by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967)
Song for a Dark Girl See original
Language: English
Way Down South in Dixie (Break the heart of me) They hung my black young lover To a crossroads tree. Way Down South in Dixie (Bruised body high in air) I asked the white Lord Jesus What was the use of prayer. Way Down South in Dixie (Break the heart of me) Love is a naked shadow On a gnarled and naked tree.
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Composition:
- Set to music by Dorothy Rudd Moore (1940 - 2022), "Song for a Dark Girl", published 1976 [ soprano, piano, and violin ], from Sonnets on Love, Rosebuds, and Death, no. 5
Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Song for a Dark Girl", appears in Fine Clothes to the Jew, first published 1927
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-10-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 64