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by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)

The Boogah Man
Language: English 
W'en de evenin' shadders
  Come a-glidin' down,
Fallin' black an' heavy
  Ovah hill an' town,
Ef you listen keerful,
  Keerful ez you kin,
So 's you boun' to notice
  Des a drappin' pin;
Den you 'll hyeah a funny
  Soun' ercross de lan';
Lay low; dat's de callin'
  Of de Boogah Man!

_Woo-oo woo-oo!_
  _Hyeah him ez he go erlong de way;_
_Woo-oo, woo-oo!_
  _Don' you wish de night 'ud t'un to day?_
_Woo-oo, woo-oo!_
  _Hide yo' little peepers 'hind yo' han;_
_Woo-oo, woo-oo!_
  _Callin' of de Boogah Man._

W'en de win 's a-shiverin'
  Thoo de gloomy lane,
An' dey comes de patterin'
  Of de evenin' rain,
W'en de owl's a-hootin',
  Out daih in de wood,
Don' you wish, my honey,
  Dat you had been good?
'T ain't no use to try to
  Snuggle up to Dan;
Bless you, dat's de callin'
  Of de Boogah Man!

Ef you loves yo' mammy,
  An' you min's yo' pap,
Ef you nevah wriggles
  Outen Sukey's lap;
Ef you says yo' "Lay me"
  Evah single night
'Fo' dey tucks de kivers
  An' puts out de light,
Den de rain kin pattah
  Win' blow lak a fan,
But you need n' bothah
  'Bout de Boogah Man!

Text Authorship:

  • by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "The Boogah Man", from 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 Mary Jordan Lea , "The Boogah Man", published 1910. [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-27
Line count: 44
Word count: 201

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