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Lyrics of Love and Laughter

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Lyrics of Love and Laughter

This is a collection of poetry by African American author Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar's work frequently features a conversational tone, innovative rhetorical structure, and a colorful use of both dialect and mainstream English. Dunbar was among the first nationally successful African American writers.

Source: Dunbar, P.L. (1913). The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.

Two Little Boots
"Two little boots all rough an’ wo’,"
To the Road
"Cool is the wind, for the summer is waning,"
A Spring Wooing
"Come on walkin’ wid me, Lucy; ‘t ain’t no time to mope erroun’"
Joggin' Erlong
"De da’kest hour, dey allus say,"
In May
"Oh to have you in May,"
Dreams
"What dreams we have and how they fly"
The Tryst
"De night creep down erlong de lan’,"
A Plea
"Treat me nice, Miss Mandy Jane,"
The Dove
"Out of the sunshine and out of the heat,"
A Warm Day in Winter
"“Sunshine on de medders,"
Snowin'
"Dey is snow upon de meddahs, dey is snow upon de hill,"
Keep a Song Up on de Way
"Oh, de clouds is mighty heavy"
The Turning of the Babies in the Bed
"Woman’s sho’ a cur’ous critter, an’ dey ain’t no doubtin’ dat."
The Dance
"Heel and toe, heel and toe,"
Soliloquy of a Turkey
"Dey ’s a so’t o’ threatenin’ feelin’ in de blowin’ of de breeze,"
Fishing
"Wen I git up in de mo’nin’ an’ de clouds is big an’ black,"
A Plantation Portrait
"Hain’t you see my Mandy Lou,"
A Little Christmas Basket
"De win’ is hollahin’ “Daih you” to de shuttahs an’ de fiah,"
The Valse
"When to sweet music my lady is dancing"
Response
"When Phyllis sighs and from her eyes"
My Sweet Brown Gal
"W’en de clouds is hangin’ heavy in de sky,"
Spring Fever
"Grass commence a–comin’"
The Visitor
"Little lady at de do’,"
Song
"Wintah, summah, snow er shine,"
The Colored Band
Wen de colo’ed ban’ comes ma’chin’ down de street,
To a Violet on All Saint's Day
"Belated wanderer of the ways of spring, Lost in the chill of grim November rain,"
Inspiration
"At the golden gate of song"
My Lady of Castle Grand
"Gray is the palace where she dwells,"
Drizzle
"Hit ’s been drizzlin’ an’ been sprinklin’,"
De Critters' Dance
"Ain’t nobody nevah tol’ you not a wo’d a–tall,"
When Dey 'Listed Colored Soldiers
"Dey was talkin’ in de cabin, dey was talkin’ in de hall;"
Lincoln
"Hurt was the nation with a mighty wound,"
Encouragement
"Who dat knockin’ at de do’?"
The Boogah Man
"W’en de evenin’ shadders"
The Wraith
"Ah me, it is cold and chill"
Silence
"‘T is better to sit here beside the sea,"
Whip–Poor–Will and Katy–Did
"Slow de night ’s a–fallin’,"
Long To'ds Night
"Daih ’s a moughty soothin’ feelin’"
A Grievance
"Wen de snow ’s a–fallin’"
Dinah Kneading Dough
"I have seen full many a sight"
To a Captious Critic
"Dear critic, who my lightness so deplores,"
Dat Ol' Mare O' Mine
"Want to trade me, do you, mistah? Oh, well, now, I reckon not,"
In the Morning
"‘Lias! ‘Lias! Bless de Lawd!"
The Poet
"He sang of life, serenely sweet,"
A Florida Night
"Win’ a–blowin’ gentle so de san’ lay low,"
Differences
"My neighbor lives on the hill,"
Long Ago
"De ol’ time’s gone, de new time’s hyeah"
A Plantation Melody
"De trees is bendin’ in de sto’m,"
A Spiritual
"De ‘cession’s stahted on de gospel way,"
The Memory of Martha
"Out in de night a sad bird moans,"
W'en I Gits Home
"It’s moughty tiahsome layin’ ‘roun’"
'Howdy, Honey, Howdy'
"Do’ a–stan’in’ on a jar, fiah a–shinin’ thoo,"
The Unsung Heroes
"A song for the unsung heroes who rose in the country’s need,"
The Pool
"By the pool that I see in my dreams, dear love,"
Possession
"Whose little lady is you, chile,"
The Old Front Gate
"W’en daih ’s chillun in de house,"
Dirge for a Soldier
"In the east the morning comes,"
A Frolic
"Swing yo’ lady roun’ an’ roun’,"
Noddin' By De Fire
"Some folks t’inks hit’s right an’ p’opah,"
Love's Castle
"Key and bar, key and bar,"
Morning Song of Love
"Darling, my darling, my heart is on the wing,"
On a Clean Book (To F.N.)
"Like sea–washed sand upon the shore,"
To the Eastern Shore
"I ’s feelin’ kin’ o’ lonesome in my little room to–night,"
Reluctance
"Will I have some mo’ dat pie?"
Ballade
"By Mystic’s banks I held my dream."
Speakin' At De Cou't–House
"Dey been speakin’ at de cou’t–house,"
Black Samson of Brandywine
"“In the fight at Brandywine, Black Samson, a giant negro armed witha scythe, sweeps his way through the red ranks….”"
The Looking-Glass
"Dinah stan’ befo’ de glass,"
A Misty Day
"Heart of my heart, the day is chill,"
Li'l' Gal
"Oh, de weathah it is balmy an’ de breeze is sighin’ low."
Douglass
"Ah, Douglass, we have fall’n on evil days,"
When Sam'l Sings
"Hyeah dat singin’ in de medders"
Booker T. Washington
"The word is writ that he who runs may read."
The Monk's Walk
"In this sombre garden close"
Love-Song
"If Death should claim me for her own to–day,"
Slow Through the Dark
"Slow moves the pageant of a climbing race;"
The Murdered Lover
"Say a mass for my soul’s repose, my brother,"
Philosophy
"I been t’inkin’ ‘bout de preachah; whut he said de othah night,"
Preference
"Mastah drink his ol’ Made’a,"
The Debt
"This is the debt I pay"
On the Dedication of Dorothy Hall (Tuskeegee, AL., April 22, 1901)
"Not to the midnight of the gloomy past,"
A Roadway
"Let those who will stride on their barren roads"
By Rugged Ways
"By rugged ways and thro’ the night"
Love's Season
"When the bees are humming in the honeysuckle vine"
To a Dead Friend
"It is as if a silver chord"
To the South—On Its New Slavery
"Heart of the Southland, heed me pleading now,"
The Haunted Oak
"Pray why are you so bare, so bare,"
Weltschmertz
"You ask why I am sad to–day,"
Robert Gould Shaw
"Why was it that the thunder voice of Fate"
Roses
"Oh, wind of the spring–time, oh, free wind of May,"
A Love Song
"Ah, love, my love is like a cry in the night,"
Itching Heels
"Fu’ de peace o’ my eachin’ heels, set down;"
To an Ingrate
"This is to–day, a golden summer’s day"
In the Tents of Akbar
"In the tents of Akbar, Are dole and grief to–day,"
The Fount of Tears
"All hot and grimy from the road,"
Life's Tragedy
"It may be misery not to sing at all"
De Way T'ings Come
"De way t’ings come, hit seems to me,"
Noon
"Shadder in de valley"
At the Tavern
"A lilt and a swing, And a ditty to sing,"
Death
"Storm and strife and stress,"
Night, Dim Night
"Night, dim night, and it rains, my love, it rains,"
  • Year Published: 1913
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Readability:
    • Flesch–Kincaid Level: 6.5
  • Word Count: 25,159
  • Genre: Poetry
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