by Langston Hughes (1901 - 1967)
Abe Lincoln
Language: English
Well, I know You had a hard time in your life. And I know You knew what hard times meant. And I guess you understood That most folks ain’t much good, And as soon as good things come, They went. But I think you hoped Some folks sometimes would act Somewhat according to the fact That black or white Ain’t just white Or black.
Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1901 - 1967), "Abe Lincoln" [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 , "Abe Lincoln", 2016, first performed 2017 [ tenor and piano ], from Six Songs on Poems of Langston Hughes, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alonso Malik Pirio (b. c1992), "Abe Lincoln" [ soprano and piano ], from Langston Hughes Song Cycle, no. 1 [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: 14
Word count: 64