Way Down South in Dixie (Break the heart of me) They hung my [dark]1 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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View original text (without footnotes)1 Moore: "black"
Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Song for a Dark Girl", appears in Fine Clothes to the Jew, first published 1927 [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 Ricky Ian Gordon (b. 1956), "Song for a Dark Girl" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- 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 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hermann Reutter (1900 - 1985), "Song for a Dark Girl", published 1958 [ baritone and piano ], from Meine dunklen Hände, no. 4, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Silvestre Revueltas (1899 - 1940), "Song for a Dark Girl", published 1948 [ voice and piano ], also set in Spanish (Español) [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Paridam von dem Knesebeck (c1911 - 2000) , "Lied für ein dunkles Mädchen", appears in Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, copyright © and by Eva Hesse (1925 - 2020) , "Lied für ein dunkles Mädchen", appears in Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, copyright © ; composed by Hermann Reutter.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Josef Luitpold Stern (1886 - 1966) ; composed by Alexander Zemlinsky.
- Also set in Spanish (Español), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , copyright © ; composed by Silvestre Revueltas.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-10-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 64
Tief im Süden Dixies [ ... ]
Confirmed with Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, herausgegeben und übertragen von Eva Hesse und Paridam von dem Knesebeck, München: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1953, page 39.
Text Authorship:
- by Paridam von dem Knesebeck (c1911 - 2000), "Lied für ein dunkles Mädchen", appears in Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, copyright © [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- by Eva Hesse (1925 - 2020), "Lied für ein dunkles Mädchen", appears in Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, copyright © [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Song for a Dark Girl", appears in Fine Clothes to the Jew, first published 1927
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Hermann Reutter (1900 - 1985), "Lied für ein dunkles Mädchen", published 1958 [ baritone and piano ], from Meine dunklen Hände, no. 4, also set in English [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Josef Luitpold Stern (1886 - 1966) ; composed by Alexander Zemlinsky.
- Also set in Spanish (Español), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , copyright © ; composed by Silvestre Revueltas.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
This text was added to the website: 2005-10-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 51