Song for a Banjo Dance (by Langston Hughes)
Langston Hughes in 1925
Song for a Banjo Dance
by Langston Hughes
[first published in the October 1922 issue of Crisis]
Shake your brown feet, honey,
Shake your brown feet, chile,
Shake your brown feet, honey,
Shake ‘em swift and wil’–
Get way back, honey,
Do that rockin’ step.
Slide on over darling,
Now! Come out
With your left.
Shake your brown feet, honey,
Shake ‘em, honey chile.
Sun’s going down this evening–
Might never rise no mo’.
The sun’s going down this very night–
Might never rise no mo’–
So dance with swift feet, honey,
(The banjo’s sobbing low)
Dance with swift feet, honey–
Might never dance no mo’.
Shake your brown feet, Liza,
Shake ‘em, Liza, chile,
Shake your brown feet , Liza,
(The music’s soft and wil’)
Shake your brown feet, Liza,
(The banjo’s sobbing low)
The sun’s going down this very night–
Might never rise no mo’.
To find more by Langston Hughes in the Crisis Chronicles Online Library, click here.
Even more is available in these volumes:
Categories: Cleveland, Hughes (Langston), 1900s, Writing, African American, American
Tags: Crisis Magazine Langston Hughes Dance American Literature Cleveland Poetry African American Banjo
Interesting.. that I immediately had the visual of someone dancing to this... even after only the first few lines.
so very effective in its expression. :-)
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Think it was a very cool record too, liked the intro, but were they one hit wonders.
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