by Langston Hughes (1901 - 1967)
Ballad of the Gypsy
Language: English
I went to the Gypsy’s. Gypsy settin’ all alone. I said, Tell me, Gypsy, When will my gal be home? Gypsy said, Silver, Put some silver in my hand And I’ll look into the future And tell you all I can. I crossed her palm with silver, Then she started in to lie. She said, Now, listen, Mister, She’ll be here by and by. Aw, what a lie! I been waitin’ and a—waitin’ And she ain’t come home yet. Something musta happened To make my gal forget. Uh! I hates a lyin’ Gypsy Will take good money from you, Tell you pretty stories And take your money from you– But if I was a Gypsy I would take your money, too.
Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1901 - 1967), "Ballad of the Gypsy" [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 Monica Houghton , "Ballad of the Gypsy", 2016, first performed 2017 [ tenor and piano ], from Six Songs on Poems of Langston Hughes, no. 3 [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: 23
Word count: 121