If I had some small change I’d buy me a mule, Get on that mule and Ride like a fool. If I had some greenbacks I’d buy me a Packard, Fill it up with gas and Drive that baby backward. If I had a million I’d get me a plane And everybody in America’d Think I was insane. But I ain’t got a million, Fact is, ain’t got a dime— So just by if-ing I have a good time!
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Confirmed with Langston Hughes, The Collected Works of Langston Hughes, University of Missouri Press, BkMk Press
Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1901 - 1967), "If-ing" [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 Monica Houghton , "If-ing", 2016, first performed 2017 [ tenor and piano ], from Six Songs on Poems of Langston Hughes, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 79