One Track Mind

One Track Mind

Originally shared by 7 Island Sweet Poet's Page

I will be posting selections from The Book of American Negro Poetry , James Weldon Johnson, Ed., 1922, Harcourt, Brace & Co.

Today are lines from the editor's preface essay, in which he discusses the history of ragtime music and the blues, and relates the following stanza from a song commonly heard during WW1 sung by "Southern colored soldiers in France."

"I'm jes' as misabul as I can be,
I'm unhappy even if I am free,
I'm feelin' down, I'm feelin' blue;
I wander 'round, don't know what to do.
I'm go'n lay mah haid on de railroad line,
Let de B. & O. come and pacify mah min'. "

It is apropos to this year's Black History Month, themed African Americans in Times of War. http://www.chiff.com/education/black-history-month.htm
http://www.chiff.com/education/black-history-month.htm

Comments

  1. 7 Island Sweet Poet's PageFebruary 1, 2018 at 10:47 AM

    Thanks for passing it on Drew McCarthy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Drew McCarthyFebruary 1, 2018 at 11:14 AM

    Thanks for the original post, 7 Island Sweet Poet's Page.
    For those interested, the book cited is available at Project Gutenberg: gutenberg.org - The Book of American Negro Poetry by James Weldon Johnson

    ReplyDelete

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