by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967)
I've known rivers
Language: English
I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow
of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the Pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down
to New Orleans and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden
in the sunset.
I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, herausgegeben und übertragen von Eva Hesse und Paridam von dem Knesebeck, München: Nymphenburger Verlag, 1953, page 18.
Note: all indented lines were attached to the previous line in the original publication; the lines have been broken to fit on the screen.
First published in Crisis, June 1921.Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "The Negro speaks of rivers", appears in The Weary Blues, first published 1921 [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), "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", 2008 [ low voice or medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jean Berger, né Arthur Schloßberg (1909 - 2002), "I've known rivers", published 1953 [ men's chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Margaret Bonds (1913 - 1972), "The Negro speaks of rivers", published 1942 [ voice and piano; or SATB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Howard Swanson (1907 - 1978), "The Negro speaks of rivers", published 1949 [ low voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Thompson (b. 1954), "The Negro speaks of rivers", 2004 [ tenor and piano ], from Dream Variations, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Wesley Work, III (1901 - 1967), "I've known rivers", published 1955 [ SSAATTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Paridam von dem Knesebeck) (Eva Hesse) , "Der Neger spricht von Strömen", appears in Mein dunklen Hände. Moderne Negerlyrik in Original und Nachdichtung, copyright ©
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 103