CHAPTER IX: IMAGERY, STYLE, AND POETIC EFFORT
A Story-teller.
The Negro's skill as a story-teller is well known. He has unusual power to project dramatic scenes into his story and to portray the more ordinary pictures with becoming contrast. One listens to the Negro story-teller and sees what he tells about.
The songs of the Negro embody this ability to a large degree; much has already been said concerning the Negro's visualization. The concreteness of the pictures and the vividness of his imagination make his
songs a reality. The songs and verses which have
been given show better than any discussion the mental
imagery of the Negro. Every line stands for its own
striking imagery. Nevertheless an effort will be made
to review some of the most characteristic examples as
they are found in his songs. No attempt will be made
to enumerate even a large part of the detailed il-
lustrations; to do so would be to enumerate the great
majority of words and lines that occur in the Negro
songs. However, the visualization, the rhyming dy-
namics of his mental imagery, and the tendency
toward rhymed expression will prove both interesting and instructive.
The Negro's Descriptive Art.
The Negro not only sees objects and persons clearly, but he makes others see what he himself sees. His pictures stand out in
bold relief; they are painted on appropriate backgrounds. The total impression, be it serious or ludicrous, is formed with unchangeable definiteness.
A number of typical word-pictures are given promiscuously below. A simple experiment will show the ability of the Negro to visualize and at the same time offer pleasant entertainment. Let each stanza be taken separately and read; let the impression be formed quickly and the extent of the completeness of the men-
tal picture ascertained with exactness. Then compare
this with the actual scene described and see with what
unerring power the picture has been forced upon the
mind. It may well be ventured that such imagery
cannot be surpassed.
Judge an' jury all in de stan',
Great big law books in deir han'.
Clothes all dirty, ain't got no broom,
Ole dirty clothes all hangin' in de room.
Ask me to de table, thought I'd take a seat,
First thing I seed wus big chunk o' meat.
Carried po' bully to cemetary, people all standin' round,
When de preacher say amen, lay po' body down.
Policemens all dressed in blue,
Comin' down the sidewalk two by two.
Standin' on de corner, didn't mean no harm,
Policeman grab me by my arm.
Went down to country to see my frien',
In come yaller dog burnin' the win'.
Went to sea, sea look so wide,
Thought about my babe, hung my head an' cried.
Railroad Bill mighty bad man,
Shoot dem lanterns out'n de brakeman's han'.
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 271
Went up town Friday night — went to kill a kid,
Reach my han' in my pocket — nuthin' to kill him wid.
All de wimmins come to town all dressed in red,
When dey heard dat bully was dead.
All he want is water an' coal,
Poke his head out window, see drivers roll.
I pull out my gun an' begin to fire,
Shot that bully right through the eye.
Satisfied, tickled to death,
Got a bottle of whiskey on my shelf.
Went up town wid my hat in my hand,
"Good mornin' judge, done killed my man."
Goin' have hump on my back, so many chickens in my
sack,
Big hounds on my track, never did look back.
Well I woke up this mornin' by city clock bell,
Niggers up town givin' cocaine hell.
Carried him off on hoo-doo wagon,
Brought him back wid his feet a draggin'.
Turn me over Lilly, turn me over slow,
May be las' time, I don't know.
Said to jailer how can I sleep?
All 'round my bedside policemens creep.
Again, the reader has already formed a definite opinion
of Stagolee's appearance from
Stagolee, Stagolee, what's dat in yo' grip?
Nuthin' but my Sunday clothes, Pm goin' to take a trip.
Stagolee, Stagolee where you been so long?
I been out on battle field shootin' an' havin' fun.
272 The Negro and His Songs
And "everybody knowed when dey see Stagolee comin'
to give Stagolee de road." Likewise he has the
"bully" appearance when he tells his wife good-bye,
when he goes out of the house with a smoking gun and
when he lays the man on the floor with "dat same ole
fohty-fo'."
One but needs to recall the many pictures portrayed
in the spirituals to see that the Negro's imagery is
even more vivid in his religious state of feeling than
at other times. There is place for only a reference to
them.
Well you ought to been dere to see de sight,
People's come runnin' both cullud an' white.
Upon mountain Jehobah spoke,
Out of his mouth come fire an' smoke.
Where was Ezekiel when de church fell down?
Down in de valley wid his head hung down.
Ezekiel said he spied de train a comin',
We got on board an' she never stopped runnin'.
Sometimes I hangs my head an' cries,
But Jesus gwine to wipe my weepin' eyes.
Some o' dese mornin's bright an' fair,
Gwine to hitch my wings an' try de air.
No more vivid scenes have been portrayed than the
descriptions of heaven and hell. The grandeur of the
golden streets and the terrors of the dark and the
dismal place stand out strong and clear. The walk-
ing and talking with the Lord and with Jesus, the
seeing of the angels and the eating of good things while
eternal rest obtains are unmistakably bright pictures.
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 273
Likewise the description of the devil and the Lord, of
the judgment and the resurrection are unequaled.
If one wishes to realize the full force of the descrip-
tions let him turn back and read them. The Negro
asks:
What's dat yonder dat I see?
and answers with truthfulness,
Big tall angel comin' after me,
and speaks truly when he says, "Dem pooty angels
I shall see," for he already sees them. So it is with the
long white robes and starry crowns and golden slippers
which he longs to realize in a tangible form. His
natural vivid imagination is heightened by his reli-
gious fervor and excitement.
Descriptive phrases. It will be observed that the
Negro s imagery is assisted in its expression by the use
of suitable adjectives and phrases. A word which
would ordinarily mean little or nothing if used alone
becomes a concrete picture when connected with the
adjective or phrase; and it is the happy combination
that gives the Negro his advantages. Childlike
thoughts employ adjectives that give the most direct
and present description. The following phrases il-
lustrate typical word pictures:
Big hounds.
Great big law books.
Great big 'possum.
Great big nigger jes black as tar.
274 The Negro and His Songs
Po' boy long way from home.
Brown-skin man.
Luvin' man o' mine.
That easy-going man o' mine.
Nowhere to lay my weary head.
Bad man, bully man, Desperado Bill.
A luvin' dime.
A bad man, bad as hell, I know.
Ole corn whiskey.
One finish' fight.
Jet-black gal.
Coolin' board.
Hoo-doo wagon.
Fallin' den.
Dyin' day.
Dancin' shoes.
You sho lookin' warm.
Boozy an' foolish 'bout her head.
Brown-skin woman, chocolate to de bone.
Listening im There are also many auditory images
and they are not less distinct and concrete than are
the visual ones. The Negro hears his Lord "a-calling"
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 275
to him; he hears "his Jesus" speaking to him. He
hears his Lord "a-rumblin' in, the sky"; he hears
Gabriel blow his trumpet and he hears the tomb-
stones bursting. He hears the sinners crying and
calling and he hears the thunder rolling. He hears the
angels shouting and he hears Satan stumbling. He is
alert, quick, his eyes strained to gain new visions,
his ears tuned to catch every sound; and he applies
these to himself as well as to the future state. He
sings, too,
I'm goin' to heaven on eagle's wing,
All don't see me goin' to hear me sing.
Could he combine sight and hearing for a more vivid
picture? Again the Negro has unusual powers for
picturing the sound of the running train; he hears
its whistle ancl its bell, he hears the puffing of the
engine and sees the fireman putting in the coal. He
hears the ringing of the "city clock bell" and the noise
of the throng of Negroes up-town. Indeed, he can
hear as well as he can see.
Thought I heard that K. C. whistle blow,
Blow lak she never blow befo!
Wake up, ole rounder, it's time to go,
Thought I heard dat whistle blow.
Captain, captain, how can it be,
Whistles keep blowin', you keep a-workin' me?
Heard a mighty rumblin' in de sky,
Mus' be my Lord a passin' by.
Heard a rumblin' at de water trough,
Mus' be my captain an' water boss.
276 The Negro and His Songs
Me'n my pahdner an' two'r three mo',
Goin' raise hell 'round pay car do'.
Git up in mornin' when ding-dong rings,
Look on table, same ole things.
I hate to hear my honey call my name,
Call me so lonesome an' so sad.
I heard such a knockin' at mu do',
Such a knockin' as I never heard befo'.
Personalities. Again, the Negro visualizes persons
with accurate and vivid portrayal. Whoever is men-
tioned in his song stands out a distinct figure. The
place he occupies and the thoughts associated with him
give him distinctness of some sort. The partial analysis of
the religious songs showed the prominence given to
the scriptural characters. Moses and Abraham, Eze-
kiel and Isaiah, Peter and John, Mary and Martha,
together with the others are pictured in no uncertain
terms. Jehovah, Jesus, Lord, and the devil are the
chief personages; the Father and Son are magnified.
The angels, too, are given conspicuous places. So,
too, the sinner, the gambling and dancing man, the
hypocrite and the mourner, the preacher, brothers, and
sisters occupy prominent places in the old spirituals.
In the secular songs personages occupy less prominence
in the total of song; the Negro has no celebrities to
sing, no heroes to praise, save the notorious character.
The latter is given due prominence; he is described
and visualized with skill. But for the most part the
characters are indefinite personages depicted with
definite characteristics. The secular songs tell of the
jailer, the captain, the judge, the police, the sheriff,
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 277
the bartender, the doctor, the engineer. They sing
of the eastman, the rounder, the hobo, the bum, the
creeper, the bully. The lover, and the "babies" and
"honeys," the father and mother, the mother-in-law,
and the brother-in-law make the list almost complete.
"Marster" and "Missus" occur only occasionally.
Time and Place. Time and place for the Negro have
both a definite and an indefinite significance. With
him long years are "as a watch in the night." There
is no time unity in his songs; he may as easily shift the
place of action from one locality to another as to
follow its unity. However, in each picture itself,
both time and place are distinct. The Negro re-
members the time and the exact circumstance that his
imagery paints for that moment. In the secular
songs time is almost always in the past; in the reli-
gious song it is often in the future. The present is of
little importance with the Negro. He sees time with
his eyes closed. "Three long weeks" he visualizes,
"since I et a good square meal"; "six long months
since I have slept in bed." But most of the events are
sung in the recent past. It is the "last week," or
"last Friday night," or Tuesday, Saturday or Sunday
night. "Last night and the night before," "the day
I left my home," "since you been gone," "so long,
so long" and similar designations are most common.
"All night long" and "all day" or "all the time" and
"all yo' time" are expressive of the common conception
of time. The Negro thus has a general standard of
designation rather than an exact measurement; but
his imagery transposes each into its proper visual
setting. With the religious song, time is mostly
looking toward the judgment day and the time for the
278 The Negro and His Songs
sinner to die; time is "when." "What you gwine do
when de devil git yo?" certainly has the time element
and is most assuredly vivid enough for the singer, but
he has no idea when it is. It is looking backward to
the time when "the Lord done set me free" and for-
ward to the "promised land." Further than this, there
is little designation of time. The crucifixion of Christ,
the weeping and mourning of Mary and Martha, the
drinking of the wine and the praying in the wilderness
are but emblematic of the ideal of the future pro-
jected from the past.
In the place relations, it is either hell or the Utopian
future, with little of the former; or the place des-
ignated is that where a religious experience of the
singer or a saint has occurred. On the mountain, in
the valley, beyond the Jordan, at the pool, in the prison,
on the sea are historical places that lead to the vivid
conception of a moment which is suddenly transposed
into the present or future. For vividness and rapid-
ity of shifting scenes, the Negro singer is hard to
beat. Much the same is true in the secular songs
where general designations are indicated. But in-
asmuch as his earthly songs deal more with earthly
localities, there must necessarily be a difference in the
visualization of places. Here the Negro is at once in
his home and on the road; both here and there and
anywhere. "If you don't find me in Atlanta, go to
Larkey's dance; if you don't find me at Larkey's
dance, come to sweet Birmingham," and so on. There
is no Southern state in which his scenes are not laid
ad libitum. And the towns most commonly known by
the Negroes are most often sung; the Negro localizes
everything when he desires to do so. The same
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 279
ability with which he adapts and composes new songs
suggests that the scene may be effectively and rapidly
changed; indeed it is scarcely a time process. New
Orleans, Atlanta, Birmingham and Memphis are fa-
vored cities; Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia,
and Mississippi are the favorite states. Altogether
the Negro's imagery of places is much like that of time;
the place may be anywhere before he designates the
word; when once designated, it becomes that very
moment an exact concrete picture. The place matters
little in the effectiveness of the picture; the circum-
stances of the moment make the occasion, but when
once the occasion is associated with the place, that
place is for the moment fixed. Again, the superlative
of a heightened imagery is evident.
The Dominant Self. Feeling, emotions, and mental
imagery of unusual vividness combined with the
Negro's expressiveness give rise to a very natural
spontaneity. If the Negro visualizes with unusual
power, is it not because he puts himself into the proc-
ess naturally and unreservedly? The self-feeling is
strong in his pictures. The individual plays the most
important part and the singer is most generally the
subject or the object of the action concerning which
he sings. "I" and "my" are the keynotes to the
great majority of situations. Next to the first person,
"you" follows prominently; but it will be seen that the
second person is ordinarily only the object-relation of
the first person. "You" must do something, but it is
either something that "I" have done, think you ought
to do, or something that you must do in order to
understand what "I" now understand. One need only
glance at the religious song, to get an idea of the im-
280 The Negro and His Songs
portance of the first person in all actions. The Negro
sings :
Pm goin' to heaven an' / don't want to stop,
An' / don't want to be no stumblin' block.
All my sins done taken away.
/ went down in de valley to pray;
My soul got happy an' / stayed all day.
Pm goin' to ride on mornin' train,
All don't see me goin' to hear me sing.
/ wouldn't be sinner, tell you the reason why;
God might call me an wouldn't be ready to die.
Ever since my Lord done set me free,
This ole worl' been a hell to me.
I went down in de valley, / fell upon my knees,
/ begged an' cried for pardon, de Lord did give me ease.
And so it is throughout the entire mass of religious
songs. In the secular song the first personal pronoun
seems even more prominent than in the spirituals.
The third person and the circumstances do not exist
except as the singer sees them; as in the religious song
the second person is used only in its relation to the
first. One needs only to suggest the songs themselves
in order to recall the imagery of the singer. "I'm po'
boy long way from home," "I ain't gotta friend in
this world," "I talk to my babe all night long," "I
got up in the mornin', couldn't keep from cryin',
thinkin' 'bout that brown-skin man o' mine," "I got
de blues but too damn mean to cry," "I wus goin'
down railroad," "I'm lookin' for de bully boy, ""I'm
gamblin' for my honey," "If I had listened to what
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 281
my mommer said," "If I die in Arkansas," and almost
innumerable similar references to the first person show
that the visualization reflects the same concrete
imagery that has been observed elsewhere.
Contrast and Antithesis. The colloquial style of
the Negro's song language is but a reflection of his
imagery. For the Negro there is largely himself and
the other person. He is telling something to some-
body or he is asking something or commanding and
advising something. The conversational tone pre-
vails in general throughout the songs. Thus it is
that the second person assists the first person in the
completion of the image. Thus in the religious songs:
You oughter been dere to see the sight.
What you gwine do when de devil git you ?
You better git ready, I believe.
You may talk about me just as you please.
Don't let this harvest pass, do you die an' go to hell.
Mind how you walk on de cross, you' foot may slip an'
yo' soul git lost.
Lay down yo' sinful ways.
Where are you going?
Why does you tarry?
You must have that true religion.
Go an' tell it on the mountain.
There is much admonition and feeling of superiority
on the part of the "IV over the "you" in the religious
282 The Negro and His Songs
songs. In the secular songs, there is less of this spirit
and more of the inter-relation between the singer an4
the person spoken to. For instance, the atmosphere
of the following colloquies reflects the general attitude :
You brought me here and threw me down.
Tell yo' baby good-bye.
If you don't want me, please don't dog me 'round.
Ain't no use for you tryin' to send me 'round.
You sho lookin' warm.
You broke de heart o' many a girl, but you never will
break dis heart o' mine.
Just as the "I" stands out in the contrast to the
"you," so the common imagery often depicts scenes
in antithesis to each other. The contrast of scenes is
a favorite portrayal with the Negro; he thus vis-
ualizes the two at once. Satan thought he had me,
but I broke his chains and am free at last; Satan threw
a block at the mourner and thought it would hit him,
but "the rock for hell an' me for heaven." Again,
You can hinder me here, but you can't hinder me dere.
You may talk about me jus' as you please,
But I goin' talk 'bout you when I git on my knees.
When I wus a sinner I loved my distance well,
But when I come to know myself was standin' over hell.
God don't talk like a natural man,
But he talk so man can understan'.
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 283
Well I may be sick an' cannot rise,
But I meet you at de station when de train comes by.
You take Shine's money, but you can't take mine.
Carried him to cemetery, but failed to bring him back.
Hattie don't love me, but Esther do.
Yellow girl I do despise,
But a jet black girl I can't denies.
Conditional Sentences. Very similar to the antithesis
just mentioned is that which the Negro makes with his
conditional clauses. He imagines that, whereas his
condition or the situation is one thing now, it would
be another if other circumstances prevailed. Both
the ideal and the unreal are expressed in the con-
ditional sentences most common:
If I had my weight in gold
I'd have the women under my control.
If I had my weight in lime.
I'd beat my captain all the time.
If I had er died when I wus young,
I would not had dis risk to run.
If you want to go to heaven when you die,
Jus' stop yo' tongue from tellin' lies.
If you wan' to dream dem heavenly dreams,
Lay yo' head on Jordan's stream.
If I had listened to what mamma said,
I would a been at home in mamma's bed.
Descending Rhythm and Flourish. No picture for
the Negro is complete without its finishing flourish.
284 The Negro and His Songs
This may be in the nature of rhythm and music alone,
or it may be the insertion of words and phrases at the
end of the lines in which the imagery reaches its
climax. Often the last stroke of his brush resembles
the wiping off of the colors rather than an integral
part of the picture. Thus Stagolee is represented as
being in several positions, but after each the Negro
sings, "O dat man, bad man, Stagolee done come,"
or some other similar phrase. So it is with Railroad
Bill and the other "bullies." It would seem that the
desire for harmonizing pause and imagery needs the
chorus line or exclamation for its completion. The
Negro tells a story and adds, "Ain't I a story-teller,
Lawd! Lawd!"; he sings a song but feels that he is
"sho God a songster." He dances a jig, but ends it
gracefully with a "swing-corner" motion of his leg,
or a sweep of arms and body. In other words, the
descending rhythm is not only necessary, but also
incorporates in it the tendency toward recklessness and
gives polish to the final scene or thought. Take some
typical choruses in the Negro songs for further
illustration :
Take yo' time, take yo' time.
'Tain't nobody's bizness but my own.
Yet, I ain't bother, yet, I ain't bother yet.
Learn me to let all women alone.
O my babe, won't you come home?
O me, O my, baby, what have I done?
O my baby, O my baby, honey babe.
Ain't goin' ter rain no mo'.
Sorry, sorry, can't be yo' warbler any mo'.
Stagolee done kill dat bully now.
Wus lookin' fer Railroad Bill.
I'm lookin' fer de bully of this town.
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 285
It's one mo' rounder gone.
My man certainly got to treat me right.
Lawd, Lawd, Lawd.
Baby, let the deal go down.
Shout to glory, Lord, you shall be free.
In the religious songs the chorus represents more
unity in its relation to the main theme of the religious
thought. The chorus line itself, however, is not or-
dinarily of kindred meaning to the individual stanzas
of many of the songs. Here the chorus serves rather
to assist in the music and rhythm than to assist the
imagery of the song. Except for the feeling imagery,
the chorus of the spirituals represents only a satis-
faction gained from the sense of fitness in sound and
words. The chorus is often half of the song, in which
case an exception to the rule follows. For instance
the Negro sees a very distinct picture in "Dere's one,
dere's two, dere's three little angels."
Exclamation and Variation. What the chorus line
is to the stanza, the added exclamations and inter-
jections are to the line. The same effort at finishing
the picture as it is felt by the Negro is seen in the
insertion of many words at the beginning of a line or
stanza and at the end. Some illustrations of this
tendency have been given. The Negro sings a "one-
verse" song, making the stanza consist of the line
repeated four times; but it is almost imperative with
him that he add at the beginning of the last repetition
or at the end of all some such word as "oh," "0 my,"
or "well." Likewise such an expression is often
added at the end of the second and third lines, leaving
the first and fourth free. The most common words
thus used are: well, yes, and, it's, say, said, yet, Lord
286 The Negro and His Songs
babe, baby, O my babe, honey, sho God, and for.
To illustrate further:
Standin' on de corner, didn't mean no harm.
Policeman grab me by de arm,
Wus lookin' for Railroad Bill.
Now in the last line he may sing either, "Wus lookin'
for Railroad Bill," or simply "Lookin' for Railroad
Bill." Again he may sing it, as indeed he does do
often, "Says he wus lookin' for Railroad Bill." In
each case the imagery is slightly different and the
Negro loves to make the variation. As has been
indicated, the skillful variation which the singer gives
to verses of his song makes his repetition pleasant
rather than tiring. In the strict sense of the word,
the Negro never repeats. Sometimes the variation
is in music and tone, sometimes it is in dialect, while
again it is in the form of the added words just given.
In the last illustration, when he sings, "Says he wus
lookin' fer Railroad Bill," the Negro sees an additional
scene of himself pleading innocent and the explana-
tion of the policeman that he had mistaken him for
Bill. This added imagery is easily but character-
istically made by the simple insertion of the extra
words.
Onomatofioetic Words. There are fewer onomato-
poetic words and lines than would be expected of the
Negro. While many of his work-song phrases arise
from the natural-sound process, there are compar-
atively few words that manifestly have their origin
in the sound of the object represented. However, the
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 287
Negro's imagery often combines rhythmic words into
phrases that certainly imitate the sound represented
in the verse. Reference has already been made to
the railroad songs with the accompanying music.
This is undoubtedly one of the most effective of the
natural-sound combinations. But such songs are most-
ly instrumental; the words do not attempt the imita-
tion of the train except in perhaps accidental cases
and as they are combined with the music. The slow
singing of "When de train come along I meet you at
de station, when de train come along" seems to contain
the principal conception embodied in the sound of the
train. So, too, "Slow train run through Arkansas,
carryin' Eddy Jones" is sung to the funeral chant
that might perhaps be represented in the slow train;
at least the Negro often conceives it so. Again, in
"Thought I heard dat K. C. whistle blow, blow lak
she never blow befo\" the Negro clearly hears the
train "blow" and puts the sound into his singing.
Other efforts are :
Hear de car wheel rollin' an' a rumblin' through the Ian'.
Hearse wheel rollin' an' graveyard openin' !
Rain keep a droppin'!
Lightning flashin' an' thunder rolling and roaring.
Ship's a reelin' an' a rockin'.
This ole worl's a reelin' an' a rockin'.
When the ding-dong sounds.
Rapped on do', do' was locked.
288 The Negro and His Songs
Swing an' clang an' don't get lost.
Come wid a fohty links o' chain.
She made a whoop, she made a squall.
Gun say "blop," hog say "slip."
Rhyme and Rhythm. Enough has been said con-
cerning the characteristic verses of the Negro's songs
to indicate the nature of the dynamics of his mental
imagery. The unconscious effort toward rhyme may
almost be termed a tropism. The satisfaction de-
rived from the visualizing, hearing, and pronouncing
of big-sounding words may be more than euphonistic;
it may be called "megaphonistic." It is not only
rhythm which the Negro seeks in his verses, but rhyme
also. The rhyme is undoubtedly one of the essentials
to rhythm. Rhyme helps motion, motion makes
harmony, and harmony completes the rhythm of his
music. Not only this, but rhyme is an essential to
the full expression of the rhythmic feeling and it
assists the imagery. Negroes remember many verses
by the rhyme rather than by the meaning; but they
must get into the swing before they can recall the song.
The successful recalling of the first line invariably
suggests the other if it be rhymed. Rhymed verses
are essentially pleasure-giving to the singer. Be-
sides, he often creates unusual pictures because his
effort at rhyme has led him to introduce a word not
logically connected with the sense. Some of the
characteristics of the Negro's song and verse may
serve to illustrate further the natural dynamics of his
imagery.
In view of the Negro's unconscious effort at
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 289
pleasure-giving expressions and his conscious attempts
to make fastidious rhymes, it is not surprising to find
many of his verses devoted more to sound than to
meaning. In general, the verses which are the most
extreme in their sacrifice of sense for the rhyme, may
be divided into two groups: those which are, from the
beginning, nothing more than efforts at rhyme, re-
gardless of particular meaning, and those which have
the first line containing an appropriate thought, with
the second line simply finishing the rhyme regardless
of the resultant meaning. It would be well to review
the most typical rhymes with a view to their special
features; they are too numerous to repeat at this point.
However, the following rhymed couplets will illustrate
these characteristics. When one notes the sense and
rhymes in the following lines and remembers that they
are inserted along with other verses which have no
similar meaning, the effort toward a satisfying rhyme
will be apparent. These should be compared, of
course, with similar examples among other folk and
among children.
Went down to the country to see my friend,
In come yaller dog burnin' the wind.
I'm goin' to Happy Holler,
Where I can make a dollar.
Don't care if I don't make a dollar,
So I wear my shirt an' collar.
Women in Kansas all dressed in red,
Come to town when dey heard Casey wus dead.
When you kill a chicken save me the feet.
When you think I'm workin' I'm walkin' the street.
290 The Negro and His Songs
Whilst you're sittin' on your seat,
Let me tell you something that's sweet.
In the next examples it will be observed that the
first line of the couplet constitutes an original part of
the song; it has sense and is logically connected with
the other stanzas. But a single line is not enough;
it must be rhymed. The favorite song "On a Hog"
has the line "I didn't come here to be nobody's dog,"
and this, with the others is ordinarily repeated - three
times for a stanza. While one Negro was singing
this, another who was standing by interrupted by
saying that he knew another verse to the song. He
then added: "I didn't come here to be nobody's dog,
Jus' corne here to git off dat hog." The verse was
accepted as a better one. Thus it is with many others.
For example, in
If I had a listened to what my mama said,
/ would a been at home in mama's bed,
the original verses were, "If I had-a listened to what
my mommer said, I wouldn't a been here to-day."
The rhyme was made from the first line and easily dis-
placed the earlier line. So again, in the one-verse
song of the "K. C." song, the Negro has boarded the
train and it moves only too slowly for him. He says,
"Fireman, put in a little mo' coal," and "Fireman,
ain't we livin' high?" The time comes when a rhyme
is wanted and the Negro has added the needed line:
Fireman, put in a little mo' coal,
Run this ole engine in some lonesome hole.
Fireman, ain't we livin' high?
See them trees a passin' by?
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 291
Metric License. Such are the characteristics of the
Negro's rhymes. It will be expected that he is not
particular about the meter of his verse. Long lines
are coordinate with short ones and long words or
phrases scanned exactly as the shorter words. This
may be called a prolonged rhyme, in which the Negro's
imagery sees the rhyming element before he pro-
nounces the final syllables. Accordingly his versatile
prosody permits him to extend the line at will. Note
the following lines, comparing the short and long
verses metrically:
Some give you a nickel, some give you a dime.
I ain't goin' to give you a red copper cent for you ain't
no girl o' mine.
I begged the judge to lower my baby's fine,
He said the judge done fined her an' the clerk done wrote
it down.
I love my babe an' wouldn't put her out of doors.
I'd love to see her kill a kid wid fohty-dollar suit o'
clothes.
Goin' to buy me railroad of my own,
Ain't goin' to let nobody ride but the chocolate to the
bone.
Went to de sea, sea look so wide,
Thought about my babe, hung my head an' cried.
Stagolee was a bully man' an ev'ybody knowed
When dey seed Stagolee a comin' to give Stagolee de road.
Six long months have passed
Since I have slept in bed.
I ain't et a square meal o' vittels in three long weeks;
Money thinks I'm dead.
292 The Negro and His Songs
Captain, captain, you mus' be blin'!
Look at yo' watch an' see ain't it quittin' time.
The Negro thus employs synizesis in its freest usage.
He not only makes two syllables count for one in the
metrical unit, but he freely crowds more than one word
into a single time measure.
The same flexibility of verse and imagery leads to
the free omission of pronouns and conjunctions.
Asyndeton is most marked in the habitual omission of
the first personal pronoun and of common connectives,
but it is not restricted to any words. Indeed nouns
and verbs, adjectives and pronouns are often expressed
only in their context; so the prepositions and sign of the
infinitive are regularly omitted. Typical asyndeton
may be illustrated by a few characteristic examples.
The majority of the songs have for their subject the
first person. Yet almost ninety per cent of the subject
pronouns are thus omitted in common colloquial song.
Note the application further in the songs themselves;
so it is with other omissions. Entire phrases are
abbreviated with a single word which expresses the
meaning. The imagery is not weakened by this habit,
but seems to be peculiarly strengthened. In the
following typical illustrations of the most common
forms of asyndeton the words habitually omitted
are placed in parenthesis.
(I) Went up town (one) Friday night,
(I) Went to kill a kid.
(I) Reach my hand into my pocket,
(There was) Nuthin' to kill him wid.
(I) Went to de window an' peeped in,
(There was) Somebody in my fallin' den.
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 293
I (Ve) got a husband, (an') sweetheart, too;
(If) Husband don't love me, (my) sweetheart do.
I'm goin' back to (the) Sunny South,
Where (the) sun shines on my honey's house.
I wish some ole train would run,
(To) Carry me back where I come frum.
I wish that ole engineer was dead,
(That) Brought me away from my home.
Central, gimme long distance phone,
(I want to) Talk to my baby all night long.
(I'm a) Good ole boy, jus' ain't treated right.
Vowel Rhymes. As one would naturally expect,
rhyme has mainly to do with vowels rather than with
the entire word. The Negro tends to pronounce many
words with final consonants silent. The final letters
of a word need not affect his rhyme if the vowels be
similar. A glance at the rhymed words in the Negro's
verse shows the same license here as in other features
of his song. It is true that a great many words are
skillfully and accurately rhymed; they are naturally
fitted to the sound of words with which they are in-
tended to rhyme. Such words as sight and white,
snares and prayers, pole and roll, track and back, sure
and pure, clay and stay, side and wide, spoke and
and smoke, road and load, sky and nigh, cries and eyes,
go and blow, fall and wall, shout and out, shake and
quake, letter and better, sold and told, glad and had,
slain and stain, race and place, out and about, night
and sight, use and confuse, and scores of others are
rhymed together with no unusual features save that of
the context. More irregular are the words in the
294 The Negro and His Songs
following list. The words in each line have the same
value for sound in rhyme.
stop — block — top
young — run
redeemed — stream — dreams
laugh — last — path — past
mourned — throne — gone — stone
sing — train — wing — ring — vain
valley — happy
long — on — Lord — strong — song
along — no one — alone — own — foam — down — home —
bone — done
name — shame — chain
first — earth — birth
more — before— so — know — sure (sho) — door — go — floor
nine — shine — behind — mind — divine
time — mind — line — sign — nine
seen — sin
hell — wealth — farewell — well — tell
son — ru n — from
late — shake — gate
man — lamb — hand — understand — land
mourn — gone — horn — done
talk — fault
shoes — pool — goose
cares — fears — prayers
Christ — advice — twice — life — wife
fixed — tricks
while — child — beguiled — hide — strife
long — phone
friend — thin — wind
clock — locked
South — house
doors — clothes
back — like — track.
Imagery, Style, and Poetic Effort 295
So also regularly rhymed together are,
world — girl
fine — time
hollow — dollar
dime — mine
side — five
nine — time — kind
sport — coat
found — down
shirt — work
whang — thing
North—off
wagon — dragging
yard — rod
come — run
Many of the groups of words in the foregoing list
have no common rhyme values when pronounced
correctly, but the Negro singer gives them exactly the
shading or intonation needed to complete his rhyme.
The listener is rarely ever aware of clashing sounds or
forced rhymes, so skillfully does the singer harmonize
his words.
Thus it appears that in the songs of the Negro one
of the elemental drives is the pleasure obtained from the
construction of rhythmic rhymes. Great as his descrip-
tive powers are, they are secondary. In fact, a striking
descriptive phrase often finds expression only because
the Negro stumbled upon it in his quest for rhyme.
He omits words and even phrases in order that he
might have the satisfaction of bringing rhymed words
into proper relationship. He stretches short lines and
speeds through long ones in order to come out in
perfect time with the pat of his foot or the rhythm of
his guitar. He assigns the same rhyme value to words
296 The Negro and His Songs
of vastly different sound value; and he even makes
jingles of lines that are positively lacking in sense
connection. It is true that he has many verses which
are not rhymed, but it is also very likely true that such
verses are unstable and will undergo various trans-
formations until some singer chances upon a satis-
factory rhyme. If the new verse combines sense and
rhyme, well and good. If the sense does not adjust
itself, so much the worse for it. Rhyme and rhythm
must survive.