by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
Accountability
Language: English
Folks ain't got no right to censuah othah folks about dey habits; Him dat giv' de squir'ls de bushtails made de bobtails fu' de rabbits. Him dat built de gread big mountains hollered out de little valleys, Him dat made de streets an' driveways wasn't shamed to make de alleys. We is all constructed diff'ent, d'ain't no two of us de same; We cain't he'p ouah likes an' dislikes, ef we'se bad we ain't to blame. Ef we'se good, we need n't show off, case you bet it ain't ouah doin' We gits into su'ttain channels dat we jes' cain't he'p pu'suin'. But we all fits into places dat no othah ones could fill, An' we does the things we has to, big er little, good er ill. John cain't tek de place o' Henry, Su an' Sally ain't alike; Bass ain't nuthin' like a suckah, chub ain't nuthin' like a pike. W'en you come to t'ink about it, how it's all planned out it's splendid. Nothin's done er evah happens, 'dout hit's somefin' dat's intended; Don't keer whut you does, you has to, an' hit sholy beats de dickens,-- Viney, go put on de kittle, I got one o' mastah's chickens.
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "Accountability", appears in Howdy Honey Howdy, first published 1905 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Accountability", 2009 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
This text (or a part of it) is used in a work
- by Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork (b. 1941), "Accountability / A Hymn / An Ante-Bellum Sermon", 1994, from Common Ground: An Operatic Songfest, no. 9
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 202