The rent man knocked. He said, Howdy-do? I said, What Can I do for you? He said, You know Your rent is due. I said, Listen, Before I'd pay I'd go to Hades And rot away! The sink is broke, The water don't run, And you ain't done a thing You promised to've done. Back window's cracked, Kitchen floor squeaks, There's rats in the cellar, And the attic leaks. He said, Madam, It's not up to me. I'm just the agent, Don't you see? I said, Naturally, You pass the buck. If it's money you want You're out of luck. He said, Madam, I ain't pleased! I said, Neither am I. So we agrees!
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Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Madam and the Rent Man", 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 Rent Man", 1964, published 1975 [ high voice and piano ], from Madam to You, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-07
Line count: 30
Word count: 115