by James Ephriam McGirt (1874 - 1930)
Don't laugh, boys
Language: English
A colored, gray-haired, feeble man, Came tottering down the street, Was tackled by some happy youths That he by chance did meet. His hands were trembling on his cane, He raised his hoary head; With them he was not angry, With trembling voice he said: "Don't laugh, my boys, as this old form, I think I'm doing well; What I went through in slavery No tongue can ever tell. "I had no chance when I was young, I was with master then; But now my boys your minds are free, Make out of yourselves men. "And when you meet an aged man, Struggling along as I, Don't trouble him, for he loves you; Politely pass him by."
Authorship:
- by James Ephriam McGirt (1874 - 1930), "Don't laugh, boys", appears in Avenging the Maine, a Drunken A.B. and Other Poems, first published 1901 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Don't laugh, boys", 2010 [medium voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-12-27
Line count: 20
Word count: 117