Excusable.
Why you go en fight dat boy?
Don’t you know he white?
Bet de pleeceman come en git you
’Fo’e you sleep dis night!
Don’t you heah yo’ mammy say,
Why you knock him down dat way?
“Called you nigger?” Did he, sho?
Den you done des right!
Eb’ry time de po’ white buckra
Call you dat, you fight!
If you am one, I am sho
’Taint dey place ter tell you so!
Jeff’s Funeral Sermon.
Git my mou’nin’ dress, Susanah,
Out de bottom draw’;—
It bin waitin’ long time wid
Dis black hat ob straw,
Fo’ de preacher ter come by
En preach Jeff up ter de sky.
Jeff done pass away befo’ us
Des six months ter-day;
But it don’t seem long ez dat
(How time pass away!)
Since dey laid dat po’ boy down
In de churchyard’s holy groun’.
Yestiday when I ast Missus
Let me go ter-day
Ter Jeff’s fun’ral, she so s’prised
Till she up en say:
“Sakes! dey bury him, you know,
Las’ yeah, long en long ago!”
En I tell her dat de people
Libin fur frum home,
Couldn’t heah dat he wus gone,
En dey want ter come;
So we wait till news wus spread
Ebrywhar dat he wus dead.
En we ’vite so many people
Frum de country roun’,
Dat dar’ll be a sight ob niggers
At dat church, I’m boun’;
So we better be gwine on,
Kaze we set wid dem dat mou’n.
Uncle Bob to his Dog.
Uncle Bob say ter his dog, Leo:
“You tangle yo’se’f in my heart-strings, sho,
But de day gwine come when you got ter go,
Kaze I ain’t got a dollar
Ter buy you a collar,
En de dog-ketcher ketch you, sho.”
Uncle Bob say: “I dervide my bread,
En I kiver you up in my nice, straw bed,
But I sca’ed dat my dog gwine soon be dead,
Kaze I ain’t got a dollar
Ter buy you a collar,
En de dog-ketcher ketch you, sho.”
Uncle Bob say: “Oh, de stolen am sweet,
En dat why you clim’ frue de fence ter de street,
Do I already tol’ you de en’ you gwine meet!
Kaze I ain’t got a dollar
Ter buy you a collar,
En de dog-ketcher ketch you, sho.”