by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
Howdy, honey, howdy
Language: English
Do' a-stan'in' on a jar, fiah a-shinin' thoo, Ol' folks drowsin' 'roun' de place, wide awake is Lou, W'en I tap, she answah, an' I see huh 'mence to grin, "Howdy, honey, howdy, won't you step right in?" Den I step erpon de log layin' at de do', Bless de Lawd, huh mammy an' huh pap's done 'menced to sno', Now's de time, if evah, ef I's gwine to try an' win, "Howdy, honey, howdy, won't you step right in?" No use playin' on de aidge, trimblin' on de brink, W'en a body love a gal, tell huh whut he t'ink; W'en huh hea't is open fu' de love you gwine to gin, Pull yo'se'f togethah, suh, an' step right in. Sweetes' imbitation dat a body evah hyeahed, Sweetah den de music of a love-sick mockin'-bird, Comin' f'om de gal you loves bettah den yo' kin, "Howdy, honey, howdy, won't you step right in?" At de gate o' heaven w'en de sto'm o' life is pas', 'Spec' I'll be a-stan'in', 'twell de Mastah say at las', "Hyeah he stan' all weary, but he winned his fight wid sin. Howdy, honey, howdy, won't you step right in? "
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), appears in Lyrics of Love and Laughter, first published 1903 [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), "Howdy, honey, howdy", 2013 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2017-11-14
Line count: 20
Word count: 197