De cherries, dey're red; de cherries, dey're ripe;
An' de baby it want one.
De cherries, dey're hard; de cherries, dey're sour;
An' de baby cain't git none.
Jes look at dat bird in de cherry tree!
He's pickin' 'em one by one!
He's shakin' his bill, he's gittin' it fill',
An' down dat th'oat dey run!
Nev' mind! Bye an' bye dat bird's gwineter fly,
An' mammy's gwineter make dat pie.
She'll give you a few, fer de baby cain't chew,
An' de Pickaninny sholy won't cry.
A PRETTY PAIR OF CHICKENS
Dat box-legged rooster, an' dat bow-legged hen
Make a mighty pretty couple, not to be no kin.
Dey's jes lak some Niggers wearin' white folks ole britches,
Dey thinks dey's lookin' fine, w'en dey needs lots of stitches.
TOO MUCH WATERMELON
Dere wus a great big watermillion growin' on de vine.
Dere wus a liddle ugly Nigger watchin' all de time.
An' w'en dat great big watermillion lay ripenin' in de sun,
An' de stripes along its purty skin wus comin' one by one,
Dat ugly Nigger pulled it off an' toted it away,
An' he e't dat great big watermillion all in one single day.
He e't de rinds, an' red meat too, he finish it all trim;
An' den,—dat great big watermillion up an' finish him.
BUTTERFLY
Pretty liddle butterfly, yaller as de gold,
My sweet liddle butterfly, you shō' is mighty bold.
You can dance out in de sun, you can fly up high,
But you know I'se bound to git you, yet, my liddle butterfly.