The Weary Blues

Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more--

"I got the Weary Blues
And I can't be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can't be satisfied--
I ain't happy no mo'
And I wish that I had died."

And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.


The Weary Blues [excerpt]
Langston Hughes

stay black, and die.

Work?
I don't have to work.
I don't have to do nothing
but eat, drink, stay black, and die.

Necessity [excerpt]
Langston Hughes