W’en de banjos wuz a-ringin’,
An’ de darkies wuz a-singin’,
Oh, wuzen dem de good times sho!
All de ole folks would be chattin’,
An’ de pickaninnies pattin’,
As dey heah’d de feet a-shufflin’ ‘cross de flo’.
An’ how we’d dance, an’ how we’d sing!
Dance tel de day done break.
An’ how dem banjos dey would ring,
An’ de cabin flo’ would shake!
Come along, come along,
Come along, come along,
Don’t you heah dem banjos a-ringin’?
Gib a song, gib a song,
Gib a song, gib a song,
Git yo’ feet fixed up fu’ a-wingin’.
W’ile de banjos dey go plunka, plunka, plunk,
We’ll dance tel de ole flo’ shake;
W’ile de feet keep a-goin’ chooka, chooka, chook,
We’ll dance tel de day done break.
(James Weldon Johnson)
More Poetry from James Weldon Johnson:
James Weldon Johnson Poems based on Topics: Dancing- The Rivals (James Weldon Johnson Poems)
- The Prodigal Son (James Weldon Johnson Poems)
- Down By the Carib Sea (James Weldon Johnson Poems)
- Brothers (James Weldon Johnson Poems)
- Fifty Years (1863-1913) (James Weldon Johnson Poems)
- Vashti (James Weldon Johnson Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Dancing PoemsBased on Keywords: a-goin, flo, heah, gib, a-singin, plunk, darkies, pickaninnies, banjos, a-ringin, chattin
- The Wild Knight (Gilbert Keith Chesterton Poems)
- Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind. In Three Cantos. - Canto II. (Matthew Prior Poems)
- Hermann And Dorothea - VI. Klio (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems)
- The Traveller; or, A Prospect of Society (Oliver Goldsmith Poems)
- A Story Of Plantagenet (Nora Pembroke Poems)