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Paul Lawrence Dunbar- A Negro Love Song

Seen my lady home last night Jump back, honey jump back. Held her hand and squeezed it tight, Jump back, honey jump back. Heard her sigh a little sigh, Seen a light gleam from her eye And a smile go flitting byJump back, honey, jump back.

Heard de ind blo through de pine, Jump back, honey jump back. !ockingbird as singing fine, Jump back, honey jump back. And my heart as beating so "hen # reached my lady$s do$ %at # couldn$t bare to goJump back, honey jump back.

&ut my arm around her aist, Jump back, honey jump back. 'aised her lips and took a taste, Jump back, honey jump back. (o)e me honey, lo)e me true* (o)e me ell as # lo)e you* And she ans ered, +,ourse # do-Jump back, honey jump back.

James Weldon Johnson- From Autobiography o A !olored "an

+"e at length secured places at a table in the corner of the room and, as soon as e could attract the attention of one of the busy aiters, ordered a round of drinks. "hen # had some hat collected my senses, # realized that in a large back room into hich the main room opened, there as a young fello singing a song, accompanied on the piano by a short, thickset, dark man. After each )erse he did some dance steps, hich brought forth great applause and a sho er of small coins at his feet. After the singer had responded to a rousing encore, the stout man at the piano began to run his fingers up and do n the keyboard. .his he did in a manner hich indicated that he as a master of a good deal of technique. .hen he began to play/ and such playing0 # stopped to listen. #t as music of a kind # had ne)er heard before. #t as music that demanded physical response, patting of the feet, drumming of the fingers, or nodding of the head in time ith the beat. .he barbaric harmonies, the audacious resolutions, often consisting of an abrupt jump from one key to another, the intricate rhythms in hich the accents fell in the most une1pected places, but in hich the beat as )ery lost, produced a most curious effect. And, too, the player-the de1terity of his left hand in making rapid octa)e runs and jumps as little short of mar)elous/ and ith his right hand he frequently s ept half the keyboard ith clean-cut chromatics hich he fitted in so nicely as ne)er to fail to arouse in his listeners a sort of pleasant surprise at the accomplishment of the feat.

.his as rag-time music, then a no)elty in 2e 3ork, and just gro ing to be a rage, hich has not yet subsided. #t as originated in the questionable resorts about !emphis and St. (ouis by 2egro piano-players ho kne no more of the theory of music than they did of the theory of the uni)erse, but ere guided by natural musical instinct and talent. #t made its ay to ,hicago, here it as popular some time before it reached 2e 3ork. .hese players often impro)ised crude and, at times, )ulgar ords to fit the melodies. .his as the beginning of the rag-time song. Se)eral of these impro)isations ere taken do n by hite men, the ords slightly altered and published under the names of the arrangers. .hey sprang into immediate popularity and earned small fortunes, of hich the 2egro originators got only a fe dollars. 4ut # ha)e learned that since that time a number of colored men, of not only musical talent, but training, are riting out their o n melodies and ords and reaping the re ard of their ork. # ha)e learned also that they ha)e a large number of hite imitators and adulterators.

American musicians, instead of in)estigating rag-time, attempt to ignore it, or dismiss it ith a contemptuous ord. 4ut that has al ays been the course of scholasticism in e)ery branch of art. "hate)er ne thing the people like is pooh-poohed/ hate)er is popular is spoken of as not orth the hile. .he fact is, nothing great or enduring, especially in music, has e)er flung fullfledged from the brain of any master. .he best that he gi)es to the orld he gathers from the hearts of people, and runs it through the alembic of his genius. #n spite of the bans hich musicians and music teachers place upon it, the people still demand and enjoy rag-time. 5ne

thing cannot be denied6 #t is music hich possesses at least one strong element of greatness6 #t appeals uni)ersally/ not only the American, but the 7nglish, the 8rench, and e)en the 9erman people find delight in it. #n fact, there is not a corner of the ci)ilized orld in hich it is not kno n, and this pro)es its originality/ for if it ere an imitation, the people of 7urope, anyho , ould not ha)e found it a no)elty. Anyone ho doubts that there is a peculiar heel-tickling, smile-pro)oking, joy-a akening charm in rag-time needs only to hear a skillful performer play the genuine article to be con)inced. # belie)e that it has its place as ell as the music hich dra s us sighs and tears.

# became so interested in both the music and the player that # left the table here # as sitting, and made my ay through the hall into the back room, here # could see as ell as hear. # talked to the piano-player bet een the musical numbers and found out that he as just a natural musician ne)er taken a lesson in his life. 2ot only could he play almost anything he heard, but he could accompany singers in songs he ne)er heard. He had, by ear alone, composed some pieces, se)eral of hich he played o)er for me/ each of them as properly proportioned and balanced. # began to onder hat this man ith such a la)ish natural endo ment ould ha)e done had he been trained. &erhaps he ouldn$t ha)e done anything at all/ he might ha)e become, at best, a mediocre imitator of the great masters in hat they ha)e already done to a finish, or one of the modern inno)ators ho stri)e after originality by seeing ho cle)erly they can dodge about through the rules of harmony and at the same time a)oid melody. #t is certain that he ould not ha)e been so delightful as he as in rag-time.

# say by, atching and listening to this man until # as dragged a ay by friends. .his place as no almost deserted/ only a fe stragglers hung on, and they ere all the orse for drink. !y friends ere ell up in this class. "e passed into the street/ the lamps ere pale against the sky/ day as just breaking. "e ent home and got into bed. # fell into a fitful sort of sleep, ith ragtime music ringing continually in my ears.

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