De axes has been ringin' in de woods de blessid day, An' de chips has been a-fallin' fa' an' thick; Dey has cut de bigges' hick'ry dat de mules kin tote away, An' dey's laid hit down and soaked it in de crik....
Oh, dere 's lots o' keer an' trouble In dis world to swaller down; An' ol' Sorrer 's purty lively In her way o' gittin' roun'. Yet dere's times when I furgit em,-- Aches an' pains an' troubles all,--...
Oh, I have n't got long to live, for we all Die soon, e'en those who live longest; And the poorest and weakest are taking their chance Along with the richest and strongest....
'Tis fine to play In the fragrant hay, And romp on the golden load; To ride old Jack To the barn and back, Or tramp by a shady road. To pause and drink, At a mossy brink;...
Good-night, my love, for I have dreamed of thee In waking dreams, until my soul is lost-- Is lost in passion's wide and shoreless sea, Where, like a ship, unruddered, it is tost...
Whut you say, dah? huh, uh! chile, You 's enough to dribe me wile. Want a sto'y; jes' hyeah dat! Whah' 'll I git a sto'y at? Di'n' I tell you th'ee las' night? Go 'way, honey, you ain't right....
"Break me my bounds, and let me fly To regions vast of boundless sky; Nor I, like piteous Daphne, be Root-bound. Ah, no! I would be free As yon same bird that in its flight...
Folks ain't got no right to censuah othah folks about dey habits; Him dat giv' de squir'ls de bushtails made de bobtails fu' de rabbits. Him dat built de gread big mountains hollered out de little valleys,...
They please me not--these solemn songs That hint of sermons covered up. 'Tis true the world should heed its wrongs, But in a poem let me sup, Not simples brewed to cure or ease...
De win' is blowin' wahmah, An hit's blowin' f'om de bay; Dey's a so't o' mist a-risin' All erlong de meddah way; Dey ain't a hint o' frostin' On de groun' ner in de sky,...
Uncle John, he makes me tired; Thinks 'at he's jest so all-fired Smart, 'at he kin pick up, so, Ever'thing he wants to know. Tried to ketch me up last night, But you bet I would n't bite....
On the wide veranda white, In the purple failing light, Sits the master while the sun is lowly burning; And his dreamy thoughts are drowned In the softly flowing sound...
Lay me down beneaf de willers in de grass, Whah de branch 'll go a-singin' as it pass. An' w'en I 's a-layin' low, I kin hyeah it as it go Singin', "Sleep, my honey, tek yo' res' at las'." ...
The air is dark, the sky is gray, The misty shadows come and go, And here within my dusky room Each chair looks ghostly in the gloom. Outside the rain falls cold and slow--...
W'en you full o' worry 'Bout yo' wo'k an' sich, W'en you kind o' bothered Case you can't get rich, An' yo' neighboh p'ospah Past his jest desu'ts, An' de sneer of comerds...
Win' a-blowin' gentle so de san' lay low, San' a little heavy f'om de rain, All de pa'ms a-wavin' an' a-weavin' slow, Sighin' lak a sinnah-soul in pain. Alligator grinnin' by de ol' lagoon,...
Swing yo' lady roun' an' roun', Do de bes' you know; Mek yo' bow an' p'omenade Up an' down de flo'; Mek dat banjo hump huhse'f. Listen at huh talk: Mastah gone to town to-night;...
I be'n down in ole Kentucky Fur a week er two, an' say, 'T wuz ez hard ez breakin' oxen Fur to tear myse'f away. Allus argerin' 'bout fren'ship An' yer hospitality--...