by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
Bedtime 's come fu' little boys
Language: English
Bedtime 's come fu' little boys. Po' little lamb. Too tiahed out to make a noise, Po' little lamb. [You gwine t']1 have to-morrer sho'? Yes, you tole me dat befo', Don't you fool me, chile, no mo', Po' little lamb. You been bad de livelong day, Po' little lamb. Th'owin' stones an' runnin' 'way, Po' little lamb. My, but you 's a-runnin' wil', Look jes' lak some po' folks chile; Mam' gwine whup you atter while, Po' little lamb. Come hyeah! you mos' tiahed to def, Po' little lamb. Played yo'se'f clean out o' bref, Po' little lamb. See dem han's now -- sich a sight! Would you evah b'lieve dey's white? Stan' still [twell I wash 'em]2 right, Po' little lamb. Jes' cain't hol' yo' haid up straight, Po' little lamb. Had n't oughter played so late, Po' little lamb. Mammy do' know whut she 'd do, Ef de chillun's all lak you; You 's a caution now fu' true, Po' little lamb. Lay yo' haid down in my lap, Po' little lamb. Y' ought to have a right good slap, Po' little lamb. You been runnin' roun' a heap. Shet dem eyes an' don't you peep, Dah now, dah now, go to sleep, Po' little lamb.
C. Jacobs-Bond sets stanzas 1-3, 5
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Jacobs-Bond: "Gwine to"
2 Jacobs-Bond: "while I was dem"
Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "Lullaby", appears in Lyrics of the Hearthside, first published 1899 [author's text checked 1 time 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 William Wallace Gilchrist (1846 - 1916), "Southern lullaby", published 1897 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carrie Jacobs-Bond (1861 - 1946), "Po' lil' lamb!", published c1901, stanzas 1-3,5 [ voice and piano ], from Eleven small songs as unpretentious as the wild rose, no. 10, Chicago : Carrie Jacobs-Bond & Son [sung text checked 1 time]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-27
Line count: 40
Word count: 208