se all lugged up in some gal's heart,\n    But you hain't gwineter lug up in mine.\n\n\nME AND MY LOVER\n\n    Me an' my Lover, we fall out.\n    How d'you reckon de fuss begun?\n    She laked licker, an' I laked fun,\n    An' dat wus de way de fuss begun.\n\n    Me an' my Lover, we fall out.\n    W'at d'you reckon de fuss wus 'bout?\n    She loved bitters, an' I loved kraut,\n    An' dat wus w'at de fuss wus 'bout.\n\n    Me an' my Lover git clean 'part.\n    How d'you reckon dat big fuss start?\n    She's got a gizzard, an' I'se got a heart,\n    An' dat's de way dat big fuss start.\n\n\nI WISH I WAS AN APPLE\n\n    Oh:   I wish I wus an apple,\n          An' my Sallie wus anudder.\n          What a pretty match we'd be,\n          Hangin' on a tree togedder!\n\n    But:  If I wus an apple,\n          An' my Sallie wus anudder;\n          We'd grow up high, close to de sky,\n          Whar de Niggers couldn' git 'er.\n\n          We'd grow up close to de sun\n          An' smile up dar above;\n          Den we'd fall down 'way in de groun'\n          To sleep an' dream 'bout love.\n\n    And:  W'en we git through a dreamin',\n          We'd bofe in Heaben wake.\n          No Nigger shouldn' git my gal\n          W'en 'is time come to bake.\n\n\nREJECTED BY ELIZA JANE\n\n    W'en I went 'cross de cotton patch\n    I give my ho'n a blow.\n    I thought I heared pretty Lizie say:\n    \"Oh, yon'er come my beau!\"\n\n    So: I axed pretty Lizie to marry me,\n        An' what d'you reckon she said?\n        She said she wouldn' marry me,\n        If ev'ybody else wus dead.\n\n    An': As I went up de new cut road,\n         An' she go down de lane;\n         Den I thought I heared somebody say:\n         \"Good-bye, ole Lize Jane!\"\n\n    Well: Jes git 'long, Lizie, my true love.\n          Git 'long, Miss Lizie Jane.\n          Perhaps you'll [34]sack \"Ole Sour Bill\"\n          An' git choked on \"Sugar Cain.\"\n\n[34] Sack = To reject as a lover.\n\n\n\n\nCOURTSHIP RHYME SECTION\n\n\nANTEBELLUM COURTSHIP INQUIRY\n\n    (He)  Is you a flyin' lark or a settin' dove?\n    (She) I'se a flyin' lark, my honey Love.\n    (He)  Is you a bird o' one fedder, or a bird o' two?\n    (She) I'se a bird o' one fedder, w'en it comes to you.\n    (He)  Den, Mam:\n            I has desire, an' quick temptation,\n            To jine my fence to y[=o]' plantation.\n\n\nINVITED TO TAKE THE ESCORT'S ARM\n\n    Miss, does you lak strawberries?\n    ____*____*____*____*____*____\n    Den hang on de vine.\n    ____*____*____*____*____*____\n    Miss, does you lak chicken?\n    ____*____*____*____*____*____\n    Den have a wing dis time.\n\n\nSPARKING OR COURTING\n\n    I'se heaps older dan three.\n    I'se heaps thicker dan barks;\n    An' de older I gits,\n    De m[=o]' harder I sparks.\n\n    I sparks fast an' hard,\n    For I'se feared I mought fail.\n    Dough I'se gittin' ole,\n    I don't co't lak no snail.\n\n\nA CLANDESTINE LETTER\n\n    Kind Miss:  If I sent you a letter,\n                By de crickets,\n                Through de thickets,\n                How'd you answer better?\n\n    Kind Suh:   I'd sen' you a letter,\n                By de mole,\n                Not to be t[=o]l';\n                Fer dat's m[=o]' secretter.\n\n\nANTEBELLUM MARRIAGE PROPOSAL\n\n(_A proposal of marriage with the answer deferred_)\n\n    (He)  De ocean, it's wide; de sea, it's deep.\n          Yes, in y[=o]' arms I begs to sleep,\n          Not fer one time, not fer three;\n          But long as we-uns can agree.\n\n    (She) Please gimme time, Suh, to \"reponder;\"\n          Please gimme time to \"gargalize;\"\n          Den 'haps I'll tu'n to \"cattlegog,\"\n          An' answer up 'greeable fer a s'prise.\n\n\nIF YOU FROWN\n\n    If you frowns, an' I frowns,\n    W'en we goes out togedder;\n    Den all de t'other folks aroun'\n    Will say: \"De rain is fallin' down\n    Right in de sunshine wedder!\"\n\n\n\"LET'S MARRY\" COURTSHIP\n\n(_A proposal of marriage, with a provisional acceptance_)\n\n    (He)  Oh Miss Lizie, how I loves you!\n          My life's jes los' if you hain't true.\n          If you loves me lak I loves you,\n          No knife cain't cut our love in two.\n\n    (She) Grapevine warp, an' cornstalk fillin';\n          I'll marry you if mammy an' daddy's willin'.\n\n    (He)  Rabbit hop an' long dog trot!\n          Let's git married if dey say \"not.\"\n\n\nCOURTSHIP\n\n(_A proposal of marriage with its acceptance_)\n\n    Kind Miss:  I'se on de stage o' action,\n                Pleadin' hard fer satisfaction,\n                Pleadin' 'fore de time-thief late;\n                Darfore, Ma'm, now, [35]\"cravenate.\"\n\n                If I brung to you a gyarment;\n                To be cut widout scissors,\n                An' to be sewed widout thread;\n                How (I ax you) would you make it,\n                Widout de needle sewin'\n                An' widout de cloth spread?\n\n    Kind Suh:   I'd make dat gyarment\n                Wid love from my heart,\n                Wid tears on y[=o]' head;\n                We never would part.\n\n[35] Cravenate = consider.\n\n\nI WALKED THE ROADS\n\n    Well: I walked de roads, till de roads git muddy.\n          I talked to dat pretty gal, till I couldn' stan' study.\n\n    Den:  I say: \"Love me liddle,\" I say; \"Love me long.\"\n          I say: \"Let dat liddle be 'doggone' strong!\n          For, shore as dat rat runs 'cross de rafter,\n          So shore you'se de gal, you'se de gal I'se after.\"\n\n\nPRESENTING A HAT TO PHOEBE\n\n    Sister Phoebe:  Happy wus we,\n                    W'en we sot under dat Juniper tree.\n                    Take dis hat, it'll keep y[=o]' head warm.\n                    Take dis kiss, it'll do you no harm.\n\n    Sister Phoebe:  De hours, dey're few;\n                    But dis hat'll say I'se thinkin' 'bout you.\n                    Sugar, it's sugar; an' salt, it's salt;\n                    If you don't love me, it's sh[=o]' y[=o]' own fault.\n\n\nWOOING\n\n    W'at is dat a wukin\n    At y[=o]' han' bill on de wall,\n    So's y[=o]' sperit, it cain't res',\n    An' a gemmun's heat, it call?\n\n    Is you lookin' fer sweeter berries\n    Growin' on a higher bush?\n    An' does my combersation suit?\n    If not, w'at does you wush?\n\n\n\n\nCOURTSHIP SONG RHYME SECTION\n\n\nTHE COURTING BOY\n\n    W'en I wus a liddle boy,\n    Jes fifteen inches high;\n    De way I court de pretty gals,\n    It make de ole folks cry.\n\n    De geese swim in de middle pon'.\n    De ducks fly 'cross de clover.\n    Run an' tell dem pretty gals,\n    Dat I'se a-comin' over.\n\n    Ho! Marindie! Ho!\n    Ho! Missindie! Ho!\n    Ho! Malindie! Ho! my gal!\n    I'se gwine now to see ole Sal.\n\n\nPRETTY POLLY ANN\n\n    I'se gwineter marry, if I can.\n    I'se gwineter marry pretty Polly Ann.\n\n    I axed Polly Ann, fer to marry me.\n    She say she's a-lookin' fer a Nigger dat's free.\n\n    Pretty Polly Ann's jes dressed so fine!\n    I'll bet five dollars she hain't got a dime.\n\n    Pretty Polly Ann's jes a-puttin' on airs,\n    She won't notice me, but nobody cares.\n\n    I'll drop Polly Ann, a-lookin' lak a crane;\n    I 'spec's I'll marry Miss Lize Jane.\n\n\n\n\nMARRIAGE RHYME SECTION\n\n\nSLAVE MARRIAGE CEREMONY SUPPLEMENT\n\n    Dark an' stormy may come de wedder;\n    I jines dis he-male an' dis she-male togedder.\n    Let none, but Him dat makes de thunder,\n    Put dis he-male an' dis she-male asunder.\n    I darfore 'nounce you bofe de same.\n    Be good, go 'long, an' keep up y[=o]' name.\n    De broomstick's jumped, de worl's not wide.\n    She's now y[=o]' own. Salute y[=o]' bride!\n\n\n\n\nMARRIED LIFE RHYME SECTION\n\n\nTHE NEWLY WEDS\n\n    First Mont': \"Set down in my cabin, Honey!\"\n     Nex' Mont': \"Stan' up, my Pie.\"\n    Third Mont': \"You go to wuk, you Wench!\n                  You well to wuk as I!\"\n\n\nWHEN I GO TO MARRY\n\n    W'en I goes to marry,\n    I wants a gal wid money.\n    I wants a pretty black-eyed gal\n    To kiss an' call me \"Honey.\"\n\n    Well, w'en I goes to marry,\n    I don't wanter git no riches.\n    I wants a man 'bout four foot high,\n    So's I can w'ar de britches.\n\n\nBOUGHT ME A WIFE\n\n    Bought me a wife an' de wife please me,\n    I feeds my wife un'er yon'er tree.\n    My wife go: \"Row-row!\"\n    My guinea go: \"Potrack! Potrack!\"\n    My chicken go: \"Gymsack! Gymsack!\"\n    My duck go: \"Quack-quack! Quack-quack!\"\n    My dog go: \"Bow-bow!\"\n    My hoss go: \"Whee-whee! Whee-whee!\"\n    My cat go: \"Fiddle-toe! Fiddle-toe!\"\n\n\nWHEN I WAS A \"ROUSTABOUT\"\n\n    W'en I wus a \"Roustabout,\" wild an' young,\n    I co'ted my gal wid a mighty slick tongue.\n    I t[=o]l' her some oncommon lies dere an' den.\n    I t[=o]l' her dat we'd marry, but I didn' say w'en.\n\n    So on a Mond'y mornin' I tuck her fer my wife.\n    Of co'se I wus 'spectin' an agreeable life.\n    But on a Chuesd'y mornin' she chuned up her pipe,\n    An' she 'bused me more 'an I'd been 'bused all my life.\n\n    On a Wednesd'y evenin', as I come 'long home,\n    I says to myse'f dat she wus all my own;\n    An' on a Thursd'y night I went out to de woods,\n    An' I cut me two big fine tough leatherwoods.\n\n    So on a Frid'y mornin' w'en she roll me 'er eyes,\n    I retched fer my leatherwoods to give 'er a s'prise,\n    Dem long keen leatherwoods wuked mighty well,\n    An' 'er tongue, it jes rattle lak a clapper in a bell.\n\n    On a Sadd'y mornin' she sleep sorter late;\n    An' de las' time I see'd her, she 'us gwine out de gate.\n    I wus feedin' at de stable, lookin' out through a crack,\n    An' she lef' my log cabin 'fore I could git back.\n\n    On a Sund'y mornin', as I laid on my bed,\n    I didn' have no Nigger wife to bother my head.\n    Now whisky an' brandy jug's my biges' bes' friend,\n    An' my long week's wuk is about at its end.\n\n\nMY FIRST AND MY SECOND WIFE\n\n    My fust liddle wife wus short an' fat.\n    Her face wus as black as my ole hat,\n    Her nose all flat, an' her eyes sunk in,\n    An' dat lip hang down below her chin.\n        Now wusn't I sorrowful in mind?\n\n    W'en I went down to dat wife's brother;\n    He said: \"She 'us tired. Gwineter marry 'nother.\"\n    If I ever ketches dat city Coon,\n    He railly mought see my razzer soon.\n        Den I 'spec's he'd be troubled in mind!\n\n    My nex' wife hug an' kiss me,\n    She call me \"Sugar Plum!\"\n    She throw her arms 'round me,\n    Lak a grapevine 'round de gum!\n        Wusn't dat glory to my soul!\n\n    Her cheeks, dey're lak de cherry;\n    Dat Cherry, it's lak de rose.\n    Wid a liddle dimple in her chin,\n    An' a liddle tu'ned up nose!\n        Oh, hain't I happy in mind!\n\n    I'se got you, Lou, now fer my wife.\n    Keep new Coons 'way, \"My Pie!\"\n    Caze, if you don't, I tells you now,\n    Dat we all three mought die.\n        Den we'd be troubled in min'!\n\n\nGOOD-BY, WIFE!\n\n    I had a liddle wife,\n    An' I didn' want to kill 'er;\n    So I tuck 'er by de heels,\n    An' I throwed 'er in de river.\n    \"Good-by, Wife! Good-by, Honey!\n    Hadn' been fer you,\n    I'd a had a liddle money.\"\n\n    My liddle fussy wife\n    Up an' say she mus' have scissors;\n    An' druther dan to fight,\n    I'd a throwed 'er in three rivers.\n    But she crossed dem fingers, w'en she go down,\n    An' a liddle bit later\n    She walk out on de groun'.\n\n\n\n\nNURSERY RHYME SECTION\n\n\nAWFUL HARBINGERS[36]\n\n    W'en de big owl whoops,\n    An' de screech owl screeks,\n    An' de win' makes a howlin' sound;\n    You liddle wooly heads\n    Had better kiver up,\n    Caze de \"hants\" is comin' 'round.\n\n[36] This little rhyme is based upon a superstition once current among\nNegroes, to the effect that bad luck would come when a screech owl\ncalled near your home at night unless, upon hearing him, you would stick\nthe handle of a shovel into the fire about which you were sitting, or\nwould throw salt into it. The word \"hant\" means ghost or spirit.\n\n\nTHE LAST OF JACK\n\n    I had a liddle dog, his name wus Jack;\n    He run forty mile 'fore he look back.\n    W'en he look back, he fall in a crack;\n    W'en he fall in a crack, he break 'is back;\n    An' dat wus de las' o' poor liddle Jack.\n\n\nLITTLE DOGS\n\n    I had a liddle dog; his name wus Ball;\n    W'en I give him a liddle, he want it all.\n\n    I had a liddle dog, his name wus Trot;\n    He helt up his tail, all tied in a knot.\n\n    I had a liddle dog, his name wus Blue;\n    I put him on de road, an' he almos' flew.\n\n    I had a liddle dog, his name wus Mack;\n    I rid his tail fer to save his back.\n\n    I had a liddle dog, his name wus Rover;\n    W'en he died, he died all over.\n\n    I had a liddle dog, his name wus Dan;\n    An' w'en he died, I buried 'im in de san'.\n\n\nMY DOG, CUFF\n\n    I had a liddle dog, his name wus Cuff;\n    I sent 'im to town to buy some snuff.\n    He drapped de bale, an' he spilt de snuff,\n    An' I guess dat speech is long enough.\n\n\nSAM IS A CLEVER FELLOW\n\n    Say! Is y[=o]' peaches ripe, my boy,\n    An' is y[=o]' apples meller?\n    Go an' tell Miss Katie Jones\n    Dat Sam's a clever feller.\n\n    Say! Is y[=o]' cherries red, my boy,\n    An' is y[=o]' plums all yeller?\n    Oh please run tell Miss Katie Jones\n    Dat Sam's a clever feller.\n\n\nTHE GREAT OWL'S SONG\n\n    Ah-hoo-hoo? Ah-hoo-hoo? Ah-hoo-hoo----?\n    An' who'll cook fer Kelline, an' who'll cook fer you----?\n    I will cook fer myse'f, I won't cook fer you.\n    Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo----!\n\n    Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo----!\n    I wonder if Kelline would not cook fer Hue----?\n    Fer dis is Big Sandy! It's Big Sandy Hue----!\n    Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo----!\n\n    Ah-ha-hah! Ah-ha-hah! Ah-ha-hah! Ah-hah----!\n    I thought you 'us ole Bill Jack as black as de tah.\n    You really must 'scuse me, my \"Honey Lump Pa.\"\n    Ah-ha-hah! Ah-ha-hah! Ah-ha-hah! Ah-hah----!\n\n    An' since I'se been Kelline, an' you'se Big Sandy Hue;\n    I will cook fer myse'f, an' I will cook fer you.\n    I'll love you forever, an' sing in de dew:\n    \"Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo----!\"\n\n    Yes!--Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo-hoo! Ah-hoo-all!\n    Now, we'll cook fer ourse'fs, but who'll cook fer you all?\n    Fer Tom Dick an' his wife, fer Pete Snap an' Shoe-Awl,\n    Rough Shot De Shoe-boot, an' de Lawd He knows who all?\n\n\nHERE I STAND\n\n    Here I stan', raggity an' dirty;\n    If you don't come kiss me, I'll run lak a tucky.\n\n    Here I stan' on two liddle chips,\n    Pray, come kiss my sweet liddle lips.\n\n    Here I stan' crooked lak a horn;\n    I hain't had no kiss since I'se been born.\n\n\nPIG TAIL\n\n    Run boys, run!\n    De pig tail's done.\n    If you don't come quick,\n    You won't git none.\n\n    Pig ham's dere,\n    Lakwise middlin's square;\n    But dese great big parts\n    Hain't no Nigger's bes' fare.\n\n\nA, B, C\n\n    A, B, C,\n    Doubled down D;\n    I'se so lazy you cain't see me.\n\n    A, B, C,\n    Doubled down D\n    Lazy Chilluns gits hick'ry tea.\n\n    A, B, C,\n    Doubled down D,\n    Dat \"cat's\" in de cupboard an' hid. You see?\n\n    A, B, C,\n    Doubled down D,\n    You'd better come out an' wuk lak me.\n\n\nNEGRO BAKER MAN\n\n    Patty cake! Patty cake! Nigger Baker man.\n    Missus an' Mosser gwineter ketch 'im if dey can.\n    Put de liddle Nigger in Mosser's dish pan,\n    An' scrub 'im off good fer de ole San' Man.\n\n\nSTICK-A-MA-STEW\n\n    Stick-a-ma-stew, he went to town.\n    Stick-a-ma-stew, he tore 'is gown.\n    All dem folks what live in town\n    Cain't mend dat randsome, handsome gown.\n\n\nBOB-WHITE'S SONG\n\n    Bob-white! Bob-white!\n    Is y[=o]' peas all ripe?\n    No--! not--! quite!\n\n    Bob-white! Bob-white!\n    W'en will dey be ripe?\n    To-mor--! row--! might!\n\n    Bob-white! Bob-white!\n    Does you sing at night?\n    No--! not--! quite!\n\n    Bob-white! Bob-white!\n    W'en is de time right?\n    At can--! dle--! light!\n\n\nCOOKING DINNER\n\n    Go:   Bile dem cabbage down.\n          Turn dat hoecake 'round,\n          Cook it done an' brown.\n\n    Yes:  Gwineter have sweet taters too.\n          Hain't had none since las' Fall,\n          Gwineter eat 'em skins an' all.\n\n\nCHUCK WILL'S WIDOW SONG\n\n    Oh nimber, nimber Will-o!\n    My crooked, crooked bill-o!\n    I'se settin' down right now, on\n      de sweet pertater hill-o.\n\n    Oh nimber, nimber Will-o!\n    My crooked, crooked bill-o!\n    Two liddle naked babies, my two\n      brown aigs now fill-o.\n\n    Oh nimber, nimber Will-o!\n    My crooked, crooked bill-o!\n    Don't hurt de liddle babies; dey\n      is too sweet to kill-o.\n\n\nBRIDLE UP A RAT\n\n    Bridle up er rat,\n    Saddle up er cat,\n    An' han' me down my big straw hat.\n\n    In come de cat,\n    Out go de rat,\n    Down go de baby wid 'is big straw hat.\n\n\nMY LITTLE PIG\n\n    You see:  I had a liddle pig,\n              I fed 'im on slop;\n              He got so fat\n              Dat he almos' pop.\n\n    An' den:  I tuck de liddle pig,\n              An' I rid 'im to school;\n              He e't ginger cake,\n              An' it tu'n 'im a fool.\n\n    But:      He grunt de lessons,\n              An' keep all de rule,\n              An' he make 'em all think\n              Dat he learn in de cool.\n\n\nIN A MULBERRY TREE\n\n    Jes looky, looky yonder; w'at I see!\n    Two liddle Niggers in a Mulberry tree.\n    One cain't read, an' de t'other cain't write.\n    But dey bofe can smoke deir daddy's pipe.\n\n    \"One ma two! One ma two!\"\n    Dat Mulberry Witch, he [37]titterer too.\n    \"Big bait o' Mulberries make 'em bofe sick.\n    Dem liddle Niggers gwineter roll an' kick!\"\n\n[37] Titterer means laugh.\n\n\nANIMAL ATTIRE\n\n    Dat Coon, he w'ar a undershirt;\n    Dat 'Possum w'ar a gown.\n    Br'er Rabbit, he w'ar a overcoat\n    Wid buttons up an' down.\n\n    Mistah Gobbler's got beads 'roun' 'is nec'.\n    Mistah Pattridge's got a collar, Hun!\n    Mistah Peacock, a fedder on his head!\n    But dese don't stop no gun.\n\n\nASPIRATION\n\n    If I wus de President\n    Of dese United States,\n    I'd eat good 'lasses candy,\n    An' swing on all de gates.\n\n\nANIMAL FAIR\n\n    Has you ever hearn tell 'bout de Animal Fair?\n    Dem birds an' beasts wus all down dere.\n    Dat jaybird a-settin' down on 'is wing!\n    Has you ever hearn tell about sitch a thing\n    As whut 'us at dat Animal Fair?\n\n    Well, dem animals had a Fair.\n    Dem birds an' beasts wus dere.\n    De big Baboon,\n    By de light o' de moon,\n    Jes comb up his sandy hair.\n\n    De monkey, he git drunk,\n    He kick up a red hot chunk.\n    Dem coals, dey 'rose;\n    An' bu'nt 'is toes!\n    He clumb de Elephan's trunk.\n\n    I went down to de Fair.\n    Dem varmints all wus dere.\n    Dat young Baboon\n    Wunk at Miss Coon;\n    Dat curled de Elephan's hair.\n\n    De Camel den walk 'bout,\n    An' tromped on de Elephan's snout.\n    De Elephan' sneeze,\n    An' fall on his knees;\n    Dat pleased all dem monk[=e]ys.\n\n\nLITTLE BOY WHO COULDN'T COUNT SEVEN\n\n    Once der wus a liddle boy dat couldn' count one.\n    Dey pitched him in a fedder bed; 'e thought it great big fun.\n\n    Once der wus a liddle boy dat couldn' count two.\n    Dey pitched him in a fedder bed; 'e thought 'e 'us gwine through.\n\n    Once der wus a liddle boy dat couldn' count three.\n    Dey pitched him in a fedder bed; 'e thought de Niggers 'us free.\n\n    Once der wus a liddle boy dat couldn' count f[=o]'.\n    Dey pitched him in a fedder bed; 'e jumped out on de fl[=o]'.\n\n    Once der wus a liddle boy dat couldn' count five.\n    Dey pitched him in a fedder bed; 'e thought de dead alive.\n\n    Once der wus a liddle boy dat couldn' count six.\n    Dey pitched him in a fedder bed; 'e never did git fix!\n\n    Once der wus a liddle boy dat couldn' count seben.\n    Dey pitched him in a fedder bed; 'e thought he's gwine to Heaben!\n\n\nMISS TERRAPIN AND MISS TOAD\n\n    As I went marchin' down de road,\n    I met Miss Tearpin an' I met Miss Toad.\n    An' ev'ry time Miss Toad would jump,\n    Miss Tearpin would peep from 'hind de stump.\n\n    I axed dem ladies fer to marry me,\n    An' bofe find fault wid de t'other, you see.\n    \"If you marries Miss Toad,\" Miss Tearpin said,\n    \"You'll have to hop 'round lak you'se been half dead!\"\n\n    \"If you combs y[=o]' head wid a Tearpin comb,\n    You'll have to creep 'round all tied up at home.\"\n    I run'd away frum dar, my foot got bruise,\n    For I didn't know zackly which to choose.\n\n\nFROM SLAVERY\n\n    Chile: I come from out'n slavery,\n    Whar de Bull-whup bust de hide;\n    Back dar, whar dis gineration\n    Natchully widdered up an' died!\n\n\nTHE END OF TEN LITTLE NEGROES\n\n    Ten liddle Niggers, a-eatin', fat an' fine;\n    One choke hisse'f to death, an' dat lef' nine.\n    Nine liddle Niggers, dey sot up too late;\n    One sleep hisse'f to death, an' dat lef' eight.\n    Eight liddle Niggers want to go to Heaben;\n    One sing hisse'f to death, an' dat lef' seben.\n    Seben liddle Niggers, a-pickin' up sticks;\n    One wuk hisse'f to death, an' dat lef' six.\n    Six liddle Niggers went out fer to drive;\n    Mule run away wid one, an' dat lef' five.\n    Five liddle Niggers in a cold rain pour;\n    One coughed hisse'f to death, an' dat lef' four.\n    Four liddle Niggers, climb a' apple tree;\n    One fall down an' out, an' dat lef' three.\n    Three liddle Niggers a-wantin' sumpin new;\n    One, he quit de udders, an' dat lef' two.\n    Two liddle Niggers went out fer to run;\n    One fell down de bluff, an' dat lef' one.\n    One liddle Nigger, a-foolin' wid a gun;\n    Gun go off \"bang!\" an' dat lef' none.\n\n\nTHE ALABAMA WAY\n\n    'Way down yon'er \"in de Alerbamer way,\"\n    De Niggers goes to wo'k at de peep o' de day.\n    De bed's too short, an' de high posts rear;\n    De Niggers needs a ladder fer to climb up dere.\n    De cord's wore out, an' de bed-tick's gone.\n    Niggers' legs hang down fer de chickens t' roost on.\n\n\nMOTHER SAYS I AM SIX YEARS OLD\n\n    My mammy says dat I'se too young\n    To go to Church an' pray;\n    But she don't know how bad I is\n    W'en she's been gone away.\n\n    My mammy says I'se six years old,\n    My daddy says I'se seben.\n    Dat's all right how old I is,\n    Jes since I'se a gwine to Heaben.\n\n\nTHE ORIGIN OF THE SNAKE\n\n    Up de hill an' down de level!\n    Up de hill an' down de level!\n    Granny's puppy treed de Devil.\n\n    Puppy howl, an' Devil shake!\n    Puppy howl, an' Devil shake!\n    Devil leave, an' dere's y[=o]' snake.\n\n    Mash his head; de sun shine bright!\n    Mash his head; de sun shine bright!\n    Tail don't die ontel it's night.\n\n    Night come on, an' sperits groan!\n    Night come on, an' sperits groan!\n    Devil come an' gits his own.\n\n\nWILD HOG HUNT\n\n    Nigger in de woods, a-settin' on a log;\n    Wid his finger on de trigger, an' his eyes upon de hog.\n    De gun say \"bam!\" an' de hog say \"bip!\"\n    An' de Nigger grab dat wild hog wid all his grip.\n\n\nA STRANGE BROOD\n\n    De ole hen sot on tucky aigs,\n    An' she hatch out goslin's three.\n    Two wus tuckies wid slender legs,\n    An' one wus a bumblebee.\n    All dem hens say to one nudder:\n    \"Mighty queer chickens! See?\"\n\n\nTHE TOWN AND THE COUNTRY BIRD\n\n    Jaybird a-swingin' a two hoss plow;\n    \"Sparrer, why not you?\"\n    \"W'y--! My legs so liddle an' slender, man,\n    I'se fear'd dey'd break in two.\"\n\n    Jaybird answer: \"What'd you say?--\n    I sometimes worms terbaccy;\n    But I'd druther plow sweet taters too,\n    Dan to be a ole Town Tacky!\"\n\n    Jaybird up in de Sugar tree,\n    De sparrer on de groun';\n    De jaybird shake de sugar down,\n    An' de sparrer pass it 'roun'.\n\n    De jaybird say: \"Save some fer me;\n    I needs it w'en I bakes.\"\n    De sparrer say: \"Use 'lasses, Suh!\n    Dat suits fer Country-Jakes!\"\n\n\nFROG IN A MILL ([38]GUINEA OR EBO RHYME)\n\n    Once dere wus er frog dat lived in er mill.\n    He had er raker don la bottom o' la kimebo\n    Kimebo, nayro, dilldo, kiro\n    Stimstam, formididdle, all-a-board la rake;\n    Wid er raker don la bottom o' la kimebo.\n\n[38] For explanation, read the Study in Negro Folk Rhymes.\n\n\nSTRONG HANDS\n\n    Here's y[=o]' bread, an' here's y[=o]' butter;\n    An' here's de hands fer to make you sputter.\n\n    Tetch dese hands, w'en you wants to tetch a beaver.\n    If dese hands tetch you, you'll sh[=o]' ketch de fever.\n\n    Dese hands Samson, good fer a row,\n    W'en dey hits you, it's \"good-by cow!\"\n\n\nTREE FROGS (GUINEA OR EBO RHYME)\n\n    Shool! Shool! Shool! I rule!\n    Shool! Shool! Shool! I rule!\n    Shool! Shacker-rack!\n    I shool bubba cool.\n\n    Seller! Beller eel!\n    Fust to ma tree'l\n    Just came er bubba.\n    Buska! Buska-reel!\n\n\nWHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY\n\n    W'en I wus a liddle boy\n    I cleaned up mammy's dishes;\n    Now I is a great big boy,\n    I wears my daddy's britches.\n    I can knock dat Mobile Buck\n    An' smoke dat corncob pipe.\n    I can kiss dem pretty gals,\n    An' set up ev'ry night.\n\n\nGRASSHOPPER SENSE\n\n    Dere wus a liddle grasshopper\n    Dat wus always on de jump;\n    An' caze he never look ahead,\n    He wus always gittin' a bump.\n\n    Huddlety, dumpty, dumpty, dump!\n    Mind out, or you will git a bump;\n    Shore as de grass grows 'round de stump\n    Be keerful, my sweet Sugar Lump.\n\n\nYOUNG MASTER AND OLD MASTER\n\n    Hick'ry leaves an' calico sleeves!\n    I tells you young Mosser's hard to please.\n    Young Mosser fool you, de way he grin.\n    De way he whup you is a sin.\n\n    De monkey's a-settin' on de end of a rail,\n    Pickin' his tooth wid de end of his tail.\n    Mulberry leaves an' homespun sleeves!\n    Better know dat ole Mosser's not easy to please.\n\n\nMY SPECKLED HEN\n\n    Somebody stole my speckled hen.\n    Dey lef' me mighty p[=o]o'.\n    Ev'ry day she layed three aigs,\n    An' Sunday she lay f[=o]'.\n\n    Somebody stole my speckled hen.\n    She crowed at my back d[=o]'.\n    Fedders, dey shine jes lak de sun;\n    De Niggers grudged her m[=o]'.\n\n    [39]De whis'lin' gal, an' de crowin' hen,\n    Never comes to no good en'.\n    Stop dat whis'lin'; go on an' sing!\n    'Member dat hen wid 'er shinin' wing.\n\n[39] An old superstition.\n\n\nTHE SNAIL'S REPLY\n\n    Snail! Snail! Come out'n o' y[=o]' shell,\n    Or I'll beat on y[=o]' back till you rings lak a bell.\n\n    \"I do ve'y well,\" sayed de snail in de shell,\n    \"I'll jes take my chances in here whar I dwell.\"\n\n\nA STRANGE FAMILY\n\n    Once dere's an ole 'oman dat lived in de Wes'.\n    She had two gals of de very bes'.\n    One wus older dan de t'other,\n    T'other's older dan her mother,\n    An' dey're all deir own gran'mother.\n    Can you guess?\n\n\nGOOD-BY, RING\n\n    I had a liddle dog, his name wus Ring,\n    I tied him up to his nose wid a string.\n    I pulled dat string, an' his eyes tu'n blue.\n    \"Good-by, Ring! I'se done wid you.\"\n\n\nDEEDLE, DUMPLING\n\n    Deedle, deedle, dumplin'! My boy, Pete!\n    He went to bed wid his dirty feet.\n    Mammy laid a switch down on dat sheet!\n    Deedle, deedle, dumplin'! My boy, Pete!\n\n\nBUCK AND BERRY\n\n    Buck an' Berry run a race,\n    Buck fall down an' skin his face.\n\n    Buck an' Berry in a stall;\n    Buck, he try to eat it all.\n\n    Buck, he e't too much, you see.\n    So he died wid choleree.\n\n\nPRETTY LITTLE GIRL\n\n    Who's been here since I'se been gone?\n      A pretty liddle gal wid a blue dress on.\n\n    Who'll stay here when I goes 'way?\n      A pretty liddle gal, all dressed in gray.\n\n    Who'll wait on Mistess day an' night?\n      A pretty liddle gal, all dressed in white.\n\n    Who'll be here when I'se been dead?\n      A pretty liddle gal, all dressed in red.\n\n\nTWO SICK NEGRO BOYS\n\n    Two liddle Niggers sick in bed,\n    One jumped up an' bumped his head.\n    W'en de Doctah come he simpully said:\n    \"Jes feed dat boy on shorten' bread.\"\n\n    T'other liddle Nigger sick in bed,\n    W'en he hear tell o' shorten' bread,\n    Popped up all well. He dance an' sing!\n    He almos' cut dat Pigeon's Wing!\n\n\nGRASSHOPPER SITTING ON A SWEET POTATO VINE\n\n    Grasshopper a-settin' on a sweet tater vine,\n    'Long come a Blackbird an' nab him up behind.\n\n    Blackbird a-settin' in a sour apple tree;\n    Hawk grab him up behind; he \"Chee! Chee! Chee!\"\n\n    Big hawk a-settin' in de top of dat oak,\n    Start to eat dat Blackbird an' he git choke.\n\n\nDOODLE-BUG\n\n    Doodle-bug! Doodle-bug! Come git sweet milk.\n    Doodle-bug! Doodle-bug! Come git butter.\n    Doodle-bug! Doodle-bug! Come git co'n bread.\n    Doodle-bug! Doodle-bug! Come on to Supper.\n\n\nRAW HEAD AND BLOODY BONES[40]\n\n    Don't talk! Go to sleep!\n    Eyes shet an' don't you peep!\n    Keep still, or he jes moans:\n    \"Raw Head an' Bloody Bones!\"\n\n[40] Repeated to restless children at night to make them lie still and\ngo to sleep.\n\n\nMYSTERIOUS FACE WASHING\n\n    I wash my face in de watah\n    Dat's neider rain nor run.\n    I wipes my face on de towel\n    Dat's neider wove nor spun.--\n    I wash my face in de dew,\n    An' I dries it in de sun.\n\n\nGO TO BED\n\n    De wood's in de kitchen.\n    De hoss's in de shed.\n    You liddle Niggers\n    Had better go to bed.\n\n\nBUCK-EYED RABBIT! WHOOPEE![41]\n\n    Dat Squir'l, he's a cunnin' thing;\n    He tote a bushy tail.\n    He jes lug off Uncle Sambo's co'n,\n    An' heart it on a rail.\n\n    Dat Squir'l, he's a cunnin' thing;\n    An' so is ole Jedge B'ar.\n    Br'er Rabbit's gone an' los' his tail\n    'Cep' a liddle bunch of ha'r.\n\n    Buckeyed Rabbit! Whoopee!\n    Buckeyed Rabbit! Ho!\n    Buckeyed Rabbit! Whoopee!\n    Squir'l's got a long way to go.\n\n[41] The explanation of this rhyme is found in the Study in Negro Folk\nRhymes.\n\n\nCAPTAIN COON\n\n    Captain Coon's a mighty man,\n    He trabble atter dark;\n    Wid nothin' 'tall to 'sturb his mind,\n    But to hear my ole dog bark.\n\n    Dat 'Possum, he's a mighty man,\n    He trabble late at night.\n    He never think to climb a tree,\n    'Till he's feared ole Rober'll bite.\n\n\nGUINEA GALL\n\n    'Way down yon'er in Guinea Gall,\n    De Niggers eats de fat an' all.\n    'Way down yon'er in de cotton fiel',\n    Ev'ry week one peck o' meal.\n    'Way down yon'er ole Mosser swar';\n    Holler at you, an' pitch, an' r'ar;\n        Wid cat o' nine tails,\n        Wid pen o' nine nails,\n        Tee whing, tee bing,\n        An' ev'ry thing!\n\n\nFISHING SIMON\n\n    Simon tuck his hook an' pole,\n    An' fished on Sunday we's been told.\n    Fish dem water death bells ring,\n    Talk from out'n de water, sing--\n    \"Bait y[=o]' hook, Simon!\n    Drap y[=o]' line, Simon!\n    Now ketch me, Simon!\n    Pull me out, Simon!\n    Take me home, Simon!\n    Now clean me, Simon!\n    Cut me up now, Simon!\n    Now salt me, Simon!\n    Now fry me, Simon!\n    Dish me up now, Simon!\n    Eat me all, Simon!\"\n    Simon e't till he wus full.\n    Still dat fish keep his plate fall.\n    Simon want no m[=o]' at all,\n    Fish say dat he mus' eat all.\n    Simon's sick, so he throw up!\n    He give Sunday fishin' up.\n\n\nA STRANGE OLD WOMAN\n\n    Dere wus an ole 'oman, her name wus Nan.\n    She lived an 'oman, an' died a man.\n    De ole 'oman lived to be dried up an' cunnin';\n    One leg stood still, while de tother kep' runnin'.\n\n\nIN '76\n\n    Way down yonder in sebenty-six,\n    Whar I git my jawbone fix;\n    All dem coon-loons eatin' wid a spoon!\n    I'll be ready fer dat Great Day soon.\n\n\nREDHEAD WOODPECKER\n\n    Redhead woodpecker: \"Chip! Chip! Chee!\"\n    Promise dat he'll marry me.\n    Whar shall de weddin' supper be?\n    Down in de lot, in a rotten holler tree.\n    What will de weddin' supper be?\n    A liddle green worm an' a bumblebee,\n    'Way down yonder on de holler tree.\n    De Redhead woodpecker, \"Chip! Chip! Chee!\"\n\n\nOLD AUNT KATE\n\n    Jes look at Ole Aunt Kate at de gyardin gate!\n        She's a good ole 'oman.\n        W'en she sift 'er meal, she give me de husk;\n        W'en she cook 'er bread, she give me de crust.\n        She put de hosses in de stable;\n        But one jump out, an' skin his nable.\n    Jes look at Ole Aunt Kate at de gyardin gate!\n        Still she's always late.\n\n    Hurrah fer Ole Aunt Kate by de gyardin gate!\n        She's a fine ole 'oman.\n        Git down dat sifter, take down dat tray!\n        Go 'long, Honey, dere hain't no udder way!\n        She put on dat hoe cake, she went 'round de house.\n        She cook dat 'Possum, an' she call 'im a mouse!\n    Hurrah fer Ole Aunt Kate by de gyardin gate!\n        She's a fine playmate.\n\n\nCHILDREN'S SEATING RHYME\n\n    You set outside, an' ketch de cow-hide.\n    I'll set in de middle, an' play de gol' fiddle.\n    You set 'round about, an' git scrouged out.\n\n\nMY BABY\n\n    I'se de daddy of dis liddle black baby.\n    He's his mammy's onliest sweetest liddle Coon.\n    Got de look on de forehead lak his daddy,\n    Pretty eyes jes as big as de moon.\n\n    I'se de daddy of dis liddle black baby.\n    Yes, his mammy keep de \"Sugar\" rollin' over.\n    She feed him wid a tin cup an' a spoon;\n    An' he kick lak a pony eatin' clover.\n\n\nA RACE-STARTER'S RHYME\n\n    One fer de money!\n    Two fer de show!\n    Three to git ready,\n    An' four fer to go!\n\n\nNESTING\n\n    De jaybird build on a swingin' lim',\n    De sparrow in de gyardin;\n    Dat ole gray goose in de panel o' de fence,\n    An' de gander on de t'other side o' Jordan.\n\n\nBABY WANTS CHERRIES\n\n    De cherries, dey're red; de cherries, dey're ripe;\n    An' de baby it want one.\n    De cherries, dey're hard; de cherries, dey're sour;\n    An' de baby cain't git none.\n\n    Jes look at dat bird in de cherry tree!\n    He's pickin' 'em one by one!\n    He's shakin' his bill, he's gittin' it fill',\n    An' down dat th'oat dey run!\n\n    Nev' mind! Bye an' bye dat bird's gwineter fly,\n    An' mammy's gwineter make dat pie.\n    She'll give you a few, fer de baby cain't chew,\n    An' de Pickaninny sholy won't cry.\n\n\nA PRETTY PAIR OF CHICKENS\n\n    Dat box-legged rooster, an' dat bow-legged hen\n    Make a mighty pretty couple, not to be no kin.\n    Dey's jes lak some Niggers wearin' white folks ole britches,\n    Dey thinks dey's lookin' fine, w'en dey needs lots of stitches.\n\n\nTOO MUCH WATERMELON\n\n    Dere wus a great big watermillion growin' on de vine.\n    Dere wus a liddle ugly Nigger watchin' all de time.\n    An' w'en dat great big watermillion lay ripenin' in de sun,\n    An' de stripes along its purty skin wus comin' one by one,\n    Dat ugly Nigger pulled it off an' toted it away,\n    An' he e't dat great big watermillion all in one single day.\n    He e't de rinds, an' red meat too, he finish it all trim;\n    An' den,--dat great big watermillion up an' finish him.\n\n\nBUTTERFLY\n\n    Pretty liddle butterfly, yaller as de gold,\n    My sweet liddle butterfly, you sh[=o]' is mighty bold.\n    You can dance out in de sun, you can fly up high,\n    But you know I'se bound to git you, yet, my liddle butterfly.\n\n\nTHE HATED BLACKBIRD AND CROW\n\n    Dat Blackbird say unto de Crow:\n    \"Dat's why de white folks hates us so;\n    For ever since ole Adam wus born,\n    It's been our rule to gedder green corn.\"\n\n    Dat Blackbird say unto de Crow:\n    \"If you's not black, den I don't know.\n    White folks calls you black, but I say not;\n    Caze de kittle musn' talk about de pot.\"\n\n\nIN A RUSH\n\n    Here I comes jes a-rearin' an' a-pitchin',\n    I hain't had no kiss since I lef' de ole kitchin.\n    Candy, dat's sweet; dat's very, very clear;\n    But a kiss from y[=o]' lips would be sweeter, my dear.\n\n\nTAKING A WALK\n\n    We's a-walkin' in de green grass dust, dust, dust.\n    We's a-walkin' in de green grass dust.\n    If you's jes as sweet as I thinks you to be,\n    I'll take you by y[=o]' liddle hand to walk wid me.\n\n\nPAYING DEBTS WITH KICKS\n\n    I owes y[=o]' daddy a peck o' peas.\n    I'se gwineter pay it wid my knees.\n    I owes y[=o]' mammy a pound o' meat;\n    An' I'se gwineter pay dat wid my feet.\n    Now, if I owes 'em somethin' m[=o]';\n    You come right back an' let me know.\n    Please say to dem ('fore I fergets)\n    I never fails to pay my debts.\n\n\nGETTING TEN NEGRO BOYS TOGETHER\n\n    One liddle Nigger boy whistle an' stew,\n    He whistle up anudder Nigger an' dat make two.\n    Two liddle Nigger boys shuck de apple tree,\n    Down fall anudder Nigger, an' dat make three.\n    Three liddle Nigger boys, a-wantin' one more,\n    Never has no trouble a-gittin' up four.\n    Four liddle Nigger boys, dey cain't drive.\n    Dey hire a Nigger hack boy, an' dat make five.\n    Five liddle Niggers, bein' calcullated men,\n    Call anudder Nigger 'piece an' dat make ten.\n\n\nHAWK AND CHICKENS\n\n    Hen an' chickens in a fodder stack,\n    Mighty busy scratchin'.\n    Hawk settin' off on a swingin' lim',\n    Ready fer de catchin'.\n\n    Hawk come a-whizzin' wid his bitin' mouf,\n    Couldn' hold hisself in.\n    Hen, flyin' up, knock his eye clean out;\n    An' de Jaybird died a-laughin'.\n\n\nMUD-LOG POND\n\n    As I stepped down by de Mud-log pon',\n    I seed dat bullfrog wid his shoe-boots on.\n    His eyes wus glass, an' his heels wus brass;\n    An' I give him a dollar fer to let me pass.\n\n\nWHAT WILL WE DO FOR BACON?\n\n    What will we do fer bacon now?\n    I'se shot, I'se shot de ole sandy sow!\n    She jumped de fence an' broke de rail;\n    An'--\"Bam!\"--I shot her on de tail.\n\n\nA LITTLE PICKANINNY\n\n    Me an' its mammy is both gwine to town,\n    To git dis Pickaninny a liddle hat an' gown.\n    Don't you never let him waller on de fl[=o]'!\n    He's a liddle Pickaninny,\n    Born in ole Virginy.\n    Mammy! Don't de baby grow?\n\n    Setch a eatin' o' de honey an' a drinkin' o' de wine!\n    We's gwine down togedder fer to have a good time;\n    An' we's gwineter eat, an' drink m[=o]' an' m[=o]'.\n    Oh, sweet liddle [42]Pickaninny,\n    Born in ole Virginy.\n    Mammy! How de baby grow!\n\n[42] Pickanniny appears to have been an African word used by the early\nAmerican slaves for the word baby.\n\n\nDON'T SING BEFORE BREAKFAST[43]\n\n    Don't sing out 'fore Breakfast,\n    Don't sing 'fore you eat,\n    Or you'll cry out 'fore midnight,\n    You'll cry 'fore you sleep.\n\n[43] A superstition.\n\n\nMY FOLKS AND YOUR FOLKS\n\n    If you an' y[=o]' folks\n    Likes me an' my folks,\n    Lak me an' my folks,\n    Likes you an' y[=o]' folks;\n    You's never seed folks,\n    Since folks 'as been folks,\n    Like you an' y[=o]' folks,\n    Lak me an' my folks.\n\n\nLITTLE SLEEPING NEGROES\n\n    One liddle Nigger a-lyin' in de bed;\n    His eyes shet an' still, lak he been dead.\n\n    Two liddle Niggers a-lyin' in de bed;\n    A-snorin' an' a-dreamin' of a table spread.\n\n    Three liddle Niggers a-lyin' in de bed;\n    Deir heels cracked open lak shorten' bread.\n\n    Four liddle Niggers a-lyin' in de bed;\n    Dey'd better hop out, if dey wants to git fed!\n\n\nMAMMA'S DARLING\n\n    Wid flowers on my shoulders,\n    An' wid slippers on my feet;\n    I'se my mammy's darlin'.\n    Don't you think I'se sweet?\n\n    I wish I had a fourpence,\n    Den I mought use a dime.\n    I wish I had a Sweetheart,\n    To kiss me all de time.\n\n    I has apples on de table,\n    An' I has peaches on de shelf;\n    But I wish I had a husband--\n    I'se so tired stayin' to myself.\n\n\nSTEALING A RIDE\n\n    Two liddle Nigger boys as black as tar,\n    Tryin' to go to Heaben on a railroad chyar.\n    Off fall Nigger boys on a cross-tie!\n    Dey's gwineter git to Heaben shore bye-an'-bye.\n\n\nWASHING MAMMA'S DISHES\n\n    When I wus a liddle boy\n    A-washin' my mammy's dishes,\n    I rund my finger down my th'oat\n    An' pulled out two big fishes!\n\n    When I wus a liddle boy\n    A-wipin' my mammy's dishes,\n    I sticked my finger in my eye\n    An' I sh[=o]' seed liddle fishes.\n\n    De big fish swallowed dem all up!\n    It put me jes a-thinkin'.\n    All dem things looks awful cu'ous!\n    I wonder wus I drinkin'?\n\n\nWILLIE WEE\n\n    Willie, Willie, Willie Wee!\n    One, two, three.\n    If you wanna kiss a pretty gal,\n    Come kiss me.\n\n\nONE NEGRO THEME SUNG WITH \"FROG WENT A-COURTING\"\n\n[music]\n\n\nFROG WENT A-COURTING\n\n    De frog went a-co'tin', he did ride. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    De frog went a-co'tin', he did ride\n    Wid a sword an' a pistol by 'is side. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    He rid up to Miss Mousie's d[=o]'. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    He rid up to Miss Mousie's d[=o]',\n    Whar he'd of'en been bef[=o]. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    Says he: \"Miss Mousie, is you in?\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    Says he: \"Miss Mousie, is you in?\"\n    \"Oh yes, Sugar Lump! I kyard an' spin.\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    He tuck dat Mousie on his knee. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    He tuck dat Mousie on his knee,\n    An' he say: \"Dear Honey, marry me!\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    \"Oh Suh!\" she say, \"I cain't do dat.\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    \"Oh Suh!\" she say, \"I cain't do dat,\n    Widout de sayso o' uncle Rat.\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    Dat ole gray Rat, he soon come home. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    Dat ole gray Rat, he soon come home,\n    Sayin': \"Whose been here since I'se been gone?\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    \"A fine young gemmun fer to see.\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    \"A fine young gemmun fer to see,\n    An' one dat axed fer to marry me.\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    Dat Rat jes laugh to split his side. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    Dat Rat jes laugh to split his side.\n    \"Jes think o' Mousie's bein' a bride!\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    Nex' day, dat rat went down to town. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    Nex' day dat rat went down to town,\n    To git up de Mousie's Weddin' gown. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    \"What's de bes' thing fer de Weddin' gown?\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    \"What's de bes' thing fer de Weddin' gown?\"--\n    \"Dat acorn hull, all gray an' brown!\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    \"Whar shall de Weddin' Infar' be?\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    \"Whar shall de Weddin' Infar' be?\"--\n    \"Down in de swamp in a holler tree.\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    \"What shall de Weddin' Infar' be?\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    \"What shall de Weddin' Infar' be?\"--\n    \"Two brown beans an' a blackeyed pea.\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    Fust to come in wus de Bumblebee. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    Fust to come in wus de Bumblebee.\n    Wid a fiddle an' bow across his knee. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    De nex' dat come wus Khyernel Wren. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    De nex' dat come wus Khyernel Wren,\n    An' he dance a reel wid de Turkey Hen. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    De nex' dat come wus Mistah Snake. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    De nex' dat come wus Mistah Snake,\n    He swallowed de whole weddin' cake! Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    De nex' come in wus Cap'n Flea. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    De nex' come in wus Cap'n Flea,\n    An' he dance a jig fer de Bumblebee. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    An' now come in ole Giner'l Louse. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    An' now come in ole Giner'l Louse.\n    He dance a breakdown 'round de house. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    De nex' to come wus Major Tick. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    De nex' to come wus Major Tick,\n    An' he e't so much it make 'im sick. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    Dey sent fer Mistah Doctah Fly. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    Dey sent fer Mistah Doctah Fly.\n    Says he: \"Major Tick, you's boun' to die.\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    Oh, den crep' in ole Mistah Cat. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    Oh, den crep' in ole Mistah Cat,\n    An' chilluns, dey all hollered, \"Scat!!\" Uh-huh!!! Uh-huh!!!\n\n    It give dat frog a turble fright. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    It give dat frog a turble fright,\n    An' he up an' say to dem, \"Good-night!\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    Dat frog, he swum de lake aroun'. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    Dat frog, he swum de lake aroun',\n    An' a big black duck come gobble 'im down. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    \"What d'you say 'us Miss Mousie's lot?\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    \"What d'you say 'us Miss Mousie's lot?\"--\n    \"W'y--, she got swallered on de spot!\" Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    Now, I don't know no m[=o]' 'an dat. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    Now, I don't know no m[=o]' 'an dat.\n    If you gits m[=o]' you can take my hat. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n\n    An' if you thinks dat hat won't do. Uh-huh! Uh-huh!\n    An' if you thinks dat hat won't do,\n    Den you mought take my head 'long, too. Uh-huh!!! Uh-huh!!!\n\n\nSHOO! SHOO!\n\n    Shoo! Shoo!\n    What'll I do?\n    Run three mile an' buckle my shoe?\n\n    No! No!\n    I'se gwineter go,\n    An' kill dat chicken on my fl[=o]'.\n\n    Oh! My!\n    Chicken pie!\n    Sen' fer de Doctah, I mought die.\n\n    Christmus here,\n    Once a year.\n    Pass dat cider an' 'simmon beer.\n\n\nFLAP-JACKS\n\n    I loves my wife, an' I loves my baby:\n    An' I loves dem flap-jacks a-floatin' in gravy.\n    You play dem chyards, an' make two passes:\n    While I eats dem flap-jacks a-floatin' in 'lasses.\n\n    Now: in come a Nigger an' in come a bear,\n    In come a Nigger dat hain't got no hair.\n    Good-by, Nigger, go right on back,\n    Fer I hain't gwineter give you no flap-jack.\n\n\nTEACHING TABLE MANNERS\n\n    Now whilst we's here 'round de table,\n    All you young ones git right still.\n    I wants to l'arn you some good manners,\n    So's you'll think o' Uncle Bill.\n\n    Cose we's gwineter 'scuse Merlindy,\n    Caze she's jes a baby yit.\n    But it's time you udder young ones\n    Wus a-l'arnin' a liddle bit.\n\n    I can 'member as a youngster,\n    Lak you youngsters is to-day;\n    How my mammy l'arnt me manners\n    In a 'culiar kind o' way.\n\n    One o' mammy's ole time 'quaintance.\n    (Ole Aunt Donie wus her name)\n    Come one night to see my mammy.\n    Mammy co'se 'pared fer de same.\n\n    Mammy got de sifter, Honey;\n    An' she tuck an' make up dough,\n    Which she tu'n into hot biscuits.\n    Den we all git smart, you know.\n\n    'Zerves an' biscuits on de table!\n    Honey, noways could I wait.\n    Ole Aunt Donie wus a good ole 'oman,\n    An' I jes had to pass my plate.\n\n    I soon swallered down dem biscuit,\n    E't 'em faster dan a shoat.\n    Dey wus a liddle tough an' knotty,\n    But I chawed 'em lak a goat.\n\n    \"Pass de biscuits, please, Mam!\n    Please, Mam, fer I wants some m[=o]'.\"\n    Lawd! You'd oughter seed my mammy\n    Frownin' up, jes \"sorter so.\"\n\n    \"Won't you pass de biscuit, please, Mam?\"\n    I said wid a liddle fear.\n    Dere wus not but one m[=o]' lef', Sir.\n    Mammy riz up out'n her chear.\n\n    W'en Aunt Donie lef' our house, Suh,\n    Mammy come lak bees an' ants,\n    Put my head down 'twixt her knees, Suh,\n    Almos' roll me out'n my pants.\n\n    She had a great big tough hick'ry,\n    An' it help till it convince.\n    Frum dat day clean down to dis one,\n    I'se had manners ev'r since.\n\n\nMISS BLODGER\n\n    De rats an' de mice, dey rund up stairs,\n    Fer to hear Miss Blodger say her prayers.\n    Now here I stan's 'fore Miss Blodger.\n    She 'spects to hit me, but I'se gwineter dodge her.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE NEGRO FLY\n\n    Dere's a liddle Nigger fly\n    Got a pretty liddle eye;\n    But he don't know 'is A, B, C's.\n    He up an' crawl de book,\n    An' he eben 'pears to look;\n    But he don't know 'is A, B, C's.\n\n\nDESTINIES OF GOOD AND BAD CHILDREN\n\n    One, two, three, f[=o]', five, six, seben;\n    All de good chilluns goes to Heaben.\n    All de bad chilluns goes below,\n    To [44]segashuate wid ole man [45]Joe.\n\n    One, two, three, f[=o]', five, six, seben, eight;\n    All de good chilluns goes in de Pearly Gate.\n    But all de bad chilluns goes the Broad Road below,\n    To segashuate wid ole man Joe.\n\n[44] Segashuate means associate with.\n\n[45] Read first stanza of \"Sheep Shell Corn,\" to know of ole man Joe.\n\n\nBLACK-EYED PEAS FOR LUCK\n\n    One time I went a-huntin',\n    I heared dat 'possum sneeze.\n    I hollered back to Susan Ann:\n    \"Put on a pot o' peas.\"\n\n    Dat good ole 'lasses candy,\n    What makes de eyeballs shine,\n    Wid 'possum peas an' taters,\n    Is my dish all de time.\n\n    [46]Dem black-eyed peas is lucky;\n    When e't on New Year's day,\n    You always has sweet taters,\n    An' 'possum come your way.\n\n[46] This last stanza embodies one of the old superstitions.\n\n\nPERIWINKLE[47]\n\n    Pennywinkle, pennywinkle, poke out y[=o]' ho'n;\n    An' I'll give you five dollahs an' a bar'l o' co'n.\n    Pennywinkle! Pennywinkle! Dat gal love me?\n    Jes stick out y[=o]' ho'n all pinted to a tree.\n\n[47] The Periwinkle seems to have been used as an oracle by some Negroes\nin the days of their enslavement.\n\n\nTRAINING THE BOY\n\n    W'en I wus a liddle boy,\n    Jes thirteen inches high,\n    I useter climb de table legs,\n    An' steal off cake an' pie.\n\n    Altho' I wus a liddle boy,\n    An' tho' I wusn't high,\n    My mammy took dat keen switch down,\n    An' whupped me till I cry.\n\n    Now I is a great big boy,\n    An' Mammy, she cain't do it;\n    My daddy gits a great big stick,\n    An' pulls me right down to it.\n\n    Dey say: \"No breakin' dishes now;\n    No stealin' an' no lies.\"\n    An' since I is a great big boy,\n    Dey 'spects me to act wise.\n\n\nBAT! BAT![48]\n\n    Bat! Bat! Come un'er my hat,\n    An' I'll give you a slish o' bacon.\n    But don't bring none y[=o]' ole bedbugs,\n    If you don't want to git fersaken.\n\n[48] A superstition that it is good luck to catch a bat in one's hat if\nhe doesn't get bedbugs by so doing.\n\n\nRANDSOME TANTSOME\n\n    Randsome Tantsome!--Gwine to de Fair?\n    Randsome Tantsome!--W'at you gwineter wear?\n    \"Dem shoes an' stockin's I'se bound to wear!\"\n    Randsome Tantsome a-gwine to de Fair.\n\n\nARE YOU CAREFUL?\n\n    Is you keerful; w'en you goes down de street,\n    To see dat y[=o]' cloze looks nice an' neat?\n    Does you watch y[=o]' liddle step 'long de way,\n    An' think 'bout dem words dat you say?\n\n\nRABBIT HASH\n\n    Dere wus a big ole rabbit\n    Dat had a mighty habit\n    A-settin' in my gyardin,\n    An' eatin' all my cabbitch.\n    I hit 'im wid a mallet,\n    I tapped 'im wid a maul.\n    Sich anudder rabbit hash,\n    You's never tasted 'tall.\n\n\nWHY THE WOODPECKER'S HEAD IS RED\n\n    Bill Dillix say to dat woodpecker bird:\n    \"W'at makes y[=o]' topknot red?\"\n    Says he: \"I'se picked in de red-hot sun,\n    Till it's done burnt my head.\"\n\n\nBLESSINGS\n\nThe chivalry of the Old South rather demanded that all friends should be\ninvited to partake of the meal, if they chanced to come calling about\nthe time of the meal hour. This ideal also pervaded the lowly slave\nNegro's cabin. In order that this hospitality might not be abused, the\nNegroes had a little deterrent story which they told their children.\nBelow are the fancied Blessings asked by the fictitious Negro family, in\nthe story, whose hospitality had been abused.\n\n\nBLESSING WITH COMPANY PRESENT\n\n    Oh Lawd now bless an' b[=i]n' us,\n    An' put ole Satan 'h[=i]n' us.\n    Oh let y[=o]' Sperit m[=i]n' us.\n    Don't let none hongry f[=i]n' us.\n\n\nBLESSING WITHOUT COMPANY\n\n    Oh Lawd have mussy now upon us,\n    An' keep 'way some our neighbors from us.\n    For w'en dey all comes down upon us,\n    Dey eats m[=o]s' all our victuals from us.\n\n\nANIMAL PERSECUTORS\n\n    I went up on de mountain,\n    To git a bag o' co'n.\n    Dat coon, he sicked 'is dog on me,\n    Dat 'possum blowed 'is ho'n.\n\n    Dat gobbler up an' laugh at me.\n    Dat pattridge giggled out.\n    Dat peacock squall to bust 'is sides,\n    To see me runnin' 'bout.\n\n\nFOUR RUNAWAY NEGROES--WHENCE THEY CAME\n\n    Once f[=o]' runaway Niggers,\n    Dey met in de road.\n    An' dey ax one nudder:\n    Whar dey come from.\n    Den one up an' say:\n      \"I'se jes come down from Chapel Hill\n      Whar de Niggers hain't wuked an' never will.\"\n\n    Den anudder up an' say:\n      \"I'se jes come here from Guinea Gall\n      Whar dey eats de cow up, skin an' all.\"\n\n    Den de nex' Nigger say\n    Whar he done come from:\n      \"Dey wuked you night an' day as dey could;\n      Dey never had stopped an' dey never would.\"\n\n    De las' Nigger say\n    Whar he come from:\n      \"De Niggers all went out to de Ball;\n      De thick, de thin, de short, de tall.\"\n\n    But dey'd all please set up,\n    Jes lak ole Br'er Rabbit\n    W'en he look fer a dog.\n    An' keep it in mind,\n    Whilst dey boasts 'bout deir gals\n    An' dem t'other things:\n      \"Dat none deir gals wus lak Sallie Jane,\n      Fer dat gal wus sweeter dan sugar cane.\"\n\n\n\n\nWISE SAYING SECTION\n\n\nLEARN TO COUNT\n\n    Naught's a naught,\n    Five's a figger.\n    All fer de white man,\n    None fer de Nigger.\n\n    Ten's a ten,\n    But it's mighty funny;\n    When you cain't count good,\n    You hain't got no money.\n\n\nTHE WAR IS ON\n\n    De boll-weevil's in de cotton,\n    De cut-worm's in de corn,\n    De Devil's in de white man;\n    An' de wah's a-gwine on.\n    Poor Nigger hain't got no home!\n    Poor Nigger hain't got no home!\n\n\nHOW TO PLANT AND CULTIVATE SEEDS\n\n    Plant: One fer de blackbird\n      Two fer de crow,\n      Three fer de jaybird\n      An' f[=o]' fer to grow.\n\n    Den: When you goes to wuk,\n      Don't never stand still;\n      When you pull de grass,\n      Pull it out'n de hill.\n\n\nA MAN OF WORDS\n\n    A man o' words an' not o' deeds,\n    Is lak a gyarden full o' weeds.\n      De weeds 'gin to grow\n      Lak a gyarden full o' snow.\n      De snow 'gin to fly\n      Lak a eagle in de sky.\n      De sky 'gin to roar\n      Lak a hammer on y[=o]' door.\n      De door 'gin to crack\n      Lak a hick'ry on y[=o]' back.\n      Y[=o]' back 'gin to smart\n      Lak a knife in y[=o]' heart.\n      Y[=o]' heart 'gin to fail\n      Lak a boat widout a sail.\n      De boat 'gin to sink\n      Lak a bottle full o' ink.\n      Dat ink, it won't write\n      Neider black nor white.\n    Dat man o' words an' not o' deeds,\n    Is lak a gyarden full o' weeds.\n\n\nINDEPENDENT\n\n    I'se jes as innerpenunt as a pig on ice.\n    Gwineter git up ag'in if I slips down twice.\n    If I cain't git up, I can jes lie down.\n    I don't want no Niggers to be he'pin' me 'roun'.\n\n\nTEMPERANCE RHYME\n\n    Whisky nor brandy hain't no friend to my kind.\n    Dey killed my p[=o]' daddy, an' dey troubled my mind.\n    Sometime he drunk whisky, sometime he drunk ale;\n    Sometime he kotch de rawhide, an' sometime de flail.\n\n    On yon'er high mountain, I'll set up dar high;\n    An' de wild geese can cheer me while passin' on by.\n    Go 'way, young ladies, an' let me alone;\n    For you know I'se a poor boy, an' a long ways from home.\n\n    Go put up de hosses an' give 'em some hay;\n    But don't give me no whisky, so long as I stay.\n    For whisky nor brandy hain't friend to my kind;\n    Dey killed my p[=o]' daddy, an' dey troubled my mind.\n\n\nTHAT HYPOCRITE\n\n    I tell you how dat hypocrite do,\n    He come down to my house, an' talk about you;\n    He talk about me, an' he talk about you;\n    An' dat's de way dat hypocrite do.\n\n    I tell you how dat hypocrite pray.\n    He pray out loud in de hypocrite way.\n    He pray out loud, got a heap to say;\n    An' dat's de way dat hypocrite pray.\n\n    I tell you how dat hypocrite 'ten',\n    He 'ten' dat he love, an' he don't love men.\n    He 'ten' dat he love, an' he hate Br'er Ben;\n    An' dat's de way dat hypocrite 'ten'.\n\n\nDRINKING RAZOR SOUP\n\n    He's been drinkin' razzer soup;\n    Dat sharp Nigger, black lak ink.\n    If he don't watch dat tongue o' his,\n    Somebody'll hurt 'im 'f[=o]r' he think.\n\n    He cain't drive de pigeons t' roost,\n    Dough he talk so big an' smart.\n    Hain't got de sense to tole 'em in.\n    Cain't more 'an drive dat ole mule chyart.\n\n\nOLD MAN KNOW-ALL\n\n    Ole man Know-All, he come 'round\n    Wid his nose in de air, turned 'way frum de ground.\n    His ole woolly head hain't been combed fer a week;\n    It say: \"Keep still, while Know-All speak.\"\n\n    Ole man Know-All's tongue, it run;\n    He jes know'd ev'rything under de sun.\n    When you knowed one thing, he knowed m[=o]'.\n    He 'us sharp 'nough to stick an' green 'nough to grow.\n\n    Ole man Know-All died las' week.\n    He got drowned in de middle o' de creek.\n    De bridge wus dar, an' dar to stay.\n    But he knowed too much to go dat way.\n\n\nFED FROM THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE\n\n    I nebber starts to break my colt,\n    Till he's ole enough to trabble.\n    I nebber digs my taters up\n    Wen dey's only right to grabble.\n    So w'en you sees me risin' up\n    To structify in meetin',\n    You can know I'se climbed de Knowledge Tree\n    An' done some apple eatin'.\n\n\nTHE TONGUE\n\n    Got a tongue dat jes run when it walk?\n    It cain't talk.\n    Got a tongue dat can hush when it talk?--\n    It cain't squawk.\n\n\nBRAG AND BOAST\n\n    Brag is a big dog;\n    But Hold Fast, he is better.\n    Dem big black rough hands,\n    Dey cain't write no letter.\n\n    Boast, he barks an' growls loud;\n    But Bulger, he hain't no shirker.\n    Dat big loud mouf Nigger,\n    He hain't never no worker.\n\n\nSELF-CONTROL\n\n    Befo' you says dat ugly word,\n    You stop an' count ten.\n    Den if you wants to say dat word,\n    Begin an' count again.\n\n    Don't have a tongue tied in de middle,\n    An' loose frum en' to en'.\n    You mus' think twice, den speak once;\n    Dat [49]donkey cain't count ten.\n\n[49] The somewhat less dignified term was more commonly used.\n\n\nSPEAK SOFTLY\n\n    \"Wus dat you spoke,\n    Or a fence rail broke?\"\n    Br'er Rabbit say to de Jay\n    [50]W'en you don't speak sof',\n    Y[=o]' baits comes off;\n    An' de fish jes swim away.\n\n[50] The last three lines of the rhyme was a superstition current among\nantebellum Negroes.\n\n\nSTILL WATER RUNS DEEP\n\n    Dat still water, it run deep.\n    Dat shaller water prattle.\n    Dat tongue, hung in a holler head,\n    Jes roll 'round an' rattle.\n\n\nDON'T TELL ALL YOU KNOW\n\n    Keep dis in min', an' all 'll go right;\n    As on y[=o]' way you goes;\n    Be shore you knows 'bout all you tells,\n    But don't tell all you knows.\n\n\nJACK AND DINAH WANT FREEDOM[51]\n\n    Ole Aunt Dinah, she's jes lak me.\n    She wuk so hard dat she want to be free.\n    But, you know, Aunt Dinah's gittin' sorter ole;\n    An' she's feared to go to Canada, caze it's so c[=o]l'.\n\n    Dar wus ole Uncle Jack, he want to git free.\n    He find de way Norf by de moss on de tree.\n    He cross dat [52]river a-floatin' in a tub.\n    Dem [53]Patterollers give 'im a mighty close rub.\n\n    Dar is ole Uncle Billy, he's a mighty good Nigger.\n    He tote all de news to Mosser a little bigger.\n    When you tells Uncle Billy, you wants free fer a fac';\n    De nex' day de hide drap off'n y[=o]' back.\n\n[51] The writer wishes to give explanation as to why the rhyme \"Jack and\nDinah Want Freedom\" appears under the Section of Psycho-composite Rhymes\nas set forth in \"The Study----\" of our volume. The Negroes repeating\nthis rhyme did not always give the names Jack, Dinah, and Billy, as we\nhere record them, but at their pleasure put in the individual name of\nthe Negro in their surroundings whom the stanza being repeated might\nrepresent. Thus this little rhyme was the scientific dividing, on the\npart of the Negroes themselves, of the members of their race into three\ngeneral classes with respect to the matter of Freedom.\n\n[52] The Ohio River.\n\n[53] White guards who caught and kept slaves at the master's home.\n\n\n\n\nFOREIGN SECTION\n\n\nAFRICAN RHYMES\n\nThe rhymes \"Tuba Blay,\" \"Near Waldo Tee-do O mah nah mejai,\" \"Sai\nBoddeoh Sumpun Komo,\" and \"Byanswahn-Byanswahn\" were kindly contributed\nby Mr. John H. Zeigler, Monrovia, Liberia, and Mr. C. T. Wardoh of the\nBassa Tribe, Liberia. They are natives and are now in America for\ncollegiate study and training.\n\n\nNEAR-WALDO-TEE-DO O MAH NAH MEJAI\n\nOR\n\nNEAR-WALDO-TEE-DO IS MY SWEETHEART\n\n    1.  A yehn me doddoc Near Waldo Tee-do.\n        Yehn me doddoc o-o seoh-o-o.\n        Omah nahn mejai Near Waldo Tee-do.\n        Omah nahn mejai Near Waldo Tee-do.\n\n    _Translation_\n\n        Near Waldo Tee-do gave me a suit.\n        He gave me a suit.\n        Near Waldo Tee-do is my sweetheart.\n        Near Waldo Tee-do is my sweetheart.\n\n\nTUBA BLAY\n\nOR\n\nAN EVENING SONG\n\n    1.  Seah O, Tuba blay.\n        Tuba blay, Tuba blay.\n\n    2.  O blay wulna nahn blay.\n        Tuba blay, Tuba blay.\n\n    _Translation_\n\n    1.  Oh please Tuba sing.\n        Tuba sing, Tuba sing.\n\n    2.  Oh sing that song.\n        Tuba sing, Tuba sing.\n\n\nTHE OWL\n\nWe are indebted for this Baluba rhyme to Dr. and Mrs. William H.\nSheppard, pioneer missionaries under the Southern Presbyterian Church.\nThe little production comes from Congo, Africa.\n\n    Sala wa m[)e]n t[)e]nge, Cimpungelu.\n    Sala wa m[)e]n t[)e]nge, Cimpungelu.\n    Meme taya wewe, Cimpungelu.\n    Sala wa m[)e]n t[)e]nge, Cimpungelu.\n\n    _Translation_\n\n    The dancing owl waves his spread tail feathers.\n          I'm the owl.\n    The dancing owl waves his spread tail feathers.\n          I'm the owl.\n    I now tell you by my dancing, I'm the owl.\n    The dancing owl waves his spread tail feathers.\n          I'm the owl.\n\n\nSAI BODDEOH SUMPUN KOMO\n\nOR\n\nI AM NOT GOING TO MARRY SUMPUN\n\n    1.  Sai Sumpun komo.\n        De Sumpun nenah?\n        Sumpun se jello jeppo\n        Boddeoh Sumpun.\n\n    2.  Sai Sumpun komo.\n        De Sumpun nenah?\n        Sumpun auch nahn jehn deddoc.\n        Boddeoh Sumpun.\n\n    _Translation_\n\n    1.  I am not going to marry Sumpun.\n        What has Sumpun done?\n        Sumpun doesn't live a seafaring life\n        Boddeoh Sumpun.\n\n    2.  I am not going to marry Sumpun.\n        What has Sumpun done?\n        Sumpun does not support me.\n        Boddeoh Sumpun.\n\n\nBYANSWAHN-BYANSWAHN\n\nOR\n\nA BOAT SONG\n\n    [=O]-[=O] Byanswahn blay Tanner tee-o-o.\n    O Byanswahn jekah jubha.\n    De jo Byanswahn se kah jujah dai.\n    [=O] Byanswahn blay dai Tanner tee-o-o.\n\n    _Translation_\n\n    Oh boat, come back to me.\n    Since you carried my child away,\n    I have not seen that child.\n    Oh boat come back to me.\n\n\nTHE TURKEY BUZZARD\n\nDr. C. C. Fuller: a missionary at Chikore Melsetter, Rhodesia, Africa,\nwas good enough to secure for the compiler this rhyme, written in\nChindau, from the Rev. John E. Hatch, also a missionary in South Africa.\n\n    Riti, riti, mwana wa rashika.\n    Ndizo, ndizo kurgya ku wande.\n    Riti, riti, mwana wa oneka.\n    Ndizo, ndizo ti wande issu.\n\n    _Translation_\n\n    Turkey buzzard, turkey buzzard, your child is lost.\n    That is all right, the food will be more plentiful.\n    Turkey buzzard, turkey buzzard, your child is found.\n    That is all right, we will increase in number.\n\n\nTHE FROGS\n\nThe following child's play rhyme in Baluba with its translation was\ncontributed by Mrs. L. G. Sheppard, who was for many years a missionary\nin Congo, Africa.\n\n    Cula, Cula, Kuya kudi Kunyi?\n    Tuyiya ku cisila wa Baluba.\n    Tun kuata tua kuesa cinyi?\n    Tua kudimuka kua musode.\n\n    _Translation_\n\n    Frogs, frogs, where are you going?\n    We are going to the market of the Baluba.\n    If they catch you, what will they do?\n    They will turn us all into lizards.\n\n\nJAMAICA RHYME\n\n\nBUSCHER GARDEN\n\nThis Negro rhyme from rural Jamaica was contributed by Dr. Cecil B.\nRoddock, a native of that country. The word _Buscher_ means an overseer\nor master of a plantation.\n\n    All a night, me da watch a brother Wayrum;\n    Wayrum ina me Buscher garden.\n    Oh, Brother Wayrum! Wha' a you da do,\n    To make a me Buscher a catch a you?\n    Oh a me Buscher, in a me Buscher garden;\n    Me a beg a me Buscher a pardon!\n\n\nVENEZUELAN NEGRO RHYMES\n\nThese Venezuelan rhymes: \"A 'Would be' Immigrant\" and \"Game Contestant's\nSong,\" came to us through the kindness of Mr. J. C. Williams, Caracas,\nVenezuela, S. A. He is a native of Venezuela.\n\n\nGAME CONTESTANT'S SONG\n\n    We're going to dig!\n    We're going to dig a sepulcher to bury those regiments.\n    White Rose Union!\n    Get yourself in readiness to bury those regiments.\n    Oh Grentville! [54]Cici! Cici!\n    Beat them forever.\n\n    Sa your de vrai!\n    We'll send them a challenge,\n    To mardi carnival.\n    Sa your de vrai!!\n\n[54] Cici = a kind of game.\n\n\nA \"WOULD BE\" IMMIGRANT\n\n    Conjo Celestine! Oh\n    He was going to Panama.\n    Reavay Trinidad!\n    Celestine Revay, la Grenada!\n    What d'you think bring Celestine back?\n    What d'you think bring Celestine back?\n    What d'you think bring Celestine to me?\n    Twenty cents for a cup of tea.\n\n\nTRINIDAD NEGRO RHYMES\n\nWe are very grateful to Mr. L. A. Brown for his kindness in giving to us\nthe two Venezuelan rhymes which follow. His home is in Princess Town,\nTrinidad, B. W. I.\n\n\nUN BELLE MARIE COOLIE\n\nOR\n\nBEAUTIFUL MARIE, THE EAST INDIAN\n\n    Un belle Marie Coolie!\n    Un belle Marie Coolie!\n    Un belle Marie Coolie!\n    Vous belle dame, vous belle pour moi.\n    Papa est un African.\n    Mamma est un belle Coolie.\n    Un belle Marie Coolie!\n    Vous belle dame, vous belle pour moi.\n\n    _Translation_\n\n    Beautiful Marie, the East Indian!\n    Beautiful Marie, the East Indian!\n    Beautiful Marie, the East Indian!\n    You beautiful woman, you're good enough for me.\n    Papa is an African.\n    Mamma is a beautiful East Indian.\n    Beautiful Marie, the East Indian!\n    You beautiful woman, you're good enough for me.\n\n\nA TOM CAT\n\n    My father had a big Tom cat,\n    That tried to play a fiddle.\n    He struck it here, and he struck it there,\n    And he struck it in the middle.\n\n\nPHILIPPINE ISLAND RHYME\n\nThe following rhyme came to me through the kindness of Mr. C. W. Ransom,\nGrand Chain, Ill., U.S.A. Mr. Ransom served three years with the United\nStates Army in the Philippine Islands.\n\n    See that Monkey up the cocoanut tree,\n    A-jumpin' an' a-throwin' nuts at me?\n    El hombre no savoy,\n    No like such play.\n    All same to Americano,\n    No hay dique.\n\n\n\n\nPart II\n\nA STUDY IN NEGRO FOLK RHYMES\n\n\nThe lore of the American Negro is rich in story, in song, and in Folk\nrhymes. These stories and songs have been partially recorded, but so far\nas I know there is no collection of the American Negro Folk Rhymes. The\ncollection in Part I is a compilation of American Negro Folk Rhymes, and\nthis study primarily concerns them; but it was necessary to have a\nForeign Section of Rhymes in order to make our study complete. I have\ntherefore inserted a little Foreign Section of African, Venezuelan,\nJamaican, Trinidad, and Philippine Negro Rhymes; and along with them\nhave placed the names of the contributors to whom we are under great\nobligations, as well as to the many others who have given valuable\nassistance and suggestions in the matter of the American Negro Rhymes\nrecorded.\n\nWhen critically measured by the laws and usages governing the best\nEnglish poetry, Negro Folk Rhymes will probably remind readers of the\nstory of the good brother, who arose solemnly in a Christian praise\nmeeting, and thanked God that he had broken all the Commandments, but\nhad kept his religion.\n\nThough decent rhyme is often wanting, and in the case of the \"Song to\nthe Runaway Slave,\" there is no rhyme at all, the rhythm is found almost\nperfect in all of them.\n\nA few of the Rhymes bear the mark of a somewhat recent date in\ncomposition. The majority of them, however, were sung by Negro fathers\nand mothers in the dark days of American slavery to their children who\nlistened with eyes as large as saucers and drank them down with mouths\nwide open. The little songs were similar in structure to the Jubilee\nSongs, also of Negro Folk origin.\n\nIf one will but examine the recorded Jubilee songs, he will find that it\nis common for stanzas, which are apparently most distantly related in\nstructure, to sing along in perfect rhythm in the same tune that\ncarefully counts from measure to measure one, two; or one, two, three,\nfour. Here is an example of two stanzas taken from the Jubilee song,\n\"Wasn't That a Wide River?\"\n\n    1. \"Old Satan's just like a snake in the grass,\n        He's a-watching for to bite you as you pass.\n\n    2.  Shout! Shout! Satan's about.\n        Just shut your door, and keep him out.\"\n\nAn examination of stanzas in various Jubilee songs will show in the same\nsong large variations in poetic feet, etc., not only from stanza to\nstanza; but very often from line to line, and even from phrase to\nphrase. Notwithstanding all this variation, a well trained band of\nsingers will render the songs with such perfect rhythm that one scarcely\nrealizes that the structure of any one stanza differs materially from\nthat of another.\n\nA stanza, as it appears in Negro Folk Rhymes, is of the same\nconstruction as that found in the Jubilee Songs. A perfect rhythm is\nthere. If while reading them you miss it, read yet once again; you will\nfind it in due season if you \"faint not\" too early.\n\nAs a rule, Negro Folk verse is so written that it fits into measures of\nmusic written 4/4 or 2/4 time. You can therefore read Negro Folk Rhymes\nsilently counting: one, two; or, one, two, three, four; and the stanzas\nfit directly into the imaginary music measures if you are reading in\nharmony with the intended rhythm. I know of only three Jubilee Songs\nwhose stanzas are transcribed as exceptions. They are--\n\n(1) \"I'm Going to Live with Jesus,\" 6/8 time, (2) \"Gabriel's Trumpet's\nGoing to Blow,\" 3/4 time, and (3) \"Lord Make Me More Patient,\" 6/8\ntime. It is interesting to note along with these that the \"Song of the\nGreat Owl,\" the \"Negro Soldier's Civil War Chant,\" and \"Destitute Former\nSlave Owners,\" are seemingly the only ones in our Folk Rhyme collection\nwhich would call for a 3/4 or 6/8 measure. Such a measure is rare in all\nliterary Negro Folk productions.\n\nThe Negro, then, repeated or sang his Folk Rhymes, and danced them to\n4/4 and 2/4 measures. Thus Negro Folk Rhymes, with very few exceptions,\nare poetry where a music measure is the unit of measurement for the\nwords rather than the poetic foot. This is true whether the Rhyme is, or\nis not, sung. _Imaginary measures either of two or four beats, with a\ngiven number of words to a beat, a number that can be varied limitedly\nat will, seems to be the philosophy underlying all Negro slave rhyme\nconstruction._\n\nAs has just been casually mentioned, the Negro Folk Rhyme was used for\nthe dance. There are Negro Folk Rhyme Dance Songs and Negro Folk Dance\nRhymes. An example of the former is found in \"The Banjo Picking,\" and of\nthe latter, \"Juba,\" both found in this collection. The reader may wonder\nhow a Rhyme simply repeated was used in the dance. The procedure was as\nfollows: Usually one or two individuals \"star\" danced at time. The\nothers of the crowd (which was usually large) formed a circle about this\none or two who were to take their prominent turn at dancing. I use the\nterms \"star\" danced and \"prominent turn\" because in the latter part of\nour study we shall find that all those present engaged sometimes at\nintervals in the dance. But those forming the circle, for most of the\ntime, repeated the Rhyme, clapping their hands together, and patting\ntheir feet in rhythmic time with the words of the Rhyme being repeated.\nIt was the task of the dancers in the middle of the circle to execute\nsome graceful dance in such a manner that their feet would beat a tattoo\nupon the ground answering to every word, and sometimes to every syllable\nof the Rhyme being repeated by those in the circle. There were many such\nRhymes. \"'Possum Up the Gum Stump,\" and \"Jawbone\" are good examples. The\nstanzas to these Rhymes were not usually limited to two or three, as is\ngenerally the case with those recorded in our collection. Each selection\nusually had many stanzas. Thus as there came variation in the words from\nstanza to stanza, the skill of the dancers was taxed to its utmost, in\norder to keep up the graceful dance and to beat a changed tattoo upon\nthe ground corresponding to the changed words. If any find fault with\nthe limited number of stanzas recorded in our treatise, I can in apology\nonly sing the words of a certain little encore song each of whose two\nlittle stanzas ends with the words, \"Please don't call us back, because\nwe don't know any more.\"\n\nThere is a variety of Dance Rhyme to which it is fitting to call\nattention. This variety is illustrated in our collection by \"Jump Jim\nCrow,\" and \"Juba.\" In such dances as these, the dancers were required to\ngive such movements of body as would act the sentiment expressed by the\nwords while keeping up the common requirements of beating these same\nwords in a tattoo upon the ground with the feet and executing\nsimultaneously a graceful dance.\n\nIt is of interest also to note that the antebellum Negro while repeating\nhis Rhymes which had no connection with the dance usually accompanied\nthe repeating with the patting of his foot upon the ground. Among other\nthings he was counting off the invisible measures and bars of his\nRhymes, things largely unseen by the world but very real to him. Every\none who has listened to a well sung Negro Jubilee Song knows that it is\nalmost impossible to hear one sung and not pat the foot. I have seen the\nfeet of the coldest blooded Caucasians pat right along while Jubilee\nmelodies were being sung.\n\nAll Negro Folk productions, including the Negro Folk Rhymes, seem to\ncall for this patting of the foot. The explanation which follows is\noffered for consideration. The orchestras of the Native African were\nmade up largely of crudely constructed drums of one sort or another.\nTheir war songs and so forth were sung to the accompaniment of these\ndrum orchestras. When the Negroes were transported to America, and began\nto sing songs and to chant words in another tongue, they still sang\nstrains calling, through inheritance, for the accompaniment of their\nancestral drum. The Negro's drum having fallen from him as he entered\ncivilization, he unwittingly called into service his foot to take its\nplace. This substitution finds a parallelism in the highly cultivated La\nFrance rose, which being without stamens and pistils must be propagated\nby cuttings or graftings instead of by seeds. The rose, purposeless,\nemits its sweet perfume to the breezes and thus it attracts insects for\ncross fertilization simply because its staminate and pistillate\nancestors thus called the insect world for that purpose. The rattle of\nthe crude drum of the Native African was loud by inheritance in the\nhearts of his early American descendants and its unseen ghost walks in\nthe midst of all their poetry.\n\nMany Negro Folk Rhymes were used as banjo and fiddle (violin) songs. It\nought to be borne in mind, however, that even these were quite often\nrepeated without singing or playing. It was common in the early days of\nthe public schools of the South to hear Negro children use them as\ndeclamations. The connection, however, of Negro Folk Rhymes with their\nsecular music productions is well worthy of notice.\n\nI have often heard those who liked to think and discuss things musical,\nwonder why little or no music of a secular kind worth while seemed to be\nfound among Negroes while their religious music, the Jubilee Songs, have\nchallenged the admiration of the world. The songs of most native peoples\nseem to strike \"high water mark\" in the secular form. Probably numbers\nof us have heard the explanation: \"You see, the Negro is deeply\nemotional; religion appealed to him as did nothing else. The Negro\ntherefore spent his time singing and shouting praises to God, who alone\ncould whisper in his heart and stir up these emotions.\" There is perhaps\nmuch truth in this explanation. It is also such a delicate and high\ncompliment to the Negro race, that I hesitate to touch it. One of the\nvery few gratifying things that has come to Negroes is the unreserved\nrecognition of their highly religious character. There is a truth,\nhowever, about the relation between the Negro Folk Rhyme and the Negro's\nbanjo and fiddle music which ought to be told even though some older,\nnicer viewpoints might be a little shifted.\n\nThere were quite a few Rhymes sung where the banjo and fiddle formed\nwhat is termed in music a simple accompaniment. Examples of these are\nfound in \"Run, Nigger, Run,\" and \"I'll Wear Me a Cotton Dress.\" In such\ncases the music consisted of simple short tunes unquestionably \"born to\ndie.\"\n\nThere was another class of Rhymes like \"Devilish Pigs,\" that were used\nwith the banjo and fiddle in quite another way. It was the banjo and\nfiddle productions of this kind of Rhyme that made the \"old time\" Negro\nbanjo picker and fiddler famous. It has caused quite a few, who heard\nthem, to declare that, saint or sinner, it was impossible to keep your\nfeet still while they played. The compositions were comparatively long.\nFrom one to four lines of a Negro Folk Rhyme were sung to the opening\nmeasures of the instrumental composition; then followed the larger and\nremaining part of the composition, instruments alone. In the Rhyme\n\"Devilish Pigs\" four lines were used at a time. Each time that the music\ntheme of the composition was repeated, another set of Rhyme lines was\nrepeated; and the variations in the music theme were played in each\nrepeat which recalled the newly repeated words of the Rhyme. The ideal\nin composition from an instrumental viewpoint might quite well remind\none of the ideal in piano compositions, which consists of a theme with\nvariations. The first movement of Beethoven's Sonata, Opus 26,\nillustrates the music ideal in composition to which I refer.\n\nSo far as I know no Caucasian instrumental music composer has ever\nordered the performers under his direction to sing a few of the first\nmeasures of his composition while the string division of the orchestra\nplayed its opening chords. Only the ignorant Negro composer has done\nthis. Some white composers have made little approaches to it. A fair\nsample of an approach is found in the Idylls of Edward McDowell, for\npiano, where every exquisite little tone picture is headed by some gem\nin verse, reading which the less musically gifted may gain a deeper\ninsight into the philosophical tone discourse set forth in the notes and\nchords of the composition.\n\nThe Negro Folk Rhyme, then, furnished the ideas about which the \"old\ntime\" Negro banjo picker and fiddler clustered his best instrumental\nmusic thoughts. It is too bad that this music passed away unrecorded\nsave by the hearts of men. Paul Laurence Dunbar depicts its telling\neffects upon the hearer in his poem \"The Party\":\n\n    \"Cripple Joe, de ole rheumatic, danced dat flo' frum side to middle.\n    Throwed away his crutch an' hopped it, what's rheumatics 'gainst a\n                                                               fiddle?\n    Eldah Thompson got so tickled dat he lak to los' his grace,\n    Had to take bofe feet an' hold 'em, so's to keep 'em in deir place.\n    An' de Christuns an' de sinnahs got so mixed up on dat flo',\n    Dat I don't see how dey's pahted ef de trump had chonced to blow.\"\n\nPerhaps a new school of orchestral music might be built on the Negro\nidea that some of the performers sing a sentence or so here and there,\nboth to assist the hearers to a clearer musical understanding and to\nheighten the general artistic finish. The old Negro performers generally\nsang lines of the Folk Rhymes at the opening but occasionally in the\nmidst of their instrumental compositions. I do not recall any case where\nlines were sung to the closing measures of the compositions.\n\nIt might seem odd to some that the grotesque Folk Rhyme should have\ngiven rise to comparatively long instrumental music compositions. I\nthink the explanation is probably very simple. The African on his native\nheath had his crude ancestral drum as his leading musical instrument. He\nsang or shouted his war songs consisting of a few words, and of a few\nnotes, then followed them up with the beating of his drum, perhaps for\nmany minutes, or even for hours. In civilization, the banjo, fiddle,\n\"quills,\" and \"triangle\" largely took the place of his drum. Thus the\nsinging of opening strains and following them with the main body of the\ninstrumental composition, is in keeping with the Negro's inherited law\nfor instrumental compositions from his days of savagery. The rattling,\ndistinct tones of the banjo, recalling unconsciously his inherited love\nfor the rattle of the African ancestral drum, is probably the thing\nwhich caused that instrument to become a favorite among Negro slaves.\n\nI would next consider the relation of the Folk Rhymes to Negro child\nlife. They were instilled into children as warnings. In the years\nclosely following our Civil War, it was common for a young Negro child,\nabout to engage in a doubtful venture, to hear his mother call out to\nhim the Negro Rhyme recorded by Joel Chandler Harris, in the Negro\nstory, \"The End of Mr. Bear\":\n\n    \"Tree stan' high, but honey mighty sweet--\n    Watch dem bees wid stingers on der feet.\"\n\nThese lines commonly served to recall the whole story, it being the\nRabbit's song in that story, and the child stopped whatever he was\ndoing. Other and better examples of such Rhymes are \"Young Master and\nOld Master,\" \"The Alabama Way,\" and \"You Had Better Mind Master,\" found\nin our collection.\n\nThe warnings were commonly such as would help the slave to escape more\nsuccessfully the lash, and to live more comfortably under slave\nconditions. I would not for once intimate that I entertain the thought\nthat the ignorant slave carefully and philosophically studied his\nsurroundings, reasoned it to be a fine method to warn children through\npoetry, composed verse, and like a wise man proceeded to use it. Of\ncourse thinking preceded the making of the Rhyme, but a conscious system\nof making verses for the purpose did not exist. I have often watched\nwith interest a chicken hen lead forth her brood of young for the first\ntime. While the scratching and feeding are going on, all of a sudden the\nhen utters a loud shriek, and flaps her wings. The little chicks,\nalthough they have never seen a hawk, scurry hither and thither, and so\nprostrate their little brown and ashen bodies upon the ground as almost\nto conceal themselves. The Negro Folk Rhymes of warning must be looked\nupon a little in this same light. They are but the strains of terror\ngiven by the promptings of a mother instinct full enough of love to give\nup life itself for its defenseless own.\n\nMany Rhymes were used to convey to children the common sense truths of\nlife, hidden beneath their comic, crudely cut coats. Good examples are\n\"Old Man Know-All,\" \"Learn to Count,\" and \"Shake the Persimmons Down.\"\nAll through the Rhymes will be found here and there many stanzas full of\ncommon uncommon sense, worthwhile for children.\n\nMany Negro Folk Rhymes repeated or sung to children on their parents'\nknees were enlarged and told to them as stories, when they became older.\nThe Rhyme in our collection on \"Judge Buzzard\" is one of this kind. In\nthe Negro version of the race between the hare and the tortoise\n(\"rabbit and terrapin\"), the tortoise wins not through the hare's going\nto sleep, but through a gross deception of all concerned, including even\nthe buzzard who acted as Judge. The Rhyme is a laugh on \"Jedge Buzzard.\"\nIt was commonly repeated to Negro children in olden days when they\npassed erroneous judgments. \"Buckeyed rabbit! Whoopee!\" in our volume\nbelongs with the Negro story recorded by Joel Chandler Harris under the\ntitle, \"How Mr. Rabbit Lost His Fine Bushy Tail,\" though for some reason\nMr. Harris failed to weave it into the story as was the Negro custom.\n\"The Turtle's Song,\" in our collection, is another, which belongs with\nthe story, \"Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength\"; a Negro story given to the\nworld by the same author, though the Rhyme was not recorded by him. It\nmight be of interest to know that the Negroes, when themselves telling\nthe Folk stories, usually sang the Folk Rhyme portions to little\n\"catchy\" Negro tunes. I would not under any circumstances intimate that\nMr. Harris carelessly left them out. He recorded many little stanzas in\nthe midst of the stories. Examples are:\n\n    (a) \"We'll stay at home when you're away\n        'Cause no gold won't pay toll.\"\n\n    (b) \"Big bird catch, little bird sing.\n        Bug bee zoom, little bee sting.\n        Little man lead, and the big horse follow,\n        Can you tell what's good for a head in a hollow?\"\n\nThese and many others are fragmentarily recorded among Mr. Harris' Negro\nstories in \"Nights With Uncle Remus.\"\n\nFolk Rhymes also formed in many cases the words of Negro Play Songs.\n\"Susie Girl,\" and \"Peep Squirrel,\" found in our collection, are good\nillustrations of the Rhymes used in this way. The words and the music of\nsuch Rhymes were usually of poor quality. When, however, they were sung\nby children with the proper accompanying body movements, they might\nquite well remind one of the \"Folk Dances\" used in the present best\nup-to-date Primary Schools. They were the little rays of sunshine in the\ndark dreary monotonous lives of black slave children.\n\nPossibly the thing which will impress the reader most in reading Negro\nFolk Rhymes is their good-natured drollery and sparkling nonsense. I\nbelieve this is very important. Many have recounted in our hearing, the\ndescriptions of \"backwoods\" Negro picnics. I have witnessed some of\nthem where the good-natured vender of lemonade and cakes cried out:\n\n    \"Here's y[=o]' c[=o]l' ice lemonade,\n    It's made in de shade,\n    It's stirred wid a spade.\n    Come buy my c[=o]l' ice lemonade.\n    It's made in de shade\n    An' s[=o]l' in de sun.\n    Ef you hain't got no money,\n    You cain't git none.\n    One glass fer a nickel,\n    An' two fer a dime,\n    Ef you hain't got de chink,\n    You cain't git mine.\n    Come right dis way,\n    Fer it sh[=o]' will pay\n    To git candy fer de ladies\n    An' cakes fer de babies.\"\n\n\"Did these venders sell?\" Well, all agree that they did. The same\nprinciple applied, with much of the nonsense eliminated, will probably\nmake of the Negro a great merchant, as caste gives way enough to allow\nhim a common man's business chance. Of all the races of men, the Negro\nalone has demonstrated his ability to come into contact with the white\nman and neither move on nor be annihilated. I believe this is largely\ndue to his power to muster wit and humor on all occasions, and even to\nlaugh in the face of adversity. He refused during the days of slavery to\ntake the advice of Job's wife, and to \"Curse God and die.\" He repeated\nand sang his comic Folk Rhymes, danced, lived, and came out of the Night\nof Bondage comparatively strong.\n\nThe compiler of the Rhymes was quite interested to find that as a rule\nthe country-reared Negro had a larger acquaintance with Folk Rhymes than\none brought up in the city. The human mind craves occasional recreation,\nentertainment, and amusement. In cities where there is an almost\ncontinuous passing along the crowded thoroughfares of much that\ncontributes to these ends, the slave Negro needed only to keep his eyes\nopen, his ears attentive, and laugh. He directed his life accordingly.\nBut, in the country districts there was only the monotony of quiet woods\nand waving fields of cotton. The rural scenes, though beautiful in\nthemselves, refuse to amuse or entertain those who will not hold\ncommunion with them. The country Negro longing for amusement communed in\nhis crude way, and Nature gave him Folk Rhymes for entertainment. Among\nthose found to be clearly of this kind may be mentioned \"The Great Owl's\nSong,\" \"Tails,\" \"Redhead Woodpecker,\" \"The Snail's Reply,\" \"Bob-white's\nSong,\" \"Chuck Will's Widow Song,\" and many others.\n\nThe Folk Rhymes were not often repeated as such or as whole compositions\nby the \"grown-ups\" among Negroes apart from the Play and the Dance. If,\nhowever, you had had an argument with an antebellum Negro, had gotten\nthe better of the argument, and he still felt confident that he was\nright, you probably would have heard him close his side of the debate\nwith the words: \"Well, 'Ole Man Know-All is Dead.'\" This is only a short\nprosaic version of his rhyme \"Old Man Know-All,\" found in our\ncollection. Many of the characteristic sayings of \"Uncle Remus\" woven\ninto story by Joel Chandler Harris had their origin in these Folk\nRhymes. \"Dem dat know too much sleep under de ash-hopper\" (Uncle Remus)\nclearly intimates to all who know about the old-fashioned ash-hopper\nthat such an individual lies. This saying is a part of another stanza of\n\"Old Man Know-All,\" but I cannot recall it from my dim memory of the\npast, and others whom I have asked seem equally unable to do so, though\nthey have once known it.\n\nAs is the case with all things of Folk origin, there is usually more\nthan one version of each Negro Folk Rhyme. In many cases the exercising\nof a choice between many versions was difficult. I can only express the\nhope that my choices have been wise.\n\nThere are two American Negro Folk Rhymes in our collection: \"Frog in a\nMill\" and \"Tree Frogs,\" which are oddities in \"language.\" They are\nrhymes of a rare type of Negro, which has long since disappeared. They\nwere called \"Ebo\" Negroes and \"Guinea\" Negroes. The so-called \"Ebo\"\nNegro used the word \"la\" very largely for the word \"the.\" This and some\nother things have caused me to think that the \"Ebo\" Negro was probably\none who was first a slave among the French, Spanish, or Portuguese, and\nwas afterwards sold to an English-speaking owner. Thus his language was\na mixture of African, English, and one of these languages. The so-called\n\"Guinea\" Negro was simply one who had not been long from Africa; his\nlanguage being a mixture of his African tongue and English. These rhymes\nare to the ordinary Negro rhymes what \"Jutta Cord la\" in \"Nights with\nUncle Remus,\" by Joel Chandler Harris, is to the ordinary Negro stories\nfound there. They are probably representative, in language, of the most\nprimitive Negro Folk productions.\n\nSome of the rhymes are very old indeed. If one will but read \"Master Is\nSix Feet One Way,\" found in our collection, he will find in it a\ndescription of a slave owner attired in Colonial garb. It clearly\nbelongs, as to date of composition, either to Colonial days, or to the\nvery earliest years of the American Republic. When we consider it as a\nslave rhyme, it is far from crudest, notwithstanding the early period of\nits production.\n\nIf one carefully studies our collection of rhymes, he will probably get\na new and interesting picture of the Negro's mental attitude and\nreactions during the days of his enslavement. One of these mental\nreactions is calculated to give one a surprise. One would naturally\nexpect the Negro under hard, trying, bitter slave conditions, to long to\nbe white. There is a remarkable Negro Folk rhyme which shows that this\nwas not the case. This rhyme is: \"I'd Rather Be a Negro Than a Poor\nWhite Man.\" We must bear in mind that a Folk Rhyme from its very nature\ncarries in it the crystallized thought of the masses. This rhyme, though\na little acidic and though we have recorded the milder version, leaves\nthe unquestioned conclusion that, though the Negro masses may have\nwished for the exalted station of the rich Southern white man and\npossibly would have willingly had a white color as a passport to\nposition, there never was a time when the Negro masses desired to be\nwhite for the sake of being white. Of course there is the Negro rhyme,\n\"I Wouldn't Marry a Black Girl,\" but along with it is another Negro\nrhyme, \"I Wouldn't Marry a White or a Yellow Negro Girl.\" The two rhymes\nsimply point out together a division of Negro opinion as to the ideal\nstandard of beauty in personal complexion. One part of the Negroes\nthought white or yellow the more beautiful standard and the other part\nof the Negroes thought black the more beautiful standard.\n\nThe body of the Rhymes, here and there, carries many facts between the\nlines, well worth knowing.\n\nThis collection also will shed some light on how the Negro managed to go\nthrough so many generations \"in slavery and still come out\" with a\nbright, capable mind. There were no colleges or schools for them, but\nthere were Folk Rhymes, stories, Jubilee songs, and Nature; they used\nthese and kept mentally fit.\n\nI now approach the more difficult and probably the most important\nportion of my discussion in the Study of Negro Folk Rhymes. It is a\ndiscussion that I would have willingly omitted, had I not thought that\nsome one owed it to the world. Seeing a debt, as I thought, and not\nseeing another to pay it, I have reluctantly undertaken to discharge\nthe obligation.\n\nIf I were so fortunate as to possess a large flower garden with many new\nand rare genera and species, and wished to acquaint my friends with\nthem, I should first take these friends for a walk through the garden,\nthat they might see the odd tints and hues, might inhale a little of the\nnew fragrance, and might get some idea as to the prospects for the\nutilization of these new plants in the world. Then, taking these friends\nback to my study room, I should consider in a friendly manner along with\nthem, the Families and the Species, and the varieties. Finally, I should\nendeavor to lay before them from whence these new and strange flowers\ncame. I have endeavored to pursue this method in my discussion of the\nNegro Folk Rhymes. In the foregoing I have endeavored to take the\nfriendly reader for a walk through this new and strange garden of\nRhymes, and I now extend an invitation to him to come into the Study\nRoom for a more critical view of them.\n\nWhen one enters upon the slightest contemplation of Negro Folk Rhyme\nclassification, and is kind-hearted enough to dignify them with a claim\nto kinship to real poetry, the word _Ballad_ rolls out without the\nslightest effort, as a term that takes them all in. Yes, this is very\ntrue, but they are of a strange type indeed. They are Nature Ballads,\nmany of them, in the sense as ordinarily used. In quite another sense,\nhowever, from that in which Nature Ballad is ordinarily used, about all\nFolk Rhymes are Nature Ballads.\n\nI do not have reference to the thought content, but have reference to\nwhat I term Nature Ballads in form. Permit me to explain by analogy just\nwhat I would convey by the term Nature Ballad in form.\n\nAll Nature is one. Though we arbitrarily divide Nature's objects for\nstudy, they are indissolubly bound together and every part carries in\nsome part of its constitution some well defined marks which characterize\nthe other parts with which it has no immediate connection. To\nillustrate: the absolutely pure sapphire, pure aluminic oxide,\ncrystallized, is commonly colorless, but we know that Nature's most\nbeautiful sapphires are not colorless, but are blue, and of other\nbeautiful tints. These color tints are due to minutest traces of other\nsubstances, not at all of general common sapphire composition. We call\nthem all sapphires, however, regardless of their little impurities which\nare present to enhance their charm and beauty. Likewise, all animal life\nbegins with one cell, and though the one cell in one case develops into\na vertebrate, and in another case into an invertebrate the cells persist\nand so all animal life has cellular structure in common. Yet, each\nanimal branch has predominant traits that distinguish it from all other\nbranches. This same thing is true of plants.\n\nNature's method, then, of making things seems to be to put in a large\nenough amount of one thing to brand the article, and then to mix in, in\nsmall amounts, enough of other things to lend charm and beauty without\ntaking the article out of its general class.\n\nThis is that which goes to make Negro Folk Rhymes Nature Ballads in\nform. They are ballads, but all in the midst of even a Dance Song, by\nNature an ordinary ballad, there may be interwoven comedy, tragedy, and\nnearly every kind of imaginable thing which goes rather with other\ngeneral forms of poetry than with the ballad. As an example, in the\nDance Song, \"Promises of Freedom,\" we have mustered before our eyes the\ncomic drawing of a deceptive ugly old Mistress and then follows the\nintimation of the tragic death of a poisoned slave owner, and as we are\ntempted to dance along in thought with the rhymer, we cannot escape\ngetting the subtle impression that this slave had at least some \"vague\"\npersonal knowledge of how the Master got that poison. It is a common\neasy-going ballad, but it is tinted with tragedy and comedy. This\ngeneral principle will be found to run very largely through the highest\ntypes of Negro Folk Rhymes. It is the Nature method of construction, and\nthus we call them Nature Ballads in structure, or form.\n\nOther good examples of rhymes, Nature Ballads in structure, are \"Frog\nWent a-Courting,\" \"Sheep Shell Corn,\" \"Jack and Dinah Want Freedom.\"\n\nI now direct attention further to the classification of Negro Rhymes as\nBallads. My earnest desire was to classify Negro Rhymes under ordinary\nheadings such as are used by literary men and women everywhere in their\ngeneral classification of Ballads. I considered this very important\nbecause it would enable students of comparative Literature to compare\neasily the Negro Folk Rhymes with the Folk Rhymes of all peoples. I was\nmuch disappointed when I found that the Negro Folk Rhymes, when invited,\nrefused to take their places whole-heartedly in the ordinary\nclassification. As an example of many may be mentioned the little Rhyme\n\"Jaybird.\" It is a Dance Song, and thus comes under the Dance Song\nDivision, commonly used for Ballads. But, it also belongs under Nature\nLore heading, because the Negroes many years ago often told a story, in\nconjunction with song, of the great misfortunes which overtook a Negro\nwho tried to get his living by hunting Jaybirds. Finally it also belongs\nunder the heading Superstitions, for its last stanza very plainly\nalludes to the old Negro superstition of slavery days which declared\nthat it was almost impossible to find Jaybirds on Friday because they\nwent to Hades on that day to carry sand to the Devil.\n\nBut so important do I think of comparative study that I have taken the\nordinary headings used for Ballads and, after adding that omnibus\nheading \"Miscellaneous,\" have done my best. The majority of the Rhymes\ncan be placed under headings ordinarily used. This was to be expected.\nIt is in obedience to Natural Law. We see it in the Music World. The\nCaucasian music has eight fundamental tones, the Japanese music has\nfive, while, according to some authorities, Negro Jubilee-music has\nnine; yet all these music scales have five tones in common. In the\nPeriodic System of Elements there are two periods; a short period and a\nlong period, but both periods embrace, in common, elements belonging to\nthe same family. So with the Ballads, certain classification headings\nwill very well take in both the Negro and all others. The Negro Ballad,\nhowever, does not entirely properly fit in. I have therefore resorted to\nthe following expedient: I have taken the headings ordinarily used, and\nhave listed under each heading the Negro Rhymes which belong with it, as\nnearly as possible. I have placed this classified list at the end of the\nbook, under the title \"Comparative Study Index.\" By using this Index one\ncan locate and compare Negro Folk productions with the corresponding\nFolk productions of other peoples.\n\nThe headings found in this Comparative Study Index are as follows:\n\n   1. Love Songs.\n   2. Dance Songs.\n   3. Animal and Nature Lore.\n   4. Nursery Rhymes.\n   5. Charms and Superstitions.\n   6. Hunting Songs.\n   7. Drinking Songs.\n   8. Wise and Gnomic Sayings.\n   9. Harvest Songs.\n  10. Biblical and Religious Themes.\n  11. Play Songs.\n  12. Miscellaneous.\n\nWith the way paved for others to make such comparative study as they\nwould like, I now feel free to use a classification which lends itself\nmore easily to a discussion of the origin and evolution of Negro Rhyme.\nThe basic principle used in this classification is Origin and under each\nsource of origin is placed the various classes of Rhymes produced. It\nhas seemed to the writer, who is himself a Negro, and has spent his\nearly years in the midst of the Rhymes and witnessed their making, that\nthere are three great divisions derived from three great mainsprings or\nsources.\n\nThe Divisions are as follows:\n\n  I. Rhymes derived from the Social Instinct.\n  II. Rhymes derived from the Homing Instinct.\n  III. Rhymes of Psycho-composite origin.\n\nThe terms Social and Homing Instincts are familiar to every one, but the\nterm Psycho-composite was coined by the writer after much hesitation and\nwith much regret because he seemed unable to find a word which would\nexpress what he had in mind.\n\nTo make clear: the classes of Rhymes falling under Divisions I and II\nowe their crudest initial beginnings to instinct, while those under\nDivision III owe their crudest beginnings partly to instinct, but partly\nalso to intelligent thinking processes. To illustrate--Courtship Rhymes\ncome under Division II, because courtship primarily arises from the\nhoming instinct, but when we come to \"quasi\" wise sayings--directed\nlargely to criticism or toward improvement, there is very much more than\ninstinct concerned. In Division III the Rhymes are directed largely to\nimprovement. In explanation of why they are in Division III, I would\nsay, the desire to better one's condition is instinctive, but the\nslightest attainment of the desire comes through thought pure and\nsimple. I have invented the term Psycho-composite to include all this.\n\nIn reading the Rhymes under Division III, one finds comparatively large,\nabstract, general conclusions, such as--General loquaciousness is\nunwise: Assuming to know everything is foolish: Self-control is a great\nvirtue. Proper preparation must be made before presuming to give\ninstruction, etc. Such generalizations involve something not necessarily\npresent in the crudest initiations of such Rhymes as those found under\nDivisions I and II. Below is a tabular view of my proposed\nclassification of Negro Folk Rhymes:\n\n          DIVISION                    CLASS\n\n                                1. Dance Rhymes\n  I. Social Instinct Rhymes     2. Dance Rhyme Songs\n                                3. Play Songs\n                                4. Pastime Rhymes\n\n                                1. Love Rhymes\n  II. Homing Instinct Rhymes    2. Courtship Rhymes\n                                3. Marriage Rhymes\n                                4. Married Life Rhymes\n\n  III. Psycho-composite Rhymes  1. Criticism and Improvement Rhymes\n\nUnder this tabulation, let us now proceed to discuss the Origin and\nEvolution of Negro Folk Rhymes.\n\nEarly in my discussion the reader will recall that I explained in\nconsiderable detail how the Dance Rhyme words were used in the dance. I\nam now ready to announce that the Dance Rhyme was derived from the\ndance, and to explain how the Dance Rhyme became an evolved product of\nthe dance.\n\nI witnessed in my early childhood the making of a few Dance Rhymes. I\nhave forgotten the words of most of those whose individual making I\nwitnessed but the \"Jonah's Band Party\" found in our collection is one\nwhose making I distinctly recall. I shall tell in some detail of its\norigin because it serves in a measure to illustrate how the Dance Rhymes\nprobably had their beginnings. First of all be it known that there was a\n\"step\" in dancing, originated by some Negro somewhere, called \"Jonah's\nBand\" step. There is no need that I should try to describe that step\nwhich, though of the plain dance type, was accompanied from the\nbeginning to the end by indescribable \"frills\" of foot motion. I can't\ndescribe it, but if one will take a stick and cause it to tap so as to\nknock the words: \"Setch a kickin' up san'! Jonah's band,\" while he\nrepeats the words in the time of 2/4 music measure, the taps will\nreproduce the tattoo beaten upon the ground by the feet of the dancers,\nwhen they danced the \"Jonah's Band\" step. The dancers formed a circle\nplacing two or more of their skilled dancers in the middle of it. Now\nwhen I first witnessed this dance, there were no words said at all.\nThere was simply patting with the hands and dancing, making a tattoo\nwhich might be well represented by the words supplied later on in its\nexistence. Later, I witnessed the same dance, where the patting and\ndancing were as usual, but one man, apparently the leader, was simply\ncrying out the words, \"Setch a kickin' up san'!\" and the crowd answered\nwith the words, \"Jonah's Band!\"--the words all being repeated in\nrhythmic harmony with the patting and dancing. Thus was born the line,\n\"Setch a kickin' up san'! Jonah's Band!\" In some places it was the\ncustom to call on the dancers to join with those of the circle, at\nintervals in the midst of the dance, in dancing other steps than the\nJonah's Band step. Some dance leaders, for example, simply called in\nplain prose--\"Dance the Mobile Buck,\" others calling for another step\nwould rhyme their call. Thus arose the last lines to each stanza, such\nas--\n\n    \"Raise y[=o]' right foot, kick it up high!\n    Knock dat 'Mobile Buck' in de eye!\"\n\nThis is the genesis of the \"Jonah's Band Party,\" found in our\ncollection. The complete rhyme becomes a fine description of an old-time\nNegro party. It is probable that much Dance Rhyme making originated in\nthis or a similar way.\n\nLet us assume that Negro customs in Slavery days were what they were in\nmy childhood days, then it would come about that such an ocasional Rhyme\nmaking in a crowd would naturally stimulate individual Rhyme makers, and\nfrom these individuals would naturally grow up \"crops\" of Dance Rhymes.\nOf course I cannot absolutely know, but I think when I witnessed the\nmaking of the \"Jonah's Band Party,\" that I witnessed the stimulus which\nhad produced the Dance Rhyme through the decades of preceding years. I\nrealize, however, that this does not account for the finished Rhyme\nproducts. It simply gives one source of origin. How the Rhyme grew to\nits complex structure will be discussed later, because that discussion\nbelongs not to the Dance Rhyme alone, but to all the Rhymes.\n\nThere was a final phase of development of \"Jonah's Band Party\" witnessed\nby the writer; namely, the singing of the lines, \"Setch a kickin' up\nsan'! Jonah's Band!\" The last lines of the stanzas, the lines calling\nfor another step on the part of both the circle and the dancers, were\nnever sung to my knowledge. The little tune to the first lines consisted\nof only four notes, and is inserted below.\n\n[music]\n\nI give this as of interest because it marks a partial transition from a\nDance Rhyme to a Dance Rhyme Song. In days of long ago I occasionally\nsaw a Dance Rhyme Song \"patted and danced\" instead of sung or played and\ndanced. This coupled with the transition stage of the \"Jonah's Band\nDance\" just given has caused me to believe that Dance Rhyme Songs were\nprobably evolved from Dance Rhymes pure and simple, through individuals\nputting melodies to these Dance Rhymes.\n\nAs Dance Rhymes came from the dance, so likewise Play Rhymes came from\nplays. I shall now discuss the one found in our collection under the\ncaption--\"Goosie-gander.\" Since the Play has probably passed from the\nmemory of most persons, I shall tell how it was played. The children\n(and sometimes those in their teens) sat in a circle. One individual,\nthe leader, walked inside the circle, from child to child, and said to\neach in turn, \"Goosie-gander.\" If the child answered \"Goose,\" the leader\nsaid, \"I turn your ears loose,\" and went on to the next child. If he\nanswered \"Gander,\" the leader said, \"I pull y[=o]' years 'way yander.\"\nThen ensued a scuffle between the two children; each trying to pull the\nother's ears. The fun for the circle came from watching the scuffle.\nFinally the child who got his ears pulled took his place in the circle,\nleaving the victor as master of ceremonies to call out the challenge\n\"Goosie-gander!\" The whole idea of the play is borrowed from the\nfighting of the ganders of a flock of geese for their mates. Many other\nplays were likewise borrowed from Nature. Examples are found in \"Hawk\nand Chickens Play,\" and \"Fox and Geese Play.\" \"Caught by a Witch Play\"\nis borrowed from superstition. But to return to \"Goosie-gander\"--most\nchildren of our childhood days played it, using common prose in the\ncalls, and answers just as we have here described it. A few children\nhere and there so gave their calls and responses as to rhyme them into a\nkind of a little poem as it is recorded in our collection. Without\nfurther argument, I think it can hardly be doubted that the whole thing\nbegan as a simple prose call, and response, and that some child inclined\nto rhyming things, started \"to do the rest,\" and was assisted in\naccomplishing the task by other children equally or more gifted. This\nreasonably accounts for the origin of the Play Rhyme.\n\nNow what of the Play Rhyme Songs? There were many more Play Rhyme Songs\nthan Play Rhymes. There were some of the Play Rhyme Songs sung in prose\nversion by some children and the same Play Song would be sung in rhymed\nversion by other children. Likewise the identical Play Song would not be\nsung at all by other children; they would simply repeat the words as in\nthe case of the Rhyme \"Goosie-gander,\" just discussed. The little Play\nSong found in our collection under the caption, \"Did You Feed My Cow?\"\nis one which was current in my childhood in the many versions as just\nindicated. The general thought in the story of the Rhyme was the same in\nall versions whether prose or rhyme, or song. In cases where children\nrepeated it instead of singing it, it was generally in prose and the\nquestions were so framed by the leader that all the general responses by\nthe crowd were \"Yes, Ma'am!\" Where it was sung, it was invariably\nrhymed; and the version found in this collection was about the usual\none.\n\nThe main point in the discussion at this juncture is--that there were\nlarge numbers of Play Songs like this one found in the transition stage\nfrom plain prose to repeated rhyme, and to sung rhyme. Such a status\nleaves little doubt that the Play Song travelled this general road in\nits process of evolution.\n\nI might take up the Courtship Rhymes, and show that they are derivatives\nof Courtship, and so on to the end of all the classes given in my\noutline, but since the evidences and arguments in all the cases are\nessentially the same I deem it unnecessary.\n\nI now turn attention to a peculiar general ideal in Form found in Negro\nFolk Rhymes. It probably is not generally known that the Negroes, who\nemerged from the House of Bondage in the 60's of the last century, had\nthemselves given a name to their own peculiar form of verse. If it be\nknown I am rather confident that it has never been written. They named\nthe parts of their verse \"Call,\" and (Re) \"Sponse.\" After explaining\nwhat is meant by \"call\" and \"sponse,\" I shall submit an evidence on the\nmatter. In its simplest form \"call\" and \"sponse\" were what we would call\nin Caucasian music, solo and chorus. As an example, in the little Play\nSong used in our illustration of Play Songs, \"Did You Feed My Cow?\" was\nsung as a solo and was known as the \"Call,\" while the chorus that\nanswered \"Yes, Ma'am\" was known as the \"Sponse.\"\n\nI now beg to offer testimony in corroboration of my assertion that\nNegroes had named their Rhyme parts \"Call\" and \"Sponse.\" So well were\nthese established parts of a Negro Rhyme recognized among Negroes that\nthe whole turning point of one of their best stories was based upon it.\nI have reference to the Negro story recorded by Mr. Joel Chandler Harris\nin his \"Nights with Uncle Remus,\" under the caption, \"Brother Fox,\nBrother Rabbit, and King Deer's Daughter.\" Those who would enjoy the\nstory, as the writer did in his childhood days, as it fell from the lips\nof his dear little friends and dusky playmates, will read the story in\nMr. Harris' book. The gist of the story is as follows: The fox and the\nrabbit fall in love with King Deer's daughter. The fox has just about\nbecome the successful suitor, when the rabbit goes through King Deer's\nlot and kills some of King Deer's goats. He then goes to King Deer, and\ntells him that the fox killed the goats, and offers to make the fox\nadmit the deed in King Deer's hearing. This being agreed to, the rabbit\ngoes to find the fox, and proposes that they serenade the King Deer\nfamily. The fox agreed. Then the rabbit proposes that he sing the \"Call\"\nand that the fox sing the \"Sponse\" (or, as Mr. Harris records the story,\nthe \"answer\"), and this too was agreed upon. We now quote from Mr.\nHarris:\n\n\"Ole Br'er Rabbit, he make up de song he own se'f en' he fix it so that\nhe sing de _Call_ lak de Captain er de co'n-pile, en ole Br'er Fox, he\nhatter sing de answer....\" \"Ole Br'er Rabbit, he got de call en he open\nup lak dis:\n\n    \"'Some folks pile up mo'n dey kin tote,\n    En dat w'at de matter wid King Deer's goat.'\n\nen den Br'er Fox, he make _answer_, 'Dat's so, dat's so, en I'm glad dat\nit's so.' Den de quills, and de tr'angle, dey come in, en den Br'er\nRabbit pursue on wid de call--\n\n    \"'Some kill sheep, en some kill shote,\n    But Br'er Fox kill King Deer goat,'\n\nen den Br'er Fox, he jine in wid de answer, 'I did, I did, en I'm glad\ndat I did.'\"\n\nThe writer would add that the story ends with a statement that King Deer\ncame out with his walking cane, and beat the fox, and then invited the\nrabbit in to eat chicken pie.\n\nFrom the foregoing one will recognize the naming, by the Negroes\nthemselves, of the parts of their rhymed song, as \"call,\" and \"answer.\"\nNow just a word concerning the term \"answer,\" instead of \"sponse,\" as\nused by the writer. You will notice that Mr. Harris records,\nincidentally, of Br'er Rabbit \"dat he sing de _call_, lak de Captain er\nde co'n pile.\" This has reference to the singing of the Negroes at corn\nhuskings where the leader sings a kind of solo part, and the others by\nway of response, sing a kind of chorus. At corn huskings, at plays, and\nelsewhere, when Negroes sang secular songs, some one was chosen to lead.\nAs a little boy, I witnessed secular singing in all these places. When a\nleader was chosen, the invariable words of his commission were: \"You\nsing the 'call' and we'll sing the '_sponse_.'\" Of course the sentence\nwas not quite so well constructed grammatically, but \"call\" and \"sponse\"\nwere the terms always used. This being true, I have felt that I ought to\nuse these terms, though I recognize the probability of there being\ncommunities where the word _answer_ would be used. All folk terms and\nwritings have different versions.\n\nThe \"sponses\" in most of the Negro Folk Rhymes in our collection are\nwanting, and the Rhymes themselves, in most cases, consist of calls\nonly. As examples of those with \"sponses\" left, may be mentioned \"Juba\"\nwith its sponse \"Juba\"; \"Frog Went A-courting,\" with its sponse\n\"Uh-huh!\"; \"Did You Feed My Cow?\" with its sponse \"Yes, Ma'am,\" etc.,\nand \"The Old Black Gnats,\" where the sponses are \"I cain't git out'n\nhere, etc.\"\n\nI shall now endeavor to show why the Negro Folk Rhymes consist in most\ncases of \"calls\" only, and how and why the \"sponses\" have disappeared\nfrom the finished product. I record here the notes of two common Negro\nPlay Songs along with sample stanzas used in the singing of them. I hope\nthrough a little study of these, to make clear the matter of Folk Rhyme\ndevelopment, to the point of dropping the \"sponse.\"\n\n[music]\n\n[music]\n\nThese simple little songs,--the first made up of five notes, and the\nsecond of seven,--are typical Negro Play songs. I shall not describe the\nsimple play which accompanied them because that description would not\nadd to the knowledge of the evolution under consideration.\n\nAt a Negro Evening Entertainment several such songs would be sung and\nplayed, and some individual would be chosen to lead or sing the \"calls\"\nof each of the songs. The 'sponses in some cases were meaningless\nutterances, like \"Holly Dink,\" given in the first song recorded, while\nothers were made up of some sentence like \"'Tain't Gwineter Rain No\nM[=o]'!\" found in the second song given. The \"sponses\" were not expected\nto bear a special continuous relation in thought to the \"calls.\" Indeed\nno one ever thought of the 'sponses as conveyers of thought, whether\njumbled syllables or sentences. The songs went under the names of the\nvarious sponses. Thus the first Play Song recorded was known as \"Holly\nDink,\" and the second as \"'Tain't Gwineter Rain No M[=o]'.\"\n\nThe playing and singing of each of these songs commonly went on\ncontinuously for a quarter of an hour or more. This being the case, we\nscarcely need add that the leader of the Play Song had both his memory\nand ingenuity taxed to their utmost, in devising enough \"calls\" to last\nthrough so long a period of time of continuous playing and singing. The\nreader will notice under both of the Play Songs recorded, that I have\nwritten under \"(a)\" two stanzas of prose \"calls.\" I would convey the\nthought to the reader, by these illustrations, that the one singing the\n\"calls\" was at liberty to use, and did use any prose sentence that would\nfit in with the \"call\" measures of the song.\n\nOf course these prose \"calls\" had to be rhythmic to fit into the\nmeasures, but much freedom was allowed in respacing the time allotted to\nnotes, and in the redivision of the notes in the \"fitting in\" process.\nEven these prose stanzas bore the mark of Rhyme to the Negro fancy. The\nreader will notice that, where the \"call\" is in prose, it is always\nrepeated, and thus the line in fancy rhymed with itself. Examples as\nfound in our Second Play Song:\n\n    \"Hail storm, frosty night.\n     Hail storm, frosty night.\"\n\nNow, it was considered by Negroes, in the days gone by, something of an\naccomplishment for a leader to be able to sing \"calls,\" for so long a\ntime, when they bore some meaning, and still a greater accomplishment\nto sing the calls both in rhyme and with meaning. This led each\nindividual to rhyme his calls as far as possible because leaders were\ninvited to lead songs during an evening's entertainment, largely in\naccordance with their ability, and thus those desiring to lead were\ncompelled to make attainment in both rhyme and meaning. Now, the reader\nwill notice under \"Holly Dink,\" heading \"(b),\" \"I sh[=o]' loves Miss\nDonie.\" This is a part of the opening line of our Negro Rhyme, \"Likes\nand Dislikes.\" I would convey the thought to the reader that this whole\nRhyme, and any other Negro Rhyme which would fit into a 2/4 music\nmeasure, could be, and was used by the Play Song leader in singing the\ncalls of \"Holly Dink.\" Thus a leader would lead such a song; and by\nusing one whole Rhyme after another, succeed in rhyming the calls for a\nquarter of an hour. If his Rhymes \"gave out,\" he used rhythmic prose\ncalls; and since these did not need to have meaning, his store was\nunlimited. Just as any Rhyme which could be fitted into a 2/4 music\nmeasure would be used with \"Holly Dink,\" so any Rhyme which could be\nfitted into a 4/4 measure would be used with the \"'Tain't Gwineter Rain\nNo M[=o]'.\" Illustrations given under \"(b)\" and \"(c)\" under the last\nmentioned song are--\"Promises of Freedom,\" and \"Hawk and Buzzard.\"\n\nSince all Negro Songs with a few exceptions were written in 4/4 measures\nand 2/4 measures, and Negro rhymed \"calls\" were also written in the same\nway, the rhymed \"calls\" which may have originated with one song were\ntransferred to, and used with other songs. _Thus the rhymed \"calls\"\nbecoming detached for use with any and all songs into which they could\nbe fitted, gave rise to the multitude of Negro Folk Rhymes, a small\nfragment of which multitude is recorded in our collection._ Negro Dances\nand Dance Rhymes were both constructed in 2/4 and 4/4 measures, and the\nRhymes were propagated for that same reason. Rhymes, once detached from\ntheir original song or dance, were learned, and often repeated for mere\npastime, and thus they were transmitted to others as unit compositions.\n\nWe have now seen how detached rhymed \"calls\" made our Negro Folk Rhymes.\nNext let us consider how and why whole little \"poems\" arose in a Play\nSong. One will notice in reading Negro Folk Rhymes that the larger\nnumber of them tell a little story or give some little comic\ndescription, or some little striking thought. Since all the Rhymes had\nto be memorized to insure their continued existence, and since Memory\nworks largely through Association; one readily sees that the putting of\nthe Rhymes into a story, descriptive, or striking thought form, was the\nonly thing that could cause their being kept alive. It was only through\ntheir being composed thus that Association was able to assist Memory in\nrecalling them. Those carrying another form carried their death warrant.\n\nNow let us look a little more intimately into how the Rhymes were\nprobably composed. In collecting them, I often had the same Rhyme given\nto me over and over again by different individuals. Most of the Rhymes\nwere given by different individuals in fragmentary form. In case of all\nthe Rhymes thus received, there would always be a half stanza, or a\nwhole stanza which all contributors' versions held in common. As\nexamples: in \"Promises of Freedom,\" all contributors gave the lines--\n\n    \"My ole Mistiss promise me\n    W'en she died, she'd set me free.\"\n\nIn \"She Hugged Me and Kissed Me,\" the second stanza was given by all. In\n\"Old Man Know-All,\" the first two lines of the last stanza came from all\nwho gave the Rhyme. The writer terms these parts of the individual\nRhymes, seemingly known to all who know the \"poems,\" _key verses_. The\nvery fact that the key verses, only, are known to all, seems to me to\nwarrant the conclusion that these were probably the first verses made in\neach individual Rhyme. Now when an individual made such a key verse, one\ncan easily see that various singers of \"calls\" using it would attempt to\nassociate other verses of their own making with it in order to remember\nthem all for their long \"singing Bees.\" The story, the description, and\nthe striking thought furnished convenient vehicles for this association\nof verses, so as to make them easy to keep in memory. This is why the\nverses of many singers of \"Calls\" finally became blended into little\npoem-like Rhymes.\n\nI have pointed out \"call\" and \"sponse,\" in Rhymes, and have shown how,\nthrough them, in song, the form of the Negro Rhyme came into existence.\nBut many of the Pastime Rhymes apparently had no connection with the\nPlay or the Dance. I must now endeavor to account for such Rhymes as\nthese.\n\nIn order to do this, I must enter upon the task of trying to show how\n\"call\" and \"sponse\" originated.\n\nThe origin of \"call\" and \"sponse\" is plainly written on the faces of the\nrhymes of the Social Instinct type. Read once again the following rhyme\nrecorded in our collection under the caption of \"Antebellum Courtship\nInquiry\"--\n\n    (He)--\"Is you a flyin' lark, or a settin' dove?\"\n    (She)--\"I'se a flyin' lark, my Honey Love.\"\n    (He)--\"Is you a bird o' one fedder, or a bird o' two?\"\n    (She)--\"I'se a bird o' one fedder, w'en it comes to you.\"\n    (He)--\"Den Mam:\n    \"I has desire an' quick temptation\n    To jine my fence to y[=o]' plantation.\"\n\nThis is primitive courtship; direct, quick, conclusive. It is the crude\ncall of one heart, and the crude response of another heart. The two\nanswering and blending into one, in the primitive days, made a rhymed\ncouplet--one. It is \"call\" and \"sponse,\" born to vibrate in\ncomplementary unison with two hearts that beat as one. \"Did all Negroes\ncarry on courtship in this manner in olden days?\" No, not by any means.\nOnly the more primitive by custom, and otherwise used such forms of\ncourtship. The more intelligent of those who came out of slavery had\nmade the white man's customs their own, and laughed at such crudities,\nquite as much as we of the present day. The writer thinks his ability\nto recall from childhood days a clear remembrance of many of these\ncrude things is due to the fact that he belonged to a Negro family that\nlaughed much, early and late, at such things. But the simple forms of\n\"call\" and \"sponse\" were used much in courtship by the more primitive.\nThis points out something of the general origin of \"call\" and \"sponse\"\nin Social Instinct Rhymes, but does not account for their origin in\nother types of Rhymes. I now turn attention to those.\n\nAbout eighteen years ago I was making a Sociological investigation for\nTuskegee Institute, which carried me into a remote rural district in the\nBlack Belt of Alabama. In the afternoon, when the Negro laborers were\ngoing home from the fields and occasionally during the day, these\nlaborers on one plantation would utter loud musical \"calls\" and the\n\"calls\" would be answered by musical responses from the laborers on\nother plantations. These calls and responses had no peculiar\nsignificance. They were only for whatever pleasure these Negroes found\nin the cries and apparently might be placed in a parallel column\nalongside of the call of a song bird in the woods being answered by\nanother. Dr. William H. Sheppard, many years a missionary in Congo,\nAfrica, upon inquiry, tells me that similar calls and responses obtain\nthere, though not so musical. He also tells me that the calls have a\nmeaning there. There are calls and responses for those lost in the\nforest, for fire, for the approach of enemies, etc. These Alabama Negro\ncalls, however, had no meaning, and yet the calls and responses so\nfitted into each other as to make a little complete tune.\n\nNow, I had heard \"field\" calls all during my early childhood in\nTennessee, and these also were answered by men in adjoining fields. But\nthe Tennessee calls and responses which I remembered had no kinship\nwhich would combine them into a kind of little completed song as was the\ncase with the Alabama calls and responses.\n\nAgain, in Tennessee when a musical call was uttered by the laborers in\none field, those in the other fields around would often use identically\nthe same call as a response. The Alabama calls and responses were short,\nwhile those of Tennessee were long.\n\nI am listing an Alabama \"call\" and \"response.\" I regret that I cannot\nrecall more of them. I am also recording three Tennessee calls or\nresponses (for they may be called either). Then I am recording a fourth\none from Tennessee, not exactly a call, but partly call and partly song.\nThe reason for this will appear later. By a study of these I think we\ncan pretty reasonably make a final interesting deduction as to the\ngeneral origin of \"call\" and \"sponse\" in the form of the types of Rhyme\nnot already discussed.\n\nIn the Alabama Field Call and response one cannot help seeing a\ncounterpart in music of the \"call\" and \"sponse\" in the words of the\ntypes of Rhymes already discussed.\n\nALABAMA FIELD CALL AND RESPONSE\n\n[music]\n\nTENNESSEE FIELD CALLS OR RESPONSES\n\n[music]\n\nIf one looks at Number 1 under the Tennessee calls or responses, there\nis nothing to indicate especially that it was ever other than the whole\nas it is here written. But when he looks at Number 2 under Tennessee\ncalls or responses he is struck with the remarkable fact that it changes\nright in the midst from the rhythm of the 9/8 measure to that of the 6/8\nmeasure. Now if there be any one characteristic which is constant in\nNegro music it is that the rhythm remains the same throughout a given\nproduction. In a very, very few long Negro productions I have known an\noccasional change in the time, but _never_ in a musical production\nconsisting of a few measures. The only reasonable explanation to be\noffered for the break in the time of Number 2, as a Negro production, is\nthat it was originally a \"call\" and \"response\"; the \"call\" being in a\n9/8 measure and the \"response\" being in a 6/8 measure. Here then we have\n\"call\" and \"sponse.\" It would look as if the Negroes in Tennessee had\ncombined the \"calls\" and \"sponses\" into one and had used them as a\nwhole. When we accept this view all the differences, between the Alabama\nand Tennessee productions, before mentioned are accounted for. Then\nlooking again at Number 1 under Tennessee calls or responses, one sees\nthat it would conveniently divide right in the middle to make a \"call\"\nand \"sponse.\" Now look at Number 3 under Tennessee calls. It was usually\ncried off with the syllable _ah_ and would easily divide in the middle.\nI remember this \"call\" very distinctly from my childhood because the men\ngiving it placed the thumb upon the larynx and made it vibrate\nlongitudinally while uttering the cry. The thumb thus used produced a\npeculiar screeching and rattling tone that hardly sounded human. But the\nwords \"I want a piece of hoecake, etc.,\" as recorded under the \"call,\"\nwere often rhymed off in song with it. Thus we trace the form of \"call\"\nand \"sponse\" from the friendly musical greeting between laborers at a\ndistance to the place of the formation of a crude Rhyme to go with it. I\nwould have the reader notice that these words finally supplied were in\n\"call\" and \"sponse\" form. The idea is that one individual says: \"I want\na piece of hoecake, I want a piece o' bread,\" and another chimes in by\nway of response: \"Well, I'se so tired and hongry dat I'se almos' dead.\"\n\n\"Ole Billie Bawlie\" found as Number 4 was a little song which was used\nto deride men who had little ability musically to intonate \"calls\" and\n\"sponses.\" The name \"Bawlie\" was applied to emphasize that the\nindividual bawled instead of sounding pleasant notes. It is of interest\nto us because it is a mixture of Rhyme and Field \"call\" and completes\nthe connecting links along the line of Evolution between the \"call\" and\n\"sponse\" and the Rhyme.\n\nWherever one thing is derived from another by process of Evolution,\nthere is the well known biological law that there ought to be every\ngrade of connecting link between the original and the last evolved\nproduct. The law holds good here in our Rhymes. If this last statement\nholds good then the law must be universal. May we be permitted to\ndigress enough to show that the law is universal because, though it is a\nlaw whose biological phase has been long recognized, not much attention\nhas been paid to it in other fields.\n\nIt holds good in the world of inanimate matter. There are three general\nclasses of chemical compounds: Acids, bases, and salts. But along with\nthese three general classes are found all kinds of connecting links:\nAcid salts, basic salts, hydroxy acids, etc.\n\nIt holds good in the animal and plant worlds. Looking at the ancestors\nof the horse in geological history we find that the first kind of horse\nto appear upon the earth was the Oeohippus. He had four toes on the\nhind foot and three on the front one. Through a long period of\ndevelopment, the present day one-toed horse descended from this\nmany-toed primitive horse. There is certainty of the line of descent of\nthe horse because all the connecting links have been discovered in\nfossil form, between the primitive horse and the present day horse.\nPlants in like manner show all kinds of connecting links.\n\nThe law holds sway in the world of language; and that is the world with\nwhich we are concerned here. The state of Louisiana once belonged to the\nFrench; now it belongs to an English-speaking people. If one goes among\nthe Creoles in Louisiana he will find a very few who speak almost\nParisian French and very poor English. Then he will find a very large\nnumber who speak a pure English and a very poor French. Between these\nclasses he will find those speaking all grades of French and English.\nThese last mentioned are the connecting links, and the connecting links\nbespeak a line of evolution where those of French descent are gradually\npassing over to a class which will finally speak the English language\nexclusively.\n\nNow let us turn our attention again directly to the discussion of the\nevolution of Negro Folk Rhymes. One can judge whether or not he has\ndiscovered the correct line of descent of the Rhymes by seeing whether\nor not he has all the connecting links requisite to the line of\nevolution. I think it must be agreed that I have given every type of\nconnecting link between common Field \"calls\" and \"sponses,\" and\nincipient crude Negro Rhymes. They set the mold for the other general\nNegro Rhymes not hitherto discussed.\n\nIf the reader will be kind enough to apply the test of connecting links\nto the Play and other Rhymes already discussed, he will find that the\nreactions will indicate that we have traced their correct lines of\norigin and descent.\n\nThe spirit of \"call\" and \"sponse\" hovers ghost-like over the very\nthought of many Negro Rhymes. In \"Jaybird,\" the first two lines of each\nstanza are a call in thought, while the last two lines are a \"sponse\" in\nthought to it. The same is true of \"He Is My Horse,\" \"Stand Back, Black\nMan,\" \"Bob-White's Song,\" \"Promises of Freedom,\" \"The Town and the\nCountry Bird,\" and many others.\n\nThen \"call\" and \"sponse\" looms up in the midst in thought between stanza\nand stanza in many Rhymes. Good examples are found in \"The Great Owl's\nSong,\" \"Sheep and Goat,\" \"The Snail's Reply,\" \"Let's Marry--Courtship,\"\n\"Shoo! Shoo!\" \"When I Go to Marry,\" and many others.\n\n\"Call\" and \"sponse\" even runs, at least in one case, between whole\nRhymes. \"I Wouldn't Marry a Black Girl\" as a \"call\" has for its\n\"sponse\": \"I Wouldn't Marry a Yellow or a White Negro Girl.\" The Rhyme\n\"I'd Rather Be a Negro Than a Poor White Man\" is a \"sponse\" to an\nimaginary \"call\" that the Negro is inferior by nature.\n\nAfter some consideration, as compiler of the Negro Rhymes, I thought I\nought to say something of their rhyming system, but before doing this I\nwant to consider for a little the general structure of a stanza in Negro\nRhymes.\n\nOf course there is no law, but the number of lines in a stanza of\nEnglish poetry is commonly a multiple of two. The large majority of\nNegro Rhymes follows this same rule, but, even in case of these, the\nlines are so unsymmetrical that they make but the faintest approach to\nthe commonly accepted standards. Then there are Rhymes with stanzas of\nthree lines and there are those with five, six, and seven lines. This is\nbecause the imaginary music measure is the unit of measurement instead\nof feet, and the stanzas are all right so long as they run in consonance\nwith the laws governing music measures and rhythm. In a tune like \"Old\nHundred\" commonly used in churches as a Doxology, there are four\ndivisions in the music corresponding with the four lines of the stanza.\nEach division is called, in music, a Phrase. Two of these Phrases make a\nPhrase Group and two Phrase Groups make a Period. Now when one moves\nmusically through a Phrase Group his sense of rhythm is partially\nsatisfied and when he has moved through a Period the sense of Rhythm is\nentirely satisfied.\n\nWhen one reads the three line stanzas of Negro Folk Rhymes he passes\nthrough a music Period and thus the stanza satisfies in its rhythm.\nExample:\n\n    \"Bridle up er rat,\n    Saddle up er cat,\n    An' han' me down my big straw hat.\"\n\nHere the first two lines are a Phrase each and constitute together a\nPhrase Group. The third line is made up of two Phrases, or a Phrase\nGroup in itself. Thus this third line along with the first two makes a\nMusic Period and the whole satisfies our rhythmic sense though the lines\nare apparently odd. In all Negro Rhymes, however odd in number and\nhowever ragged may seem the lines, the music Phrases and Periods are\nthere in such symmetry as to satisfy our sense of rhythm.\n\nI now turn attention to the rhyming of the lines in Negro verse. The\nordinary systems of rhyming as set forth by our best authors will take\nin most Negro Rhymes. Most of them are Adjacent and Interwoven Rhymes.\nThere are five systems of rhyming commonly used in the white man's\npoetry but the Negro Rhyme has nine systems. Here again we find a\nparallelism, as in case of music scales, etc. Five in each system are\nthe same. The ordinary commonly accepted systems are:\n\n  a   Where the adjacent lines rhyme by twos. We\n  a   call it \"Adjacent rhymes\" or a \"Couplet.\"\n\n  a\n  b   Where the alternating lines rhyme we\n  a   call it \"Alternate\" or \"Interwoven Rhyme.\"\n  b\n\n  a   Where lines 1 and 4, and 2 and 3 rhyme\n  b   respectively with each other. This is called\n  b   \"Close Rhyme.\"\n  a\n\n  a   Where in a stanza of four lines, lines 2 and\n  b   4 only rhyme. This is sometimes also called\n  c   \"Alternate Rhyme.\"\n  b\n\n  a\n  a   Where in a stanza of four lines 1, 2 and 4\n  b   rhyme. This is called \"Interrupted Rhyme.\"\n  a\n\nI now beg to offer a system of classification in rhyming which will\ninclude all Negro Rhymes. I shall insert the ordinary names in\nparenthesis along with the new names wherever the system coincides with\nthe ordinary system for white men's Rhymes. The only reason for not\nusing the old names exclusively in these places is that nomenclature\nshould be kept consistent in any proposed classification, so far as that\nis possible.\n\nIn classifying the rhyming of the lines or verses I have borrowed terms\nfrom the gem world, partly because the Negro hails from Africa, a land\nof gems; and partly because the verses bear whatever beauty there might\nhave been in his crude crystalized thoughts in the dark days of his\nenslavement.\n\nI present herewith the outline and follow it with explanations:\n\n    _Class_                          _Systems_\n\n  I Rhythmic Solitaire      (a) Rhythmic measured lines\n\n  II Rhymed Doublet         (a) Regular (Adjacent Rhyme)\n                            (b) Divided (Includes Close Rhyme)\n                            (c) Supplemented\n\n  III Rhyming Doublet       (a) Regular (Includes Alternate Rhyme)\n                            (b) Inverted (Close Rhyme)\n\n  IV Rhymed Cluster         (a) Regular\n                            (b) Divided (Interrupted Rhyme)\n                            (c) Supplemented\n\n_I a._ Rhythmic Solitaire, Rhythmic measured lines. In many Rhymes there\nis a rhythmic line dropped in here and there that doesn't rhyme with\nany other line. They are rhythmic like the other lines and serve equally\nto fill out the music Phrases and Periods. These are the Rhythmic\nSolitaires and because of their solitaire nature it follows that there\nis only one system. Examples are found in the first line of each stanza\nof \"Likes and Dislikes\"; in the second line of each stanza of \"Old Aunt\nKate;\" in lines five and six of each stanza of \"I'll Wear Me a Cotton\nDress,\" in lines three and four of the \"Sweet Pinks Kissing Song,\" etc.\nThe Rhythmic Solitaires do not seem to have been largely used by Negroes\nfor whole compositions. Only one whole Rhyme in our collection is\nwritten with Rhythmic Solitaires. That Rhyme is: \"Song to the Runaway\nSlave.\" This Rhyme is made up of blank verse as measured by the white\nman's standard.\n\n_II a._ The Regular Rhymed Doublet. This is the same as our common\nAdjacent Rhyme. There are large numbers of Negro Rhymes which belong to\nthis system. The \"Jaybird\" is a good example.\n\n_II b._ The Divided Rhymed Doublet. It includes Close Rhyme and there\nare many of this system. In ordinary Close Rhyme one set of rhyming\nlines (two in number) is separated by two intervening lines, but this\n\"Rhyming Couplet\" in Negro Rhymes may be separated by three lines as in\n\"Bought Me a Wife,\" where the divided doublet consists of lines 3 and 7.\nThen the Divided Rhymed Doublet may be separated by only one line, as in\n\"Good-by, Wife,\" where the Doublet is found in lines 5 and 7.\n\n_II c._ The Supplemented Rhymed Doublet. It is illustrated by \"Juba\"\nfound in our collection. The words \"Juba! Juba!\" found following the\nsecond line of each stanza, are the supplement. I shall take up the\nexplanation of Supplemented Rhyme later, since the explanation goes with\nall Supplemented Rhyme and not with the Doublet only. I consider the\nSupplement one of the things peculiarly characteristic of Negro Rhyme.\nThe following stanza illustrates such a Supplemented Doublet:\n\n    \"Juba jump! Juba sing!\n    Juba cut dat Pidgeon's Wing! Juba! Juba!\"\n\nRepresenting such a rhyming by letters we have\n\n    (a\n    (a-x\n\n_III._ The Rhyming Doublet. It is generally made up of two consecutive\nlines not rhyming with each other but so constructed that one of the\nlines will rhyme with one line of another Doublet similarly constructed\nand found in the same stanza.\n\n_III a._ The Regular Rhyming Doublet. It is the same as our common\ninterwoven rhyme and is very common among Negro Rhymes. There is one\npeculiar Interwoven Rhyme found in our collection; it is \"Watermelon\nPreferred.\" In it the second Rhyming Doublet is divided by a kind of\nparenthetic Rhythmic Solitaire.\n\n_III b._ The Inverted Rhyming Doublet. It is the same as our ordinary\nClose Rhyme.\n\nThe writer had expected to find the Supplemented Rhyming Doublet among\nNegro Rhymes but peculiarly enough it does not seem to exist.\n\n_IV a._ The Regular Rhymed Cluster. It consists of three consecutive\nlines in the same stanza which rhyme. An example is found in \"Bridle Up\na Rat,\" one of whose stanzas we have already quoted. It is represented\nby the lettering\n\n  (a\n  (a\n  (a\n\n_IV. b._ The Divided Rhymed Cluster. It includes ordinary Interrupted\nRhyme--with the lettering\n\n  (a  An example is found in the Ebo or\n  (a  Guinea Rhyme \"Tree Frogs.\"\n  (b\n  (a\n\nBut in Negro Folk Rhymes two lines may divide the Rhymed Cluster\ninstead of one. An example of this is found in \"Animal Fair,\" whose\nrhyming may be represented by the lettering\n\n  (a\n  (a\n  (b\n  (b\n  (a\n\n_IV c._ The Supplemented Rhymed Clusters. They are well represented in\nNegro Rhymes. Some have a single supplement as in \"Negroes Never Die,\"\nwhose rhyming is lettered\n\n  (a\n  (a\n  (a-x\n\nSome have double supplements as in \"Frog Went a-Courting\" whose rhyming\nis lettered\n\n  (a-x\n  (a\n  (a-x\n\nNow Negroes did not retain, permanently, meaningless words in their\nRhymes. The Rhymes themselves were \"calls\" and had meaning. The\n\"sponses,\" such as \"Holly Dink,\" \"Jing-Jang,\" \"Oh, fare you well,\"\n\"'Tain't gwineter rain no more,\" etc., that had no meaning, died year\nafter year and new \"sponses\" and songs came into existence.\n\nLet us see what these permanently retained seemingly senseless\nSupplements mean.\n\nIn \"Frog Went a-Courting\" we see the Supplement \"uh-huh! uh-huh!\" It is\nplaced in the midst to keep vividly before the mind of the listener the\nardent singing of the frog in Spring during his courtship season, while\nwe hear a recounting of his adventures. It is to this Simple Rhyme what\nstage scenery is to the Shakespearian play or the Wagnerian opera. It\nseems to me (however crude his verse) that the Negro has here suggested\nsomething new to the field of poetry. He suggests that, while one\nrecounts a story or what not, he could to advantage use words at the\nsame time having no bearing on the story to depict the surroundings or\nsettings of the production. The gifted Negro poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar,\nhas used the supplement in this way in one of his poems. The poem is\ncalled \"A Negro Love Song.\" The little sentence, \"Jump back, Honey, jump\nback,\" is thrown in, in the midst and at the end of each stanza.\nExplaining it, the following is written by a friend, at the heading of\nthis poem:\n\n\"During the World's Fair he (Mr. Dunbar) served for a short time as a\nhotel waiter. When the Negroes were not busy they had a custom of\ncongregating and talking about their sweethearts. Then a man with a tray\nwould come along and, as the dining-room was frequently crowded, he\nwould say when in need of passing room, 'Jump back, Honey, jump back.'\nOut of the commonplace confidences, he wove the musical little\ncomposition--'A Negro Love Song.'\"\n\nNow, this line, \"Jump back, Honey, jump back,\" was used by Mr. Dunbar to\nrecall and picture before the mind the scurrying hotel waiter as he\nbragged to his fellows of his sweetheart and told his tales of\nadventure. It is the \"stage scenery\" method used by the slave Negro\nverse maker. Mr. Dunbar uses this style also in \"A Lullaby,\"\n\"Discovered,\" \"Lil' Gal\" and \"A Plea.\" Whether he used it knowingly in\nall cases, or whether he instinctively sang in the measured strains of\nhis benighted ancestors, I do not know.\n\nThe Supplement was used in another way in Negro Folk Dance Rhymes. I\nhave already explained how the Rhymes were used in a general way in the\nDance. Let us glance at the Dance Rhyme \"Juba\" with its Supplement,\n\"Juba! Juba!\" to illustrate this special use of the Supplement. \"Juba\"\nitself was a kind of dance step. Now let us imagine two dancers in a\ncircle of men to be dancing while the following lines are being patted\nand repeated:\n\n    \"Juba Circle, raise de latch,\n    Juba dance dat Long Dog Scratch, Juba! Juba!\"\n\nWhile this was being patted and repeated, the dancers within the circle\ndescribed a circle with raised foot and ended doing a dance step called\n\"Dog Scratch.\" Then when the Supplement \"Juba! Juba!\" was said the whole\ncircle of men joined in the dance step \"Juba\" for a few moments. Then\nthe next stanza would be repeated and patted with the same general order\nof procedure.\n\nThe Supplement, then, in the Dance Rhyme was used as the signal for all\nto join in the dance for a while at intervals after they had witnessed\nthe finished foot movements of their most skilled dancers.\n\nThe Supplement was used in a third way in Negro Rhymes. This is\nillustrated by the Rhyme, \"Anchor Line\" where the Supplement is \"Dinah.\"\nThis was a Play Song and was commonly used as such, but the Negro boy\noften sang such a song to his sweetheart, the Negro father to his child,\netc. When such songs were sung on other occasions than the Play, the\nname of the person to whom it was being sung was often substituted for\nthe name Dinah. Thus it would be sung\n\n    \"I'se gwine out on de Anchor Line--Mary,\" etc.\n\nThe Supplement then seems to have been used in some cases to broaden the\nscope of direct application of the Rhyme.\n\nThe last use of the Supplement to be mentioned is closely related in its\nnature to the \"stage scenery\" use already mentioned. This kind of\nSupplement is used to depict the mental condition or attitude of an\nindividual passing through the experiences being related. Good examples\nare found in \"My First and My Second Wife\" where we have the\nSupplements, \"Now wusn't I sorrowful in mind,\" etc.; and in \"Stinky\nSlave Owners\" with its Supplements \"Eh-Eh!\" \"Sho-sho!\" etc.\n\nThe Negro Rhymes here and there also have some kind of little\nintroductory word or line to each stanza. I consider this also something\npeculiar to Negro Rhyme. I have named these little introductory words or\nsentences the \"Verse Crown.\" They are receivers into which verses are\nset and serve as dividing lines in the production. As the reader knows,\nthe portion of the ring which receives the gems and sets them into a\nharmonious whole is called the \"Crown.\" Having borrowed the terms\nSolitaire, Doublet, etc., for the verses, the name for these\nintroductory words and lines automatically became \"Verse Crown.\"\n\nJust as I have figuratively termed the Supplements in one place \"stage\nscenery,\" so I may with equal propriety term the \"Verse Crown\" the\n\"rise\" or the \"fall\" of the stage curtain. They separate the little Acts\nof the Rhymes into scenes. As an example read the comic little Rhyme \"I\nWalked the Roads.\" The word \"Well\" to the first stanza marks the raising\nof the curtain and we see the ardent Negro boy lover nonsensically\nprattling to the one of his fancy about everything in creation until he\nis so tired that he can scarcely stand erect. The curtain drops and\nrises with the word \"Den.\" In this, the second scene, he finally gets\naround to the point where he makes all manner of awkward protestations\nof love. The hearer of the Rhyme is left laughing, with a sort of\nsatisfactory feeling that possibly he succeeded in his suit and possibly\nhe didn't. Among the many examples of Rhymes where verse crowns serve as\ncurtains to divide the Acts into scenes may be mentioned \"I Wish I Was\nan Apple,\" \"Rejected by Eliza Jane,\" \"Courtship,\" \"Plaster,\" \"The Newly\nWeds,\" and \"Four Runaway Negroes.\"\n\nThough the stanzas in Negro Rhymes commonly have just one kind of\nrhyming, in some cases as many as three of the systems of rhyming are\nfound in one stanza. I venture to suggest the calling of those with one\nsystem \"Simple Rhymed Stanzas;\" those with two, \"Complex Rhymed\nStanzas;\" those with more than two \"Complicated Complex Rhymed Stanzas.\"\n\nI next call attention to the seeming parodies found occasionally among\nNegro Rhymes. The words of most Negro parodies are such that they are\nnot fit for print. We have recorded three: \"He Paid Me Seven,\" Parody on\n\"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,\" and Parody on \"Reign, Master Jesus,\nReign.\" We can best explain the nature of the Negro Parody by taking\nthat beautiful and touching well-known Jubilee song, \"Steal Away to\nJesus\" and briefly recounting the story of its origin. Its history is\nwell known. We hope the reader will not be disappointed when we say that\nthis song is a parody in the sense in which Negroes composed and used\nparodies.\n\nThe words around which the whole song ranges itself are \"Steal away to\nJesus, I hain't got long to stay here.\" Now the slave Negroes on the far\naway plantations of the South occasionally met in the dead of night in\nsome secluded lonely spot for a religious meeting even when they had\nbeen forbidden to do so by their masters. So they made up this song,\n\"Steal away to Jesus, I hain't got long to stay here.\" Late in the\nafternoons when the slaves on any plantation sang it, it served as a\nnotice to slaves on other plantations that a secret religious meeting\nwas to be held that night at the place formerly mutually agreed upon for\nmeetings.\n\nNow here is where the parody comes in under the Negro standard: To the\nslave master the words meant that his good, obedient slaves were only\nstudying how to be good and to get along peaceably, because they\nconsidered, after all, that their time upon earth was short and not of\nmuch consequence; but to the listening Negro it meant both a\nnotification of a meeting and slaves disobedient enough to go where they\nwanted to go. To the listening master it meant that the Negro was\nthinking of what a short time it would be before he would die and leave\nthe earth, but to the listening slaves it meant that he was thinking of\nhow short a time it would be before he left the cotton field for a\npleasant religious meeting. All these meanings were truly literally\npresent but the meaning apparent depended upon the viewpoint of the\nlistener. It was composed thus, so that if the master suspected the\nviewpoint of the slave hearers, the other viewpoint, intended for him,\nmight be held out in strong relief.\n\nNow let us consider the parodies recorded in our Collection. The Parody\non the beautiful little child prayer, \"Now I lay me down to sleep\" is\nbut the bitter protest from the heart of the woman who, after putting\nthe little white children piously repeating this child prayer, \"Now I\nlay me down to sleep,\" in their immaculate beds, herself retired to a\nvermin infested cabin with no time left for cleaning it. It was a tirade\nagainst the oppressor but the comic, good-natured \"It means nothing\" was\nthere to be held up to those calling the one repeating it to task. The\nparody on \"Reign, Master Jesus, Reign!\" when heard by the Master meant\nonly a good natured jocular appeal to him for plenty of meat and bread,\nbut with the Negro it was a scathing indictment of a Christian earthly\nmaster who muzzled those who produced the food. \"He Paid Me Seven\" is a\nmock at the white man for failing to practice his own religion but the\nclown mask is there to be held up for safety to any who may see the\n_real_ side and take offense.\n\nSlave parodies, then, are little Rhymes capable of two distinct\ninterpretations, both of which are true. They were so composed that if a\nslave were accused through one interpretation, he could and would\ntruthfully point out the other meaning to the accuser and thus escape\nserious trouble.\n\nUnder all the classes of Negro Rhymes, with the exception of the one\nMarriage Ceremony Rhyme, there were those which were sung and played on\ninstruments. Since instrumental music called into existence some of the\nvery best among Negro Rhymes it seems as if a little ought to be said\nconcerning the Negro's instruments. Banjos and fiddles (violins) were\nowned only limitedly by antebellum Negroes. Those who owned them\nmastered them to such a degree that the memory of their skill will long\nlinger. These instruments are familiar and need no discussion.\n\nProbably the Negro's most primitive instrument, which he could call his\nvery own, was \"Quills.\" It is mentioned in the story, \"Brother Fox,\nBrother Rabbit, and King Deer's Daughter\" which I have already quoted at\nsome length. If the reader will notice in this story he will see, after\nthe singing of the first stanza by the rabbit and fox, a description in\nthese words, \"Den de quills and de tr'angle, dey come in, an' den Br'er\nRabbit pursue on wid de call.\" Here we have described in the Negro's own\nway the long form of instrumental music composition which we have\nhitherto discussed, and \"quills\" and \"tr'angles\" are given as the\ninstruments.\n\nIn my early childhood I saw many sets of \"Quills.\" They were short reed\npipes, closed at one end, made from cane found in our Southern\ncanebrakes. The reed pipes were made closed at one end by being so cut\nthat the bottom of each was a node of the cane. These pipes were\n\"whittled\" square with a jack knife and were then wedged into a wooden\nframe, and the player blew them with his mouth. The \"quills,\" or reed\npipes, were cut of such graduated lengths that they constituted the\nNegro's peculiar music Scale. The music intervals though approximating\nthose of the Caucasian scale were not the same. At times, when in a\nreminiscent humor, I hum to myself some little songs of my childhood. On\noccasions, afterwards, I have \"picked out\" some of the same tunes on the\npiano. When I have done this I have always felt like giving its\nproduction on the piano the same greeting that I gave a friend who had\nonce worn a full beard but had shaved. My greeting was \"Hello, friend A;\nI came near not knowing you.\"\n\n\"Quills\" were made in two sets. They were known as a \"Little Set of\nQuills\" and a \"Big Set of Quills.\" There were five reeds in the Little\nSet but I do not know how many there were in a Big Set. I think there\nwere more than twice as many as in a Little Set. I have inserted a cut\nof a Little Set of \"Quills.\" (Figure I.) The fact that I was in the\nclass of \"The Little Boy Who Couldn't Count Seven\" when I saw and\nhandled quills makes it necessary to explain how it comes that I am sure\nof the number of \"Quills\" in a \"Little Set.\" I recall the intricate tune\nthat could be played only by the performer's putting in the lowest\npitched note with his voice. I am herewith presenting that tune, and\n\"blocking out\" the voice note there are only five notes left, thus I\nknow there were five \"Quills\" in the set. I thought a tune played on a\n\"Big Set\" might be of interest and so I am giving one of those also. If\nthere be those who would laugh at the crudity of \"Quills\" it might not\nbe amiss to remember in justice to the inventors that \"Quills\"\nconstitute a pipe organ in its most rudimentary form.\n\n[Illustration: Figure I A LITTLE SET OF QUILLS]\n\nTUNE PLAYED ON A LITTLE SET OF QUILLS\n\n[music]\n\nTUNE PLAYED ON A BIG SET OF QUILLS\n\n[music]\n\nThe \"tr'angle\" or triangle mentioned as the other primitive instrument\nused by the rabbit and fox in serenading King Deer's family was only the\nU-shaped iron clives which with its pin was used for hitching horses to\na plow. The antebellum Negro often suspended this U-shaped clives by a\nstring and beat it with its pin along with the playing on \"Quills\" much\nafter the order that a drum is beaten. These crude instruments produced\nmusic not of unpleasant strain and inspired the production of some of\nthe best Negro Rhymes.\n\nI would next consider for a little the origin of the subject matter\nfound in Negro Rhymes. When the Negro sings \"Master Is Six Feet One Way\"\nor \"The Alabama Way\" there is no question where the subject matter came\nfrom. But when he sings of animals, calling them all \"Brother\" or\n\"Sister,\" and \"Bought Me a Wife,\" etc., the origin of the conception and\nsubject matter is not so clear. I now come to the question: From whence\ncame such subject matter?\n\nFirst of all, Mr. Joel Chandler Harris, in his introduction to \"Nights\nwith Uncle Remus,\" has shown that the Negro stories of our country have\ncounterparts in the Kaffir Tales of Africa. He therefore leaves strong\ngrounds for inference that the American Negroes probably brought the dim\noutlines of their Br'er Rabbit stories along with them when they came\nfrom Africa. I have already pointed out that some of the Folk Rhymes\nbelong to these Br'er Rabbit stories. Since the origin of the subject\nmatter of one is the origin of the subject matter of the other, it\nfollows that we are reasonably sure of the origin of such Folk Rhymes\nbecause of the \"counterpart\" data presented by Mr. Harris. But I have\nbeen fortunate enough recently to secure direct evidence that one of the\nAmerican Negro stories recorded by Mr. Harris came from Africa.\n\nWhile collecting our Rhymes, I asked Dr. C. C. Fuller of the South\nAfrican Mission, at Chikore, Melsetter, Rhodesia, Africa, for an African\nRhyme in Chindau. I might add parenthetically: I have never seen\npictures of a cruder or more primitive people than these people who\nspeak Chindau. He obtained and sent me the Rhyme \"The Turkey Buzzard\"\nfound in our Foreign Section. It was given to him by the Reverend J. E.\nHatch of the South African General Mission. Along with this rhyme came\nthe following in his kind and obliging letter: \"We thought the story of\nhow the Crocodile got its scaly skin might be of interest also\":\n\n\"Why the Crocodile Has a Hard, Scaly Skin.\"\n\n\"Long ago the Crocodile had a soft skin like that of the other animals.\nHe used to go far from the rivers and catch animals and children and by\nso doing annoyed the people very much. So one day when he was far away\nfrom water, they surrounded him and set the grass on fire on every side,\nso that he could not escape to the river without passing through the\nfire. The fire overtook him and scorched and seared his back, so that\nfrom that day his skin has been hard and scaly, and he no longer goes\nfar from the rivers.\"\n\nThis is about as literal an outline of the American Negro story \"Why the\nAlligator's Back is Rough\" as one could have. The slight difference is\nthat the direct African version mixes people in with the plot. This\nalong with Mr. Harris's evidences practically establishes the fact that\nthe Negro animal story outlines came with the Negroes themselves from\nAfrica and would also render it practically certain that many animal\nrhymes came in the same way since these Rhymes in many cases accompany\nthe stories.\n\nThen there are Rhymes, not animal Rhymes, which seem to carry plainly in\ntheir thought content a probable African origin. In the Rhyme, \"Bought\nMe a Wife,\" there is not only the mentioning of buying a wife, but there\nis the setting forth of feeding her along with guineas, chickens, etc.,\nout under a tree. Such a conception does not fit in with American slave\nlife but does fit into widely prevailing conditions found in Africa.\n\nRead the last stanza of \"Ration Day,\" where the slave sings of going\nafter death to a land where there are trees that bear fritters and where\nthere are ponds of honey. Surely there is nothing in America to suggest\nsuch thoughts, but such thoughts might have come from Africa where\nnatives gather their fruit from the bread tree and dip it into honey\ngathered from the forests.\n\nRead \"When My Wife Dies.\" This is a Dance Rhyme Song. When the Rhymer\nchants in seemingly light vein in our hearing that he will simply get\nanother wife when his wife dies, we turn away our faces in disgust, but\nwe turn back almost amazed when he announces in the immediately\nsucceeding lines that his heart will sorrow when she is gone because\nnone better has been created among women. The dance goes on and we\nalmost see grim Death himself smile as the Rhymer closes his Dance Song\nwith directions not to bury him deep, and to put bread in his hand and\nmolasses at his feet that he may eat on the way to the \"Promised Land.\"\n\nIf you had asked a Negro boy in the days gone by what this Dance Rhyme\nSong meant, he would have told you that he didn't know, that it was\nsimply an old song he had picked up from somewhere. Thus he would go\nright along thoughtlessly singing or repeating and passing the Rhyme to\nothers. The dancing over the dead and the song which accompanied it\ncertainly had no place in American life. But do you ask where there was\nsuch a place? Get Dr. William H. Sheppard's \"Presbyterian Pioneers in\nCongo\" and read on page 136 the author's description of the behavior of\nthe Africans in Lukenga's Land on the day following the death of one of\ntheir fellow tribesmen. It reads in part as follows: \"The next day\nfriends from neighboring villages joined with these and in their best\nclothes danced all day. These dances are to cheer up the bereaved family\nand to run away evil spirits.\" Dr. Sheppard also tells us that in one of\nthe tribes in Africa where he labored, a kind of funnel was pushed down\ninto the grave and down this funnel food was dropped for the deceased to\nfeed upon. I have heard from other missionaries to other parts of Africa\nsimilar accounts. The minute you suppose the Rhyme \"When My Wife Dies\"\nto have had its origin in Africa, the whole thought content is\nexplained. Of course the stanza concerning the pickling of the bones in\nalcohol is probably of American origin but I doubt not that the thought\nof the \"key verses\" came from Africa.\n\nThese Rhymes whose thought content I have just discussed I consider only\nillustrative of the many Rhymes whose thought drift came from Africa.\n\nMany of the Folk Rhymes fall under the heading commonly denominated\n\"Nature Rhymes.\" By actual count more than a hundred and fifty recorded\nby the writer have something in their stanzas concerning some animal. I\ndo not think the makers of these Rhymes were makers of Nature Rhymes in\nthe ordinary sense of the term. It would really be more to the point to\ncall them \"Animal Rhymes\" instead of \"Nature Rhymes.\" With the exception\nof about a half dozen Rhymes which mention some kind of tree or plant,\nall the other Rhymes with Nature allusions pertain to animals. The Uncle\nRemus stories recorded by Joel Chandler Harris are practically all\nanimal stories. I have said in my foregoing discussion that the Negro\ncommuned with Nature and she gave him Rhymes for amusement. This is\ntrue, but when we say \"communed\" we simply express a vague intangible\nsomething the existence of which lives somewhere in a kind of mental\nfiction.\n\nThough I was brought up with the Rhymes I make no pretensions that I\nreally know why so many of them were made concerning the animal world. I\nhave heard no Negro tradition on this point. I have thought much on it\nand I now beg the reader to walk with me over the peculiar paths along\nwhich my mind has swept in its search for the truth of this mystery of\nAnimal Rhyme.\n\nBefore the great American Civil War the Negro slave preachers could\nnot, as a class, read and they were taught their Bible texts by white\nmen, commonly their owners. The texts taught them embraced most of the\ncentral truths of our Bible. The subjects upon which the antebellum\nNegro preached, however, were comparatively few. Of course a very few\nantebellum Negro preachers could read. In case of these individuals\ntheir texts and subjects were scarcely limited by the \"lids\" of the\nBible. I heard scores of these men preach in my childhood days.\n\nThe following subjects embrace about all those known to the average of\nthese slave preachers. 1. Joshua. 2. Samson. 3. The Ark. 4. Jacob. 5.\nPharaoh and Moses. 6. Daniel. 7. Ezekiel--vision of the valley of dry\nbones. 8. Judgment Day. 9. Paul and Silas in jail. 10. Peter. 11. John's\nvision on the Isle of Patmos. 12. Jesus Christ--his love and his\nmiracles. 13. \"Servants, obey your Masters.\"\n\nNow it is strange enough that the ignorant slave, while adopting his\nMaster's religious topics, refused to adopt his hymns and proceeded to\nmake his own songs and to cluster all these songs in thought around the\nBible subjects with which he was acquainted. If the reader will get\nnearly any copy of Jubilee Songs he will find that the larger number\ngroup themselves about Jesus Christ and the others cluster about Moses,\nDaniel, Judgment Day, etc., subjects partially known and handled by the\npreachers in their sermons. There is just one exception. There is no\nJubilee Song on \"Servants, obey your Masters.\" We shall leave for the\n\"feeble\" imagination of the reader the reason why. The Negroes\npractically left out of their Jubilee Songs, Jeremiah, Job, Abraham,\nIsaac, Solomon, Samuel, Ezra, Mark, Luke, John, James, The Psalms, The\nProverbs, etc., simply because these subjects did not fall among those\ntaught them as preaching subjects.\n\nNow let us consider for a while the Negro's religion in Africa. Turning\nto Bettanny's \"The World's Religions\" we learn the following facts about\naboriginal African worship.\n\nThe Bushmen worshiped a Caddis worm and an antelope (a species of deer).\nThe Damaras believed that they and all living creatures descended from a\nkind of tree and they worshiped that tree. The Mulungu worshiped\nalligators and lion-shaped idols. The Fantis considered snakes and many\nother animals messengers of spirits. The Dahomans worshiped snakes, a\nsilk tree, a poison tree and a kind of ocean god whom they called Hu.\n\nNow turning our attention to Negro Folk Rhymes we find them clustering\naround the animals of aboriginal African Folk worship. The Negro stories\nrecorded by Mr. Harris center around these animals also. In the Folk\nRhyme \"Walk Tom Wilson\" our hero steps on an alligator. In \"The Ark\" the\nlion almost breaks out of his enclosure of palings. In one rhyme the\nsnake is described as descended from the Devil and then the Devil\nfigures prominently in many Rhymes. Then we have \"Green Oak Tree\nRocky-o\" answering to the tree worship.\n\nI have placed in our collection of Rhymes a small foreign section\nincluding African Rhymes. I have recorded precious few but those few are\nenough to show two things. (1) That the Negro of savage Africa has the\nrhyme-making habit and probably has always had it, and thus the American\nNegro brought this habit with him to America. (2) That a small handful\nfrom darkest Africa contains stanzas on the owl, the frog, and the\nturkey buzzard just like the American rhymes.\n\nKnowing that the Negro made rhymes in Africa, and knowing that he\ncentered his Jubilee Song words around his American Christian religion,\nis it not reasonable to suppose that he centered his secular or African\nRhymes around his African religion? He must have done so unless he\nchanged all his rhyme-making habits after coming to America, for he\ncertainly clustered his American verse largely around his religion.\nAssuming this to be true the large amount of animal lore in Negro rhyme\nand story is at once explained.\n\nPossibly the greatest hindrance to one's coming to this conclusion is\nthe fact that the Rabbit and some other animals found in Negro rhyme and\nstory do not appear in the records among those worshiped by aboriginal\nAfricans. The known record of the Africans' early religion covers only a\nvery few pages. Christians have not been willing to spend any time to\nspeak of in investigating the religions of the primitive and the lowly.\nThus if these animals were widely worshiped it would not be strange if\nwe should never have heard of it. Let us consider what is known,\nhowever.\n\nTaking up the matter of the rabbit Mr. John McBride, Jr., had a very\nfine and lengthy discussion on \"Br'er Rabbit in the Folk Tales of the\nNegro and other Races\" in _The Sewanee Review_, April, 1911. On page 201\nof that journal's issue we find these words: \"Among the Hottentots, for\nexample, there is a story in which the hare appears in the moon and of\nwhich several versions are extant. The story goes that the moon sent the\nhare to the earth to inform men that, as she died away and rose again,\nso should all men die and again come to life,\" etc. I drop the story\nhere because so much of it suffices my purpose. It brings out the fact\nthat the African here had probably truly considered the Rabbit as a\nmessenger of the moon. Now the fact that the Hottentots were thus\ntalking in lore of receiving messages concerning immortality from the\nmoon means there must have been at least a time in their history when\nthey considered the Moon a kind of super-being, a kind of god.\n\nI quote again from Dr. Sheppard's \"Presbyterian Pioneers in Congo,\" page\n113. \"King Lukenga offers up a sacrifice of a goat or lamb on every new\nmoon. The blood is sprinkled on a large idol in his own fetich house, in\nthe presence of all his counselors. This sacrifice is for the\nhealthfulness of all the King's country, for the crops,\" etc.\n\nI think after considering the foregoing one will see that there are\nthose of Africa who connect their worship with the moon. We learn also\nthat there are those who claim the rabbit to be the moon's messenger.\nFrom this, if we should accept the theory for Animal Rhymes advanced, we\nwould easily see why the rabbit as a messenger of a god or gods would\nfigure so largely in Rhyme and in story. We also would easily see how\nand why as a messenger of a god he would become \"Brother Rabbit.\" If one\nwill read the little Rhyme \"Jaybird\" he will notice that the rhymer\nplaces the intelligence of the rabbit above his own. Our theory accounts\nfor this.\n\nI would next consider the frog, but I imagine I hear the reader saying:\n\"That is not a beginning. How about your bear, terrapin, wolf, squirrel,\netc.?\"\n\nSeeing that I am faced by so large an array of animals, I beg the reader\nto walk with me through just one more little path of thought and with\nhis consent I shall leave the matter there.\n\nWe see, in two of our African Rhymes, lines on a buzzard and an owl; yet\nthese African natives do not worship these birds. The American Negro\nchildren of my childhood repeated Folk Rhymes concerning the rabbit, the\nfox, etc., without any thought whatever of worshiping them. These\nAmerican children had received the whole through dim traditional rhymes\nand stories and engaged in passing them on to others without any special\nthought. The uncivilized and the unlettered hand down everything by word\nof mouth. Religion, trades, superstition, medicine, sense, and nonsense\nall flow in the same stream and from this stream all is drunk down\nwithout question. If therefore the Negro's rhyme-clustering habit in\nAmerica was the same as it had ever been and the centering of rhymes\nabout animals is due to a former worship of them in Africa, the verses\nwould include not only the animals worshiped in modern Africa but in\nancient Africa. The verses would take in animals included in any\naccepted African religion antedating the comparatively recent religions\nfound there.\n\nThe Bakuba tribe have a tradition of their origin. Quoting from Dr.\nSheppard's book again, page 114, we have the following: \"From all the\ninformation I can gather, they (the Bakuba) migrated from the far North,\ncrossed rivers and settled on the high table land.\" Here is one\ntradition, standing as a guide post, with its hand pointing toward\nEgypt. A one fact premise practically never forms a safe basis for a\nconclusion, but when we couple this tradition with the fact that, so far\nas we know, men originated in Southwest Asia and therefore probably came\ninto Africa by way of the Isthmus of Suez, I think the case of the\nBakuba hand pointing toward a near Egyptian residence a strong one. Now\nturn to your Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. X, ninth edition, with\nAmerican revisions and additions, to the article on \"Glass,\" page 647.\nNear the bottom of the second column on that page we read: \"The\nPhoenicians probably derived this knowledge of the art (of glass making)\nfrom Egypt. * * * It seems probable that the earliest products of the\nindustry of Phoenicia in the art of glass making are the colored beads\nwhich have been found in almost all parts of Europe, in India, and other\nparts of Asia, and in _Africa_. The \"aggry\" beads so much valued by the\n_Ashantees and other natives_ of that part of Africa which lies near the\nGold Coast, have _probably_ the same origin. * * * Their wide dispersion\nmay be referred with much probability to their having been objects of\nbarter between the Phoenician merchants and the barbarous inhabitants of\nthe various countries with which they traded.\" Here are evidences, then,\nthat the African in his prehistoric days traded with somebody who\nbartered in beads of Phoenician or Egyptian make. I say Egyptian or\nPhoenician because if the Phoenicians got this art from the Egyptians I\nthink it would be very difficult for those who lived thousands of years\nafterward to be sure in which country a specific bead was made, the art\nas practiced by one country being a kind of copy of the art as practiced\nin the other country. With the historic record that the Phoenicians were\nthe great traders of the Ancient World our writers attributed the\ncarrying of the beads into Africa, among the natives, to the\nPhoenicians. Without questioning these time-honored conclusions, we do\nknow that Egyptian caravans still make journeys into the interior of\nAfrica for the purpose of trade. Shall we think this trading practice on\nthe part of Egypt in Africa one of recent origin or probably one that\nruns back through the centuries? I see no reason for believing this\ntrading custom to be other than an ancient one. If the ancient Egyptians\ntraded with the surrounding Africans and these Africans gradually\nmigrated South, as is stated in the Bakuba tradition, the whole matter\nof how all kinds of animals got mixed into Negro Folk Rhymes by custom\nbecomes clear. It also will explain how animal worship got scattered\nthroughout Africa, for it is the unbroken history of the world that\ntraders of a race superior in attainment always somehow manage to carry\nalong their religion to the race inferior in attainment. The religious\nemissaries generally follow along in the wake of the traders. If we make\nthe assumption, on the foregoing grounds, that the very ancient African\nNegro got in touch with the religion of Ancient Egypt, then the\nappearance of the frog, birds, etc., in Negro Rhyme is explained, for if\nwe read the lists of animal gods of Ancient Egypt and the animal states\nthrough which spirits were supposed to pass, we have no trouble finding\nthe list of animals extolled in Negro rhyme and story.\n\nIf Negro Rhyme has always centered about Negro religion, then when the\nNegro was brought to America and began changing his religion, he should\nhave had some songs or rhymes on the dividing line between the old and\nthe new. In other words, there ought to be connecting links between\n\"secular\" Folk Rhymes and Jubilee Songs, songs that by nature partake of\nboth types. This must happen in order to be in accord with the law of\nthe presence of connecting links where evolution produces a new type\nfrom an old one. By using the procedure under Mendel's law of mating\nlike descendants from a cross between two and by eliminating those who\ndo not reproduce constant to the type which we are trying to produce, we\ncan produce a new and constant type in the third succeeding generation\nof descendants.\n\nNow the Negro slave turned quickly in America from heathenism to\nChristianity. This was accomplished through white Christians correcting\nand eliminating all thoughts and productions which hovered on the border\nline between heathen ideals and Christianity. They used the Mendelian\nprocedure of eliminating all crosses that did not give a product with\nChristian characteristics and thus necessarily eliminated Rhymes or\nsongs of the connecting link type. They did a good thorough job but the\nwriter believes he sees two connecting links that escaped their\nsensitive ears and sharp eyes. They are Jubilee songs; one is \"Keep\ninching along like a poor inch worm, Jesus will come by-and-by,\" the\nother is \"Go chain the lion down before the Heaven doors close.\"\n\nThe reader will recall that I have already shown that the worm and the\nlion were connected with native African worship. Of course we all know\nquite well that a \"Caddis worm\" is not an \"Inch worm,\" but for a man\ntrying to turn from the old to the new, from idolatry to Christianity, a\ncloser relation than this might not be very comfortable neutral ground.\n\nThe following Folk Rhymes found in our collection might also pass for\nconnecting links: \"Jawbone,\" \"Outrunning the Devil,\" \"How to Get to\nGlory Land,\" \"The Ark,\" \"Destinies of Good and Bad Children,\" \"How to\nKeep or Kill the Devil,\" \"Ration Day,\" and \"When My Wife Dies.\" The\nsuperstitions of the Negro Rhymes are possibly only fossils left in one\nway or another by ancient native African worship.\n\nIn a few Rhymes the vice of stealing is either laughed at, or\napparently laughed at. Such Rhymes carry on their face a strictly\nAmerican slave origin. An example is found in \"Christmas Turkey.\" If one\nasks how I know its origin to be American, the answer is that the native\nAfrican had no such thing as Christmas and turkeys are indigenous to\nAmerica. In explanation of the origin of these \"stealing\" Rhymes I would\nsay that it was never the Negro slave's viewpoint that his hard-earned\nproductions righteously belonged to another. His whole viewpoint in all\nsuch cases, where he sang in this kind of verse, is well summed up in\nthe last two lines of this little Rhyme itself:\n\n    \"I tuck mysef to my tucky roos',\n    An' I brung _my_ tucky home.\"\n\nTo the Negro it was his turkey. This was the Negro slave view and\naccounts for the origin and evolution of such verse. We leave to others\na fair discussion of the ethics and a righteous conclusion; only asking\nthem in fairness to conduct the discussion in the light of slave\nconditions and slave surroundings.\n\nIn a few of the Folk Rhymes one stanza will be found to be longer than\nany of the others. Now as to the origin of this, in the case of those\nsung whose tunes I happen to know, the long stanza was used as a kind\nof chorus, while the other stanzas were used as song \"verses.\" I\ntherefore think this is probably true in all cases. The reader will note\nthat the long stanza is written first in many cases. This is because the\nNegro habitually begins his song with the Chorus, which is just the\nopposite to the custom of the Caucasian who begins his ordinary songs\nwith the verse. This appears then to be the possible genesis of stanzas\nof unequal length.\n\nI have written this little treatise on the use, origin, and evolution of\nthe Negro Rhyme with much hesitation. I finally decided to do it only\nbecause I thought a truthful statement of fact concerning Negro Folk\nRhymes might prove a help to those who are expert investigators in the\nfield of literature and who are in search of the origin of all Folk\nliterature and finally of all literature. The Negro being the last to\ncome to the bright light of civilization has given or probably will give\nthe last crop of Folk Rhymes. Human processes being largely the same, I\nhope that my little personal knowledge of the Negro Rhymes may help\nothers in the other larger literary fields.\n\nI am hoping that it may help and I am penning the last strokes to record\nmy sincere desire that it may in no way hinder.\n\n\n\n\nGENERAL INDEX\n\n\nPART I\n\n                                                    PAGE\n\n  A. B. C.,                                          154\n\n  Alabama Way, The,                                  164\n\n  Anchor Line,                                        87\n\n  Animal Attire,                                     158\n\n  Animal Fair,                                       159\n\n  Animal Persecutors,                                205\n\n  Antebellum Courtship Inquiry,                      135\n\n  Antebellum Marriage Proposal,                      137\n\n  Are You Careful,                                   203\n\n  Ark, The,                                           44\n\n  As I Went to Shiloh,                                13\n\n  Aspiration,                                        159\n\n  Aunt Dinah Drunk,                                   53\n\n  Aunt Jemima,                                       107\n\n  Awful Harbingers,                                  149\n\n\n  Baa! Baa! Black Sheep,                              27\n\n  Baby Wants Cherries,                               181\n\n  Bad Features,                                      100\n\n  Banjo Picking, The,                                 21\n\n  Bat! Bat!                                          202\n\n  Bedbug,                                             96\n\n  Bitter Lovers' Quarrel, A,                         127\n\n  Black-eyed Peas For Luck,                          200\n\n  Blessings,                                         204\n\n  Blindfold Play Chant,                               73\n\n  Bob-White's Song,                                  155\n\n  Bought Me a Wife,                                  145\n\n  Brag and Boast,                                    213\n\n  Bridle up a Rat,                                   157\n\n  Bring on your Hot Corn,                             29\n\n  Brother Ben and Sister Sal,                         46\n\n  Buck and Berry,                                    172\n\n  Buck-eyed Rabbit! Whoopee!,                        175\n\n  Budget, A,                                          79\n\n  Bull Frog Put on the Soldier Clothes,               20\n\n  Butterfly,                                         182\n\n\n  Captain Coon,                                      176\n\n  Captain Dime,                                        5\n\n  Care in Bread-making,                              112\n\n  Caught by the Witch Play,                           74\n\n  Chicken in the Bread Tray,                           7\n\n  Chicken Pie,                                        69\n\n  Children's Seating Rhyme,                          179\n\n  Christmas Turkey,                                   98\n\n  Chuck Will's Widow Song,                           156\n\n  Clandestine Letter, A,                             136\n\n  Coffee Grows on White Folks' Trees,                107\n\n  College Ox, The,                                   112\n\n  Cooking Dinner,                                    156\n\n  Cotton-eyed Joe,                                    32\n\n  Courting Boy, The,                                 141\n\n  Courtship,                                         138\n\n  Cow Needs a Tail in Fly-time, The,                  35\n\n  Crooked Nose Jane,                                  99\n\n  Crossing a Foot-Log,                               109\n\n  Crossing the River,                                  6\n\n\n  Day's Happiness, A,                                125\n\n  Deedle, Dumpling,                                  171\n\n  Destinies of Good and Bad Children,                200\n\n  Destitute Former Slave Owners,                      97\n\n  Devilish Pigs,                                      24\n\n  Did You Feed My Cow?                                78\n\n  Die in the Pig-Pen Fighting,                        39\n\n  Dinah's Dinner Horn,                                18\n\n  Do I Love You?                                     129\n\n  Does Money Talk?,                                  113\n\n  Don't Ask Me Questions,                             63\n\n  Don't Sing before Breakfast,                       186\n\n  Don't Tell All You Know,                           214\n\n  Doodle-Bug,                                        174\n\n  Down in the Lonesome Garden,                        89\n\n  Drinking Razor Soup,                               211\n\n\n  Elephant, The,                                     116\n\n  End of Ten Little Negroes, The,                    163\n\n\n  Fattening Frogs for Snakes,                         97\n\n  Fed From the Tree of Knowledge,                    212\n\n  Few Negroes by States, A,                          117\n\n  Fine Plaster, A,                                   124\n\n  Fishing Simon,                                     177\n\n  Flap-jacks,                                        196\n\n  Forty-four,                                         71\n\n  Four Runaway Negroes; Whence They Came,            205\n\n  Fox and Geese,                                      40\n\n  Fox and Geese Play,                                 73\n\n  Fox and Rabbit Drinking Propositions,              111\n\n  Frightened Away from a Chicken-Roost,               95\n\n  Frog in a Mill (Guinea or Ebo Rhyme),              167\n\n  Frog Went a-Courting,                              190\n\n  From Slavery,                                      162\n\n  Full Pocketbook, A,                                 99\n\n\n  Getting Ten Negro Boys Together,                   184\n\n  Go to Bed,                                         175\n\n  Going To Be Good Slaves,                           101\n\n  Good-by, Ring,                                     171\n\n  Good-by, Wife!,                                    148\n\n  Gooseberry Wine,                                    41\n\n  Goosie-Gander Play Rhyme,                           75\n\n  Grasshopper Sense,                                 169\n\n  Grasshopper Sitting on a Sweet Potato Vine,        173\n\n  Gray and Black Horses,                              45\n\n  Great Owl's Song, The,                             151\n\n  Green Oak Tree! Rocky-o!,                           81\n\n  Guinea Gall,                                       176\n\n\n  Half Way Doings,                                   120\n\n  Ham Beats all Meat,                                 67\n\n  Harvest Song,                                       57\n\n  Hated Blackbird and Crow, The,                     183\n\n  Hawk and Buzzard,                                   75\n\n  Hawk and Chickens,                                 185\n\n  Hawk and Chickens Play,                             74\n\n  He Is My Horse,                                     16\n\n  He Loves Sugar and Tea,                             84\n\n  He Paid Me Seven (Parody),                         122\n\n  He Will Get Mr. Coon,                               28\n\n  Hear-say,                                          114\n\n  Here Comes a Young Man Courting,                    85\n\n  Here I Stand,                                      153\n\n  Hoecake,                                            49\n\n  How to Get to Glory Land,                           96\n\n  How to Keep or Kill The Devil,                     104\n\n  How to Make it Rain,                               101\n\n  How to Plant and Cultivate Seeds,                  208\n\n  How to Please a Preacher,                          117\n\n  Hunting Camp, The,                                  43\n\n\n  I am not Going to Hobo Any More,                    70\n\n  I Love Somebody,                                    51\n\n  I Walked the Roads,                                139\n\n  I Went down the Road,                               50\n\n  I Wish I Was an Apple,                             133\n\n  I Would not Marry a Black Girl,                     56\n\n  I Would not Marry A Yellow Or A White Negro Girl,   63\n\n  I'd rather Be a Negro than a Poor White Man,        42\n\n  I'll Eat When I'm Hungry,                          114\n\n  I'll Get You, Rabbit!,                             116\n\n  I'll Wear Me a Cotton Dress,                       118\n\n  I'm a \"Round-Town\" Gentleman,                      108\n\n  If You Frown,                                      137\n\n  In '76,                                            178\n\n  In a Mulberry Tree,                                158\n\n  In a Rush,                                         183\n\n  Independent,                                       209\n\n  Indian Flea,                                        12\n\n  Invited to Take the Escort's Arm,                  135\n\n  It Is Hard to Love,                                132\n\n\n  Jack and Dinah Want Freedom,                       215\n\n  Jackson, Put that Kettle On!,                       17\n\n  Jawbone,                                            12\n\n  Jaybird,                                            14\n\n  Jaybird Died with the Whooping Cough,               36\n\n  Joe and Malinda Jane,                                4\n\n  John Henry,                                        105\n\n  Johnny Bigfoot,                                     93\n\n  Jonah's Band Party,                                  1\n\n  Juba,                                                9\n\n  Judge Buzzard,                                      16\n\n  Jump Jim Crow,                                      13\n\n\n  Kept Busy,                                         109\n\n  Kissing Song,                                       82\n\n  Kneel on This Carpet,                               82\n\n\n  Last of Jack, The,                                 149\n\n  Learn to Count,                                    207\n\n  \"Let's Marry\" Courtship,                           138\n\n  Likes and Dislikes,                                 76\n\n  Little Boy Who Couldn't Count Seven,               160\n\n  Little Dogs,                                       150\n\n  Little Negro Fly, The,                             199\n\n  Little Pickaninny, A,                              186\n\n  Little Red Hen,                                     37\n\n  Little Rooster, The,                                29\n\n  Little Sister, Won't You Marry Me?                  90\n\n  Little Sleeping Negroes,                           187\n\n  Looking for a Fight,                               118\n\n  Love Is Just a Thing of Fancy,                       2\n\n  Lovers' Good-night,                                129\n\n\n  Mamma's Darling,                                   188\n\n  Man of Words, A,                                   208\n\n  Master is Six Feet One Way,                         40\n\n  Master Killed a Big Bull,                          126\n\n  Master's \"Stolen\" Coat, The,                        62\n\n  Me and my Lover,                                   132\n\n  Miss Blodger,                                      199\n\n  Miss Slippy Sloppy,                                100\n\n  Miss Terrapin and Miss Toad,                       162\n\n  Molly Cottontail,                                    8\n\n  Mother Says I am Six Years Old,                    164\n\n  Mourning Slave Fiancees,                           129\n\n  Mud-Log Pond,                                      185\n\n  Mule's Kick, The,                                   98\n\n  Mule's Nature, The,                                108\n\n  My Baby,                                           180\n\n  My Dog, Cuff,                                      150\n\n  My Fiddle,                                          39\n\n  My First and my Second Wife,                       147\n\n  My Folks and your Folks,                           187\n\n  My Little Pig,                                     157\n\n  My Mule,                                            19\n\n  My Speckled Hen,                                   170\n\n  My Wonderful Travel,                                55\n\n  Mysterious Face Washing,                           174\n\n\n  Nashville Ladies, The,                             106\n\n  Negro and the Policeman, The,                       66\n\n  Negro Baker Man,                                   154\n\n  Negro Soldier's Civil War Chant,                   115\n\n  Negroes Never Die,                                  11\n\n  Nesting,                                           180\n\n  Newly Weds, The,                                   144\n\n  No Room to Poke Fun,                                99\n\n  Nobody Looking,                                     48\n\n\n  Off from Richmond,                                  15\n\n  Old Aunt Kate,                                     179\n\n  Old Black Gnats, The,                               80\n\n  Old Gray Mink,                                      33\n\n  Old Hen Cackled, The,                               50\n\n  Old Man Know-all,                                  211\n\n  Old Molly Hare,                                     22\n\n  Old Section Boss, The,                              64\n\n  Old Woman in the Hills, The,                        54\n\n  On Top of the Pot,                                  10\n\n  Opossum Hunt, An,                                   23\n\n  Origin of the Snake, The,                          165\n\n  Our Old Mule,                                      112\n\n  Outrunning the Devil,                              103\n\n\n  Page's Geese,                                      102\n\n  Parody--He Paid Me Seven,                          122\n\n  Parody on \"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep\",            115\n\n  Parody on \"Reign, Master Jesus! Reign!\",           122\n\n  Paying Debts with Kicks,                           184\n\n  Peep Squirrel,                                      78\n\n  Periwinkle,                                        201\n\n  Pig Tail,                                          153\n\n  Plaster,                                            60\n\n  'Possum up the Gum Stump,                            3\n\n  Precious Things,                                    84\n\n  Presenting a Hat to Phoebe,                        140\n\n  Pretty Little Girl,                                172\n\n  Pretty Little Pink,                                127\n\n  Pretty Pair of Chickens, A,                        181\n\n  Pretty Polly Ann,                                  142\n\n  Promises of Freedom,                                25\n\n\n  Rabbit Hash,                                       203\n\n  Rabbit Soup,                                        33\n\n  Raccoon and Opossum Fight,                          31\n\n  Race-starter's Rhyme, A,                           180\n\n  Raise a \"Rucus\" To-night,                           90\n\n  Randsome Tantsome,                                 202\n\n  Rascal, The,                                       106\n\n  Ration Day,                                         38\n\n  Rattler,                                            46\n\n  Raw Head and Bloody Bones,                         174\n\n  Redhead Woodpecker,                                178\n\n  Rejected by Eliza Jane,                            134\n\n  Request to Sell, A,                                123\n\n  Roses Red,                                         128\n\n  Run, Nigger, Run!,                                  34\n\n\n  Sail Away, Ladies!,                                 20\n\n  Sallie,                                             87\n\n  Salt-rising Bread,                                  83\n\n  Sam Is a Clever Fellow,                            151\n\n  Satan,                                              93\n\n  Self-control,                                      213\n\n  Sex Laugh,                                         102\n\n  Shake the Persimmons Down,                          34\n\n  She Hugged Me and Kissed Me,                       131\n\n  Sheep and Goat,                                     17\n\n  Sheep Shell Corn,                                   59\n\n  Shoo! Shoo!,                                       196\n\n  Short Letter, A,                                   113\n\n  Sick Wife, A,                                       55\n\n  Simon Slick's Mule,                                 47\n\n  Slave Marriage Ceremony Supplement,                143\n\n  Snail's Reply, The,                                170\n\n  Song to the Runaway Slave,                          88\n\n  Sparking or Courting,                              136\n\n  Speak Softly,                                      214\n\n  Stand Back, Black Man,                              10\n\n  Stealing a Ride,                                   188\n\n  Stick-a-ma-stew,                                   155\n\n  Still Water Creek,                                   2\n\n  Still Water Runs Deep,                             214\n\n  Strange Brood, A,                                  166\n\n  Strange Family, A,                                 171\n\n  Strange Old Woman, A,                              178\n\n  Strong Hands,                                      167\n\n  Sugar in Coffee,                                    30\n\n  Sugar Loaf Tea,                                     81\n\n  Susan Jane,                                         77\n\n  Susie Girl,                                         76\n\n  Suze Ann,                                           68\n\n  Sweet Pinks and Roses,                              92\n\n\n  Tails,                                               5\n\n  Taking a Walk,                                     183\n\n  Teaching Table Manners,                            197\n\n  Temperance Rhyme,                                  209\n\n  That Hypocrite,                                    210\n\n  \"They Steal\" Gossip,                               110\n\n  This Sun is Hot,                                   108\n\n  Thrifty Slave, The,                                 94\n\n  To Win a Yellow Girl,                              102\n\n  Tongue, The,                                       212\n\n  Too Much Watermelon,                               182\n\n  Town Bird and the Country Bird, The,               166\n\n  Training the Boy,                                  201\n\n  Tree Frogs (Guinea or Ebo Rhyme),                  168\n\n  Turkey Funeral, A,                                 111\n\n  T-U-Turkey,                                          6\n\n  Turtle's Song, The,                                 30\n\n  Two Sick Negro Boys,                               173\n\n  Two Times One,                                     121\n\n\n  Uncle Jerry Fants,                                 109\n\n  Uncle Ned,                                          61\n\n\n  Vinie,                                             130\n\n\n  Walk, Talk, Chicken with your Head Pecked,           4\n\n  Walk, Tom Wilson,                                   68\n\n  Wanted: Cornbread and Coon,                         37\n\n  War is On, The,                                    207\n\n  Washing Mamma's Dishes,                            189\n\n  Watermelon Preferred,                              110\n\n  We Are \"All the Go\",                                52\n\n  We'll Stick to the Hoe,                            123\n\n  What Will We Do for Bacon?,                        185\n\n  When I Go to Marry,                                144\n\n  When I Was a Little Boy,                           168\n\n  When I Was a Roustabout,                           145\n\n  When My Wife Dies,                                  26\n\n  Why Look at Me,                                    113\n\n  Why the Woodpecker's Head Is Red,                  203\n\n  Wild Hog Hunt,                                     165\n\n  Wild Negro Bill,                                    94\n\n  Willie Wee,                                        189\n\n  Wind Bag, A,                                       101\n\n  Wooing,                                            140\n\n\n  Year of Jubilee,                                    58\n\n  You Had Better Mind Master,                        126\n\n  You Have Made Me Weep,                             128\n\n  You Love your Girl,                                 95\n\n  Young Master and Old Master,                       169\n\n\nFOREIGN SECTION INDEX\n\n  _African Rhymes_\n\n    Byanswahn-Byanswahn,                             219\n    Near Waldo Teedo o mah nah mejai,                216\n    Sai Boddeoh Sumpun Komo,                         218\n    The Frogs,                                       220\n    The Owl,                                         217\n    The Turkey Buzzard,                              220\n    Tuba Blay,                                       217\n\n  _A Philippine Island Rhyme_,                       227\n\n  _Trinidad Rhymes_\n\n    A Tom Cat,                                       226\n    Un Belle Marie Coolie,                           225\n\n  _Jamaica Rhyme_\n\n    Buscher Garden,                                  222\n\n  _Venezuelan Rhymes_\n\n    A \"Would Be\" Immigrant,                          224\n    Game Contestants' Song,                          223\n\n\nPART II\n\nA Study in Negro Folk Rhymes, 228\n\n\n\n\nCOMPARATIVE STUDY INDEX\n\n\n_Love Songs_\n\n  Bitter Lovers' Quarrel; One Side,                  127\n\n  Courting Boy, The,                                 141\n\n  It Is Hard to Love,                                132\n  I Wish I Was an Apple,                             133\n\n  Lovers' Good-night,                                129\n\n  Me and my Lover,                                   132\n  Mourning Slave Fiancees,                           129\n\n  Pretty Polly Ann,                                  142\n\n  Rejected by Eliza Jane,                            134\n  Roses Red,                                         128\n\n  She Hugged Me and She Kissed Me,                   131\n\n  Vinie,                                             130\n\n  Wooing,                                            140\n\n  You Have Made Me Weep,                             128\n  You Love your Girl,                                 95\n\n\n_Dance Songs_\n\n  Ark, The,                                           44\n  Aunt Dinah Drunk,                                   53\n\n  Baa! Baa! Black Sheep,                              27\n  Banjo Picking,                                      21\n  Brother Ben and Sister Sal,                         46\n  Bull Frog Put on the Soldier Clothes,               20\n\n  Chicken Pie,                                        69\n  Cotton-eyed Joe,                                    32\n  Cow Needs a Tail in Fly-time, The,                  35\n\n  Devilish Pigs,                                      24\n  Die in the Pig-Pen Fighting,                        39\n  Dinah's Dinner Horn,                                18\n  Don't Ask Me Questions,                             63\n\n  Forty-four,                                         71\n  Fox and Geese,                                      40\n\n  Gooseberry Wine,                                    41\n  Gray and Black Horses,                              45\n\n  Ham Beats All Meat,                                 67\n  He Is my Horse,                                     16\n  Hoecake,                                            49\n\n  I am not Going to Hobo Any More,                    70\n  I Love Somebody,                                    51\n  I Went down the Road,                               50\n  I Would not Marry a Black Girl,                     56\n  I Would not Marry a Yellow or a White Negro Girl,   63\n  I'd rather Be a Negro than a Poor White Man,        42\n\n  Jack and Dinah Want Freedom,                       215\n  Jaybird,                                            14\n  Jaybird Died with the Whooping Cough,               36\n\n  Little Red Hen,                                     37\n  Little Rooster, The,                                29\n\n  Master is Six Feet One Way,                         40\n  Master's \"Stolen Coat,\" The,                        62\n  My Fiddle,                                          39\n  My Mule,                                            19\n  My Wonderful Travel,                                55\n\n  Negro and the Policeman, The,                       66\n  Nobody Looking,                                     48\n\n  Off from Richmond,                                  15\n  Old Gray Mink,                                      33\n  Old Hen Cackled, The,                               50\n  Old Molly Hare,                                     22\n  Old Section Boss, The,                              64\n  Old Woman in the Hills, The,                        54\n  Opossum Hunt, An,                                   23\n\n  Plaster,                                            60\n  'Possum up the Gum Stump,                            3\n  Promises of Freedom,                                25\n\n  Rabbit Soup,                                        33\n  Raccoon and Opossum Fight,                          31\n  Ration Day,                                         38\n  Rattler,                                            46\n  Run, Nigger, Run!                                   34\n\n  Sail Away, Ladies!                                  20\n  Shake the Persimmons Down,                          34\n  Sheep and Goat,                                     17\n  Sheep Shell Corn,                                   59\n  Sick Wife, A,                                       55\n  Simon Slick's Mule,                                 47\n  Sugar in Coffee,                                    30\n  Suze Ann,                                           68\n\n  Uncle Ned,                                          61\n\n  Walk, Tom Wilson,                                   68\n  Wanted: Cornbread and Coon,                         37\n  We Are \"All the Go\",                                52\n  When My Wife Dies,                                  26\n\n  Year of Jubilee,                                    58\n\n\n_Animal and Nature Lore_\n\n  Animal Attire,                                     158\n  Animal Fair,                                       159\n  Animal Persecutors,                                205\n  Awful Harbingers,                                  149\n\n  Bob-White's Song,                                  155\n  Bridle Up a Rat,                                   157\n  Buck and Berry,                                    172\n  Buck-eyed Rabbit! Whoopee!                         175\n\n  Chuck Will's Widow Song,                           156\n\n  Frog in a Mill,                                    167\n  Frog Went a-Courting,                              190\n  Full Pocketbook, A,                                 99\n\n  Great Owl's Song,                                  151\n\n  Jaybird,                                            14\n  Judge Buzzard,                                      16\n\n  Last of Jack, The,                                 149\n  Little Dogs,                                       150\n\n  Man of Words, A,                                   208\n  Miss Terrapin and Miss Toad,                       162\n  Molly Cottontail,                                    8\n  My Dog, Cuff,                                      150\n  My Speckled Hen,                                   170\n\n  Old Molly Hare,                                     22\n  Origin of the Snake, The,                          165\n\n  Snail's Reply, The,                                170\n  Strange Brood, A,                                  166\n\n  Tails,                                               5\n  Town Bird and the Country Bird, The,               166\n  Turtle's Song, The,                                 30\n\n  Why the Woodpecker's Head is Red,                  203\n\n\n_Nursery Rhymes_\n\n  A. B. C.,                                          154\n  Alabama Way, The,                                  164\n  Animal Fair,                                       159\n  Are You Careful?,                                  203\n  Aspiration,                                        159\n  Awful Harbingers,                                  149\n\n  Baby Wants Cherries,                               181\n  Bat! Bat!,                                         202\n  Black-eyed Peas for Luck,                          200\n  Blessings,                                         204\n  Bob-White's Song,                                  155\n  Buck-eyed Rabbit! Whoopee!,                        175\n  Butterfly,                                         182\n\n  Captain Coon,                                      176\n  Children's Seating Rhyme,                          179\n  Chuck Will's Widow Song,                           156\n  Cooking Dinner,                                    156\n  Crossing the River,                                  6\n\n  Deedle, Dumpling,                                  171\n  Destinies of Good and Bad Children,                200\n  Did You Feed My Cow?,                               78\n  Don't Sing before Breakfast,                       186\n  Doodle-Bug,                                        174\n\n  End of Ten Little Negroes, The,                    163\n\n  Fishing Simon,                                     177\n  Flap-jacks,                                        196\n  Four Runaway Negroes; Whence They Came,            205\n  Frog Went a-Courting,                              190\n  From Slavery,                                      162\n\n  Getting Ten Negro Boys Together,                   184\n  Go to Bed,                                         175\n  Good-by, Ring,                                     171\n  Grasshopper Sitting on a Sweet Potato Vine,        173\n  Grasshopper-Sense,                                 169\n  Great Owl's Song, The,                             151\n  Guinea Gall,                                       176\n\n  Hated Blackbird and Crow, The,                     183\n  Hawk and Chickens,                                 185\n  Here I Stand,                                      153\n\n  In '76,                                            178\n  In a Mulberry Tree,                                158\n  In a Rush,                                         183\n\n  Judge Buzzard,                                      16\n\n  Little Boy Who Couldn't Count Seven,               160\n  Little Dogs,                                       150\n  Little Negro Fly, The,                             199\n  Little Pickaninny, A,                              186\n  Little Sleeping Negroes,                           187\n\n  Mamma's Darling,                                   188\n  Miss Blodger,                                      199\n  Miss Terrapin and Miss Toad,                       162\n  Mother Says I am Six Years Old,                    164\n  Mud-Log Pond,                                      185\n  My Baby,                                           180\n  My Dog, Cuff,                                      150\n  My Folks and your Folks,                           187\n  My Little Pig,                                     157\n  My Speckled Hen,                                   170\n  Mysterious Face Washing,                           174\n\n  Negro Baker Man,                                   154\n  Nesting,                                           180\n\n  Old Aunt Kate,                                     179\n  Origin of the Snake, The,                          165\n\n  Paying Debts with Kicks,                           184\n  Periwinkle,                                        201\n  Pig Tail,                                          153\n  'Possum up the Gum Stump,                            3\n  Pretty Little Girl,                                172\n  Pretty Pair of Chickens, A,                        181\n\n  Rabbit Hash,                                       203\n  Rabbit Soup,                                        33\n  Race-Starter's Rhyme, A,                           180\n  Randsome Tantsome,                                 202\n  Raw Head and Bloody Bones,                         174\n  Redhead Woodpecker,                                178\n\n  Sam is a Clever Fellow,                            151\n  Shoo! Shoo!,                                       196\n  Stealing a Ride,                                   188\n  Stick-a-ma-stew,                                   155\n  Strange Family, A,                                 171\n  Strange Old Woman, A,                              178\n  Strong Hands,                                      167\n\n  Tails,                                               5\n  Taking a Walk,                                     183\n  Teaching Table Manners,                            197\n  Too Much Watermelon,                               182\n  Training the Boy,                                  201\n  Tree Frogs,                                        168\n  Turtle's Song, The,                                 30\n  Two Sick Negro Boys,                               173\n\n  Washing Mamma's Dishes,                            189\n  What Will We Do for Bacon?,                        185\n  Wild Hog Hunt,                                     165\n  Willie Wee,                                        189\n\n  You Had Better Mind Master,                        126\n  Young Master and Old Master,                       169\n\n\n_Charms and Superstitions_\n\n  Bat! Bat!,                                         202\n  Black-eyed Peas for Luck,                          200\n\n  Don't Sing before Breakfast,                       186\n\n  How to Make it Rain,                               101\n\n  Jaybird,                                            14\n\n  Molly Cottontail, or Graveyard Rabbit,               8\n  My Speckled Hen,                                   170\n\n  Periwinkle,                                        201\n\n  Speak Softly,                                      214\n\n\n_Hunting Songs_\n\n  Fox and Geese,                                      40\n\n  He will Get Mr. Coon,                               28\n  Hunting Camp, The,                                  43\n\n  Miss Slippy Sloppy,                                100\n\n  Opossum Hunt, An,                                   23\n\n  Rattler,                                            46\n\n\n_Drinking Songs_\n\n  Aunt Dinah Drunk,                                   53\n\n  Bring on your Hot Corn,                             29\n\n  Little Red Hen,                                     37\n\n\n_Wise and Gnomic Sayings_\n\n  Brag and Boast,                                    213\n\n  Don't Tell All You Know,                           214\n  Drinking Razor Soup,                               211\n\n  Fed from the Tree of Knowledge,                    212\n\n  How to Plant and Cultivate Seeds,                  208\n\n  Independent,                                       209\n\n  Learn to Count,                                    207\n\n  Man of Words, A,                                   208\n\n  Old Man Know-all,                                  211\n\n  Self-control,                                      213\n  Speak Softly,                                      214\n  Still Water Runs Deep,                             214\n\n  Temperance Rhyme,                                  209\n  That Hypocrite,                                    210\n  Tongue, The,                                       212\n\n  War is On, The,                                    207\n\n\n_Harvest Songs_\n\n  Harvest Song,                                       57\n\n\n_Biblical and Religious Themes_\n\n  Ark, The,                                           44\n\n  How to Keep or Kill the Devil,                     104\n\n  Jawbone,                                            12\n  Jonah's Band,                                        1\n\n  Satan,                                              93\n\n\n_Play Songs_\n\n  Anchor Line,                                        87\n\n  Budget, A,                                          79\n\n  Did You Feed my Cow?,                               78\n  Down in the Lonesome Garden,                        89\n\n  Green Oak Tree! Rocky-o!,                           81\n\n  Hawk and Buzzard,                                   75\n  He Loves Sugar and Tea,                             84\n  Here Comes a Young Man Courting,                    85\n\n  Kissing Song,                                       82\n  Kneel on This Carpet,                               82\n\n  Likes and Dislikes,                                 76\n  Little Sister, Won't You Marry Me?,                 90\n\n  Old Black Gnats, The,                               80\n\n  Peep Squirrel,                                      78\n  Precious Things,                                    84\n\n  Raise a \"Rucus\" To-night,                           90\n\n  Sallie,                                             87\n  Salt-rising Bread,                                  83\n  Song to the Runaway Slave,                          88\n  Sugar Loaf Tea,                                     81\n  Susan Jane,                                         77\n  Susie Girl,                                         76\n  Sweet Pinks and Roses,                              92\n\n\n_Miscellaneous_\n\n  Antebellum Courtship Inquiry,                      135\n  Antebellum Marriage Proposal,                      137\n  As I Went to Shiloh,                                13\n  Aunt Jemima,                                       107\n\n  Bad Features,                                      100\n  Bedbug,                                             96\n  Blindfold Play Chant,                               73\n  Bought Me a Wife,                                  145\n\n  Captain Dime,                                        5\n  Care in Bread-making,                              112\n  Caught by the Witch Play,                           74\n  Christmas Turkey,                                   98\n  Clandestine Letter, A,                             136\n  Coffee Grows on White Folks' Trees,                107\n  College Ox, The,                                   112\n  Courtship,                                         138\n  Crooked Nose Jane,                                  99\n  Crossing a Foot-Log,                               109\n\n  Day's Happiness, A,                                125\n  Destitute Former Slave Owners,                      97\n  Do I Love You?,                                    129\n  Does Money Talk?,                                  113\n\n  Elephant, The,                                     116\n\n  Fattening Frogs for Snakes,                         97\n  Few Negroes by States, A,                          117\n  Fine Plaster, A,                                   124\n  Fox and Geese Play,                                 73\n  Fox and Rabbit Drinking Proposition,               111\n  Frightened Away from a Chicken-Roost,               95\n\n  Going to be Good Slaves,                           101\n  Good-by, Wife!,                                    148\n  Goosie-Gander Play Rhyme,                           75\n\n  Half Way Doings,                                   120\n  Hawk and Chickens Play,                             74\n  He Paid Me Seven (Parody),                         122\n  Hear-say,                                          114\n  How to Get to Glory Land,                           96\n  How to Please a Preacher,                          117\n\n  I Walked the Road,                                 139\n  I'll Eat when I'm Hungry,                          114\n  I'll Get You, Rabbit!,                             116\n  I'll Wear Me a Cotton Dress,                       118\n  I'm a \"Round-Town\" Gentleman,                      108\n  If You Frown,                                      137\n  Indian Flea,                                        12\n  Invited to Take the Escort's Arm,                  135\n\n  Joe and Malinda Jane,                                4\n  John Henry,                                        105\n  Johnny Bigfoot,                                     93\n  Juba,                                                9\n  Jump Jim Crow,                                      13\n\n  Kept Busy,                                         109\n\n  Let's Marry Courtship,                             138\n  Looking for a Fight,                               118\n  Love is Just a Thing of Fancy,                       2\n\n  Mule's Kick, The,                                   98\n  Mule's Nature, The,                                108\n\n  Negro Soldier's Civil War Chant,                   115\n  Negroes Never Die,                                  11\n  Newly Weds, The,                                   144\n  No Room to Poke Fun,                                99\n\n  On Top of the Pot,                                  10\n  Our Old Mule,                                      112\n  Outrunning the Devil,                              103\n\n  Page's Geese,                                      102\n  Parody--He Paid Me Seven,                          122\n  Parody on \"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep\",            115\n  Parody on \"Reign, Master Jesus! Reign!\",           122\n  Presenting a Hat to Phoebe,                        140\n  Pretty Little Pink,                                127\n\n  Rascal, The,                                       106\n  Request to Sell, A,                                123\n\n  Sex Laugh,                                         102\n  Short Letter, A,                                   113\n  Slave Marriage Ceremony Supplement,                143\n  Sparking or Courting,                              136\n  Stand Back, Black Man,                              10\n  Still Water Creek,                                   2\n\n  \"They Steal\" Gossip,                               110\n  This Sun is Hot,                                   108\n  Thrifty Slave, The,                                 94\n  To Win a Yellow Girl,                              102\n  Turkey Funeral,                                    111\n  T-U-Turkey,                                          6\n  Two Times One,                                     121\n\n  Uncle Jerry Fants,                                 109\n\n  Walk, Talk, Chicken With your Head Pecked,           4\n  We'll Stick to the Hoe,                            123\n  When I Go to Marry,                                144\n  When I Was a Roustabout,                           145\n  Why Look at Me?,                                   113\n  Wild Negro Bill,                                    94\n  Wind Bag, A,                                       101\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------+\n\nTranscriber's Note--Con't: The following changes and corrections were\nmade:\n\n  Front Matter: mid-line dots changed to periods\n  p. vi: diaeresis and e-acute accent removed from naivete\n  p. x: missing u-macron added (... 'is f[=u]ner'l song.)\n  p. 9: marker mentioned in footnote was originally a double dagger\n  p. 20: extra \" removed (He's a \"dead shore shot,\" gwineter kill\n         dem crows.\" to ... gwineter kill dem crows.)\n  p. 21: Footnote originally read \"Those starred ...\"\n  p. 29: misplaced apostrophe moved ('An toted him away. to An'\n         toted him away.)\n  p. 31: one to on (Mud turkle settin' on de end o' dat log;)\n  p. 38: . to , (Den I e't 'is 'lasses all de week,)\n  p. 43: two identical footnotes (note [16]) merged\n  p. 45: indent on 3rd line removed in \"Grey and Black Horses\"\n  p. 66: missing o-macron added (An' dat ole Police sh[=o]' make\n         me jump.)\n  p. 70: missing o-macron added (Now retch out y[=o]' han' ...)\n  p. 74: extra \" removed (\"Chickamee,\" chickamee, cranie-crow.\" to\n         \"Chickamee, chickamee, cranie-crow.\")\n  p. 87: missing ! added to 1st Sallie! in 2nd set of brackets\n  p. 145: missing close \" added (\"Potrack! Potrack!\")\n  p. 151: indent on lines 3 and 4 removed in \"The Great Owl's Song\"\n  p. 157: \"But he ...\" to \"But: He ...\" in 3rd stanza of \"My Little Pig\"\n  p. 165: ; to ! (Mash his head; de sun shine bright!)\n  p. 173: missing hyphen added (Grasshopper a-settin' on ...)\n  p. 174: missing hyphen added (Doodle-Bug, 3rd line, 1st \"Doodle-bug!\")\n  p. 227: e acute accent removed from dique\n  p. 228: PART II heading added\n  p. 283: OE ligature changed to Oe (Oeohippus)\n  p. 290: periods after the words \"Solitaire\" and \"Supplemented\"\n          removed\n  p. 290: missing period added (I a.)\n  p. 292: missing ! added after last \"Juba!\" in doublet\n  p. 303: comma changed to period (their skill will long linger.)\n  pp. 307, 314, 327, 345: ante-bellum to antebellum to match rest\n                          of text\n\nSeveral spelling and punctuation irregularies between the index and the\nmain text have been corrected without note. Several alphabetization\nerrors in the index were also corrected.\n\n\"Push the Hog's Feet under the Bed\" was removed from p. 333 of the\nindex--it was listed with no page number, and does not appear in the\ntext. Also, the poem \"A Day's Happiness\" (p. 125) was called \"A Day's\nHappenings\" in the index (pp. 328, 345)--this was corrected.\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------+","title":"Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise and Otherwise: With a Study","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":51745}