Classic and Contemporary Poetry
A NEGRO SONG OF HOME, by BENJAMIN FRANKLIN KING Poet's Biography First Line: Tain't berry many people wat'll listen to a niggah Last Line: Frough de singin' ob de kettle on de hob. Alternate Author Name(s): King, Ben Subject(s): African Americans; African Americans - Song & Music; Black Songs; Home; Negroes; American Blacks; Negro Spirituals | ||||||||
'TAIN'T berry many people wat'll listen to a niggah Un 'low dey's enny sense in wot he say, But I'se gwine ter guv de 'sperience of mah feelin's, and I figgah Dat dey's quite a smart o' people tinks mah way. W'en a man begins a-shoutin' 'bout de good tings dat he's missin' Kickin' kase dey ain't a fortune in his job, Let 'im go home to his kitchen, an' set down a while an' listen To de singin' ob de kettle on de hob. I've hayrd de strains ob "Home, Sweet Home" when Patti was a-singin' An' de aujience was a-spillin' ob deir tears; But I didn't mind the singah, fo' a different tune kep' ringin' Wif hits ha'nty kin' ob music in mah ears. An' I reckernized de melerdy so powerful bewitchin' Dat made mah heart like sixty fo' ter t'rob, An' I mejiate felt a hank'rin' fo' my cozy little kitchen An' de singin' ob de kettle on de hob. De rich man can inhabitate a palace ef he wishes, Wif brick-er-brack and pictuahs on de wall; An' kin lay on velvet sofers an' eat off'n golden dishes, But I wouldn't swap mah kitchen fo' his all; Fo' hit wouldn't be like home ter me but 'ceptin' I could listen, A-puffin' at de backy in mah cob, While de good Lawd seemed a-speakin' ob a homelike kin' ob blessin' Frough de singin' ob de kettle on de hob. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PLANTATION HYMN by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY DERE'S NO HIDIN' PLACE DOWN DERE by ANONYMOUS - AFRICAN AMERICAN NOBODY KNOWS DE TROUBLE I'VE HAD by ANONYMOUS - AFRICAN AMERICAN SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MOTHERLESS CHILD by ANONYMOUS - AFRICAN AMERICAN WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD by ANONYMOUS - AFRICAN AMERICAN "BLACK SPIRITUAL: ROLL, JORDAN, ROLL" by ANONYMOUS - AFRICAN AMERICAN "BLACK SPIRITUAL: SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT (1)" by ANONYMOUS - AFRICAN AMERICAN "BLACK SPIRITUAL: SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT (2)" by ANONYMOUS - AFRICAN AMERICAN THE PESSIMIST by BENJAMIN FRANKLIN KING |
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