Gay little devils
That hide in gin
And tickle black boys
Under the chin
And make them laugh,
Gay little devils
That lurk in kisses,
And shine in the eyes
Of ebony misses,
Shine in their eyes:
Whee‑e‑e!!
O‑o‑o‑o … Boom!
Jazz band in a cabaret!
The quick red hour
Before the day.
Here I sit with my belly full
And he who might have been my brother
Walks hungry in the rain.
Here I sit with my belly full
And she I might have loved
Seeks someone in the shadows
To whom she may sell her body.
Here I sit with my belly full,
No longer the rain,
No longer the shadows for the
Woman I love,
No longer hunger.
Success is a great big beefsteak
With onions on it,
And I eat.
It’s because you are so young—
You do not understand.
But we are old
As the jungle trees
That bloomed forever,
Old as the forgotten rivers
That flowed into the earth.
Surely we know what you do not know:
Joy of living,
Uselessness of things.
You are too young to understand yet.
Build another skyscraper
Touching the stars.
We sit with our backs against a tree
And watch skyscrapers tumble
And stars forget.
Solomon built a temple
And it must have fallen down.
It isn’t here now.
We know some things, being old,
You do not understand.
Once you were beautiful—
Now,
Hunched in the cold,
Nobody cares
That you are old.
Once you were lovely—
Now,
In the street,
No one remembers
Your lips were sweet.
Oh, withered old woman
Of rue Fontaine,
Nobody but death
Will kiss you again.
I know now
That Notre Dame is in Paris.
And the Seine is more to me now
Than a wriggling line on a map
Or a name in travel stories.
I know now
There is a Crystal Palace in Antwerp
Where a hundred women sell their naked bodies,
And the night-lovers of sailors
Wait for men on docks in Genoa.
I know now
That a great golden moon
Like a picture-book moon
Really rises behind palm groves
In Africa,
And tom-toms do beat
In village squares under the mango trees.
I know now
That Venice is a church dome
And a net-work of canals,
Tangiers a whiteness under sun.
I thought
It was Tangiers I wanted,
Or the gargoyles of Notre Dame,
Or the Crystal Palace in Antwerp,
Or the golden palm-grove moon in Africa,
Or a church dome and a net-work of canals.
Happiness lies nowhere,
Some old fool said,
If not within oneself.
It’s a sure thing
Notre Dame is in Paris—
But I thought it was Tangiers I wanted.
I take my dreams
And make of them a bronze vase,
And a wide round fountain
With a beautiful statue in its center,
And a song with a broken heart,
And I ask you:
Do you understand my dreams?
Sometimes you say you do
And sometimes you say you don’t.
Either way
It doesn’t matter.
I continue to dream.
Sun’s a settin’,
This is what I’m gonna sing.
Sun’s a settin’,
This is what I’m gonna sing:
I feels de blues a comin’,
Wonder what de blues’ll bring?
Sun’s a risin’,
This is gonna be ma song.
Sun’s a risin’,
This is gonna be ma song.
I could be blue but
I been blue all night long.
I’m a bad, bad man
Cause everbody tells me so.
I’m a bad, bad man.
Everbody tells me so.
I takes ma meanness and ma licker
Everwhere I go.
I beats ma wife an’
I beats ma side gal too.
Beats ma wife an’
Beats ma side gal too.
Don’t know why I do it but
It keeps me from feelin’ blue.
I’m so bad I
Don’t even want to be good.
So bad, bad, bad I
Don’t even want to be good.
I’m goin’ to de devil an’
I wouldn’t go to heaben if I could.
Starter!
Her face is pale
In the doorway light.
Her lips blood red
And her skin blue white.
Taxi!
I’m tired.
Deep … River. …
O, God, please!
The river and the moon hold memories.
Cornets play.
Dancers whirl.
Death, be kind
What was the cover charge, kid?
To a little drowned girl.
Only dumb guys fight.
If I wasn’t dumb
I wouldn’t be fightin’.
I could make six dollars a day
On the docks
And I’d save more than I do now.
Only dumb guys fight.
Lemme roll ’em, boy.
I got ma tail curled!
If a seven don’t come
’Leven ain’t far away.
An’ if I craps,
Dark baby,
Trouble
Don’t last all de time.
Hit ’em, bones!
Carried me to de court,
Judge was settin’ there.
Looked all around me,
Didn’t have a friend nowhere.
Judge Pierce he says, Mary.
Old Judge says, Mary Jane,
Ever time I mounts this bench
I sees yo’ face again.
O, Lawd! O, Lawd!
O, Lawd … Lawdee!
Seems like bad licker,
Judge, won’t let me be.
Old Judge says you’s a drunkard.
Fact is you worries me.
Gwine give you eighteen months
So licker’ll let you be.
Eighteen months in jail!
O, eighteen months locked in!
Won’t be so bad in jail.
But I’ll miss ma gin.
O, please sir, Judge, have mercy!
Have mercy, please, on me!
Old hard-faced Judge says eighteen months
Till licker’ll let you be.
A Rounder’s Song
O, you can’t find a buddy
Any old time
’Ll help you out
When you ain’t got a dime.
He was a friend o’ mine.
They called him Do Dirty
Cause he was black
An’ had cut his gal
An’ shot a man in de back.
Ma friend o’ mine.
But when I was hungry,
Had nothin’ to eat,
He bought me corn bread
An’ a stew o’ meat.
Good friend o’ mine.
An’ when de cops got me
An’ put me in jail
If Dirty had de money,
He’d go ma bail.
O, friend o’ mine.
That night he got kilt
I was standin’ in de street.
Somebody comes by
An’ says yo’ boy is gettin’ beat.
Ma friend o’ mine.
But when I got there
An’ seen de ambulance
A guy was sayin’
He ain’t got a chance.
Best friend o’ mine.
An’ de ones that kilt him—
Damn their souls—
I’m gonna fill ’em up full o’
Bullet holes.
Ma friend o’ mine.
I must say
Yes, sir,
To you all the time.
Yes, sir!
Yes, sir!
All my days
Climbing up a great big mountain
Of yes, sirs!
Rich old white man
Owns the world.
Gimme yo’ shoes
To shine.
Yes,
