A man knocked three times. I never seen him before. He said, Are you Madam? I said, What's the score? He said, I reckon You don't know my name, But I've come to call On you just the same. I stepped back Like he had a charm. He said, I really Don't mean no harm. I'm just Old Death And I thought I might Pay you a visit Before night. He said, You're Johnson -- Madam Alberta K.? I said, Yes -- but Alberta Ain't goin' with you today! No sooner had I told him Than I awoke. The doctor said, Madam, Your fever's broke -- Nurse, put her on a diet, And buy her some chicken. I said, Better buy two -- Cause I'm still here kickin'!
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Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Madam and the wrong visitor", appears in One-Way Ticket, first published 1949 [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 Elie Siegmeister (1909 - 1991), "Madam and the wrong visitor", 1964, published 1975 [ high voice and piano ], from Madam to You, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-08-27
Line count: 28
Word count: 123