#AmericanWriters
Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal… It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up,
Landlord, landlord, My roof has sprung a leak. Don’t you 'member I told you abou… Way last week? Landlord, landlord,
I play it cool I dig all jive. That's the reason I stay alive. My motto
You sicken me with lies, With truthful lies. And with your pious faces. And your wide, out—stretched, mock—welcome, Christian hands.
How quiet It is in this sick room Where on the bed A silent woman lies between two lo… Life and Death,
I work all day, Said Simple John, Myself a house to buy. I work all day, Said Simple John,
'Me an’ ma baby’s Got two mo’ ways, Two mo’ ways to do de Charleston!… Da, da, Da, da, da!
Oh, silver tree! Oh, shining rivers of the soul! In a Harlem cabaret Six long—headed jazzers play. A dancing girl whose eyes are bold
By what sends the white kids I ain’t sent: I know I can’t be President.
I would liken you To a night without stars Were it not for your eyes. I would liken you To a sleep without dreams
The census man, The day he came round, Wanted my name To put it down. I said, Johnson,
You say I O.K.ed LONG DISTANCE? O.K.ed it when? My goodness, Central That was then!
I am your son, white man! Georgia dusk And the turpentine woods. One of the pillars of the temple f… You are my son!
Here I sit With my shoes mismated. Lawdy—mercy! I’s frustrated!
The calm, Cool face of the river Asked me for a kiss.