SONGS OF f OLD SC lOw IC-NRLF fiD3 Q2fi LIBRARY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS Songs of the Old South Songs of the Old South Verses and Drawings by Howard Weeden Author of " Bandanna Ballads " and " Shadows on the Wall /'// south with the sun and keep my clime " SIDNEY LANIER NEW YORK DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1900 LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY HOWARD WEEDEN J. S. Gushing & Co. - Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A. DEDICATED TO THE ONE MOST DEAR Prefatory Note /"TAHESE modest songs and pictures, snatched JL from the fading remnant of a people now nearly passed away, are only valuable because the Past is always precious, and only " beautiful for being old and gone." Contents When the Angels Call, 3 Old Watt and the Rabbits, 6 Left Behind, 10 Silent Strings, 14 A Toast, 1 8 At Ease, 22 The Song of the Watcher, 26 Dancing in the Sun, 30 A Song, 34 Hush, 38 Nocturn, 42 Mullen, 46 Old Mis', 50 'Way down South, 54 Contents Sitting in the Sun, 58 When Manners were in Bloom, 62 Long Ago, 66 The Worst of W T ar, 70 Resting, 74 Hard Worked, 78 The Cotton Bloom, 82 At Last, 86 The Arabian Nights, 90 Frost Work, 94 WHEN THE ANGELS CALL When the Angels Call " Mammy, dear Mammy, what do you see When you lift such wistful eyes ? " " Faces, my chile, of dem dat are gone Who smile at me out of de skies." " Mammy, dear Mammy, what do you hear When you look so far away ? " 44 Voices biddin' me come, my chile, To Heaven, to rest an' stay : " An' Mammy would gladly go to dat rest When de angels beckon so But who would pillow her baby's hade If baby's Mammy should go ! " OLD WATT AND THE RABBITS Old Watt and the Rabbits Dat thing of rabbits havin' sense Like other folks, is gospel true : I've heard it tole by dem dat knows An' 'sides of dat I've seen it too ; One night I come home thro' de woods An' in a clearin' 'mungst de oaks, I saw some rabbits havin' church As pompous as de bes' of folks : Dey give experience, an' dey sung, An' den dey 'zorted, an' den prayed, An' everything was done de way Dat other sinners' church is made : An' while one preached de others slept As sensible as we all do ; An' den, de meetin' havin' broke, Dey went like us, home two an' two. An' when dey 'gin to pint an' talk 'Bout one another mean, why den I says, says I, dem rabbits sho' Got sense de same as men ! 6 LEFT BEHIND Left Behind When my ole Master took down sick I nussed him till he died, An' many a pleasant day we had Me sittin' by his side. We talked about de ole, ole times, Part fun, an' part de truth, But mostly Master mused on Her, De Mistis' of our youth : She was so bright an' quick, he said, She even died dat way An' went before him forty years A-smilin' swif an' gay : " But you slow cuss," he said to me, u You always was behin' ! " Come on ! " an' wid dat word he went An' lef his hand in mine ! 10 SILENT STRINGS Silent Strings For all dat it hangs so silent now, Dis banjo once was gay, An' it wove de dreams dat I had of her Into chunes as sweet as May. An' often I thought that its quiverin' strings Must be of myse'f a part Else how could dey tingle an' thrill as dey did If her shadow but fell on my heart ! But de dreams an' de chunes has bof passed away An' nothin' is lef for to tell her: De banjo she likes bes' to listen to now Is played by a happier feller ! A TOAST A Toast Whenever you want a drink dat shall mean De best in de way of water, Jes' manage to take it out of a gode An' den hit will taste like hit oughter. No matter de place, hit will put you at home As if you an' godes was kin, An' you know you can't feel as friendly as dat Wid a citified dipper of tin ! You can drink to de fields, you can drink to de crops You can drink to your work an' your load You can drink to everything simple an' true, When you drinks fum a country gode ! 18 AT EASE At Ease I tried to live in town, but oh ! De town was swif ' an' I was slow, So back I came to de cotton rows An' one ole mule I'm sure I knows. He don't expect no more of me, Thank God, den I expects of he ; An' I don't 'spect no more of he Den likewise he expects of me. So I don't feel ashamed no mo' Of bein' black an' mean an' slow, Because you see dis ole mule Jeff Knows 'zactly how it is his sef ' ! 22 THE SONG OF THE WATCHER The Song of the Watcher A small moon hangs in de mornin' sky, A chile is come wid de dawnin' : De soul of de Mother takes its flight Early in de mornin': De baby hastens into de worl' Eager to meet de dawnin' ; But de soul dat knows it speeds to its Rest Early in de mornin' ! DANCING IN THE SUN Dancing in the Sun A small brown ragged shadowy boy, A silhouette of fun, And a shadow as ragged and slim as himself A-dancing in the sun ; It is hard to tell the shadows apart So into each other they run, As dark and elusive they melt and they whirl 1 And mix as they dance in the sun. No matter what falls to the rest of the world No matter what's done or undone - So the day be but idle and long enough For dancing in the sun ! A SONG A Song River, roll away from me An' steal as you pass de cane A whisperin' sigh to lose it again When you reach de shinin' sea. River, roll away from me Through banks of jessamine sweet, An' bear de odorous breaf till you meet An' give it away to de sea. Sighs an' sweets you may give to de sea ; I only ask dat de notes Of dis song of Love dat softly floats You will bear to Her from me! 34 HUSH Hush In the place where they make all the drowsy things Like Sleep, and Dreams, and the rest, It is said that the drowsiest thing that is made Is a Mammy's deep dark breast. It is deep so that Life shall have one hiding-place Where its fret and its noises may cease ; And dark that the light of the garish day May have its one shadow of peace. And the angels who come down to watch over sleep Look first for these sheltering nests, And give the most beautiful dreams that they bring To the babes on the darkest breasts. NOCTURN Nocturn When de weary day in de fields is done, An' you plods todes home at night, De light dat you sees in your cabin-door Is sweet as a heabenly sight, An' it glows through de glimmerin' purple dusk Wid a light dat is tender an' true. When you know dat it's busy cookin'' for you A handsome 'possum-stew ! MULLEN Mullen You may say all you will of what doctors kin do Wid deir 'scriptions an' dat sort of talk, But if you is sick an' wants to be cured, Jis' git you a good mullen stalk! De mullen don't need fer to feel of your pulse, Nor to ask about how do you do : De tea when you Ve swallowed hit knows where to go 'Dout askin' no questions of you. Of course dere are things even mullen can't do Like makin' a fool-nigger smart, An' dey say dat de strongest dose ever took, Never cured a achin' heart. But for natchel, old-fashioned, an' everyday pains Like sensible folks do have, Jis' take a good swallow of she-mullen tea An' tech up wid she-mullen salve ! 4 6 OLD MIS' Old Mis' You never know^d Ole Mis', you say ? Well, dat's a pity, shore ; De sort of Quality she was Is gone to come no more. Her gracious word was like a Queen's, So kine an' yet so strong ; We all kep' time to her sof speech Like marchin' to a song. A nigger didn't dare to die Nor marry on our place Widout she give her blessin' an* Her 'pinion on de case ; She knowed more den de doctors, 'case God tole her what to give ; She knowed more den de preachers, 'case God tole her how to live. Dat ole plantation hit was run On 'rangements 'bout like dis : De place hit b'longed to Master, but Ole Master b'longed to Mis' ! 5 'WAY DOWN SOUTH 'Way Down South An azure sky a warm brown face Soft black eyes and a dazzling mouth A red bandanna, touched with gold And this is the color 'way down South. A bird that plays on a mocking flute A melting drawl from a smiling mouth - A tinkling banjo hid in the shade And this is the music, 'way down South. 54 SITTING IN THE SUN Sitting in the Sun Long time I wandered far from home, But now my travelling's done I'm 'way down South once more once more An' sittin' in de sun. It warms my cold old blood again An' brings back youth an' fun, An' I jes' dozes sleeps an' dreams A-sittin' in de sun. De warm wind brings de scents I knew When life was jes' begun, An' faces dat I early loved Smile at me in de sun. An' some day when de sleep is sound, My soul will slip an' run From dis ole Self dat sits an' smiles So quiet in de sun ! WHEN MANNERS WERE IN BLOOM When Manners were in Bloom You say you would paint my manners too Along wid my head, if you could ; Well, you should have lived in olden times When manners was really good ! De days was sweet an' warm an' long, Wid plenty of time to be kine, An' every one smiled an' bowed an' scraped, An' every one did it fine ! I seem to smell de locust flower Heavy after rain An' de ghostly scent of mimosa blooms Comes blowin' back again ; An' I feels de fine ole mannerly times Mix wid de scents till I seem To see ole Master as natchel as life Bow in a kin' of dream : His manners was certainly quality ways, De finest dat ever I see ; Dough folks used to laugh an' say dat he took Dem gilt-edged ways from me ! 62 .4 ti^l^HP i LONG AGO Long Ago Brightes' heavens used to smile Blue an' low, Softes' breezes used to sigh, Long Ago ! Reddest roses used to bend, Blush, an' blow, Faires' mornings used to dawn, Long Ago ! Sweetes' smile of all the smiles I used to know, Made de worl' like dat for me Long Ago ! 66 THE WORST OF WAR The Worst of War When my young master went to war He carried me wid him too, An' dough I never fired a shot Dere was plenty else to do. He wore de sword an' buttons an' spurs, An' none was so brave as he; But never so hard a thing did he do As the thing he lef ' for me. Where a storm of leaden hail fell thick He got a ball in his heart An' died wid a happy smile on his face But mine was de harder part : I led his horse back home where dey sat Expectin' him an' I saw Mistis' an' Master's hearts when dey broke An' dat was de worst of war ! RESTING Resting No slavery wasn't bad enough To make my memory fret, 'Twas only dat I was so drove I ain't got rested yet. So when I hears you talk of heaben An' wings an' flyin' 'round - I sighs an' says, " If hit suits God, I'll take heaben sittin' down ! " 74 ,^jU I HARD WORKED Hard Worked " Old man with the sweet, black, patient face, Pray tell me about your life ; It has had its many griefs, I'm sure, And its noble work and strife." " Yes, sir, dat's right : in slavery times My business used to be To hunt ole Master's specks, an' dat Did shorely pester me ; " Since Freedom come I've had a load Of politics to tote ; For if you does it right, it takes All of your strenk to vote ! " THE COTTON BLOOM The Cotton Bloom The rose has a thousand lovers because Of her delicate grace and perfume. But lovers for studier reasons give Their hearts to the cotton bloom : It grows in a dazzling ample land Of measureless breadth and room And the wealth of a splendid tropical sun Dowers this cotton bloom. And Capital keeps his eyes on the field While he hears the hum of the loom, And his anxious visage glows and pales At the nod of the cotton bloom ! AT LAST At Last De road is grown so rough an' dark I tries no more to roam I'm standin' tired by de way Per God to lead me Home. De friends I knew are gone, an' none Are lef to understan', But God, who loves an' understand, He holds me by de han'. A lonely Peace is come at las' An' now I waitin' see De hinderin' things all fall away An' leave jes' God an' me ! 86 THE ARABIAN NIGHTS The Arabian Nights When life was young an idle rhyme Could charm the happy time, And Mammy gave us, with a kiss, A song that went like this : " De Squirrel has a bushy tail, De 'Possum's tail am bare, De Raccoon's tail am ringed all 'round, De old Hare's tail aint dere." Our Mammy was the wit and sage Of all that golden age : And when she sung a song like this She steeped the night in bliss : " De Squirrel has a bushy tail, De 'Possum's tail am bare, De Raccoon's tail am ringed all 'round, De ole Hare's tail aint dere ! " * * The old friend, upon whose memory the author draws for much that is in this book, listens backward seventy years, and hears this song. 90 FROST WORK Frost Work When plenty ripe persimmons make A 'Possum hunt jis' right, An' frost has teched your spirits till Dey's feelin' kind o' light, 'Tis time to take your banjo down Fum off the cabin wall An' weave a little song in praise Of 'Possum-time an' fall ! When evenin' fires softly throw Your tremblin' shadow tall To meet an' kiss Her shadow as It beckons on de wall 'Tis time to take your banjo down An' make de music stir Wid weavin' happy songs in praise Of 'Possum-time an' Her! 94 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW RENEWED BOOKS ARE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE RECALL LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS Book Slip-25m-6,'66(G3855s4)43S N9 532923 PS3545 Weeden, H. E44 Songs of the S6 old South, LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS