Shake your brown feet, honey,
Shake your brown feet, chile,
Shake your brown feet, honey,
Shake 'em swift and wil' --
Get way back, honey,
Do that rockin' step.
Slide on over, darling,
Now! Come out
With your left.
Shake your brown feet, honey,
Shake 'em, honey chile.
Sun's going down this evening --
Might never rise no mo'.
The sun's going down this very night --
Might never rise no mo' --
So dance with swift feet, honey,
(The banjo's sobbing low)
Dance with swift feet, honey --
Might never dance no mo'.
Shake your brown feet, Liza,
Shake 'em, Liza, chile,
Shake your brown feet, Liza,
(The music's soft and wil')
Shake your brown feet, Liza,
(The banjo's sobbing low)
The sun's going down this very night --
Might never rise no mo'.
Four Negro Songs
Song Cycle by John Alden Carpenter (1876 - 1951)
Word count: 351
1. Shake your brown feet, honey [sung text not yet checked]
Authorship
- by (James Mercer) Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Song for a Banjo Dance", appears in The Weary Blues, first published 1926 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]2. The cryin' blues [sung text checked 1 time]
Hey! Hey! That's what the Blues singers say. Singing minor melodies They laugh, Hey! Hey! My man's done left me, Chile, he's gone away. My good man's left me, Babe, he's gone away. Now the cryin' blues Haunts me night and day. Hey!....Hey! Weary, Weary, Trouble, pain. Sun's gonna shine Somewhere Again. I got a railroad ticket, Pack my trunk and ride. Sing 'em sister! Got a railroad ticket, Pack my trunk and ride. And when I get on the train I'll cast my blues aside. Laughing, Hey!....Hey! Laugh a loud, Hey! Hey!
Authorship
- by (James Mercer) Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Blues Fantasy", appears in The Weary Blues, first published 1926 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]3. Jazz-Boys [sung text checked 1 time]
Sleek black boys in a cabaret. Jazz-band, jazz-band, -- Play, plAY, PLAY! Tomorrow....who knows? Dance today! White girls' eyes Call gay black boys. Black boys' lips Grin jungle joys. Dark brown girls In blond men's arms. Jazz-band, jazz-band, -- Sing Eve's charm! White ones, brown ones, What do you know About tomorrow Where all paths go? Jazz-boys, jazz-boys, -- Play, plAY, PLAY! Tomorrow .... is darkness. Joy today!
Authorship
- by (James Mercer) Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Harlem Night Club", appears in The Weary Blues, first published 1926 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]4. That soothin' song [sung text checked 1 time]
Play the blues for me. Play the blues for me. No other music 'Ll ease my misery. Sing a soothin' song. Said a soothing song, Cause the man I love's done Done me wrong. Can't you understand, O, understand A good woman's cryin' For a no-good man? Black gal like me, Black gal like me 'S got to hear a blues For her misery.
Authorship
- by (James Mercer) Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Misery", appears in Fine Clothes to the Jew, first published 1927 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]