This article is about the 1925 poem by Langston Hughes. For the 1915 tune by Artie Matthews, see Weary Blues. For the 1959 album by Langston Hughes, see Weary Blues (album).
The Weary Blues
by Langston Hughes
First published in
1925; 99 years ago (1925)
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre(s)
African-American poetry Jazz poetry
Publisher
Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life (Urban League)
Full text
The Weary Blues at Wikisource
"The Weary Blues" is a poem by American poet Langston Hughes. Written in 1925,[1] "The Weary Blues" was first published in the Urban League magazine Opportunity. It was awarded the magazine's prize for best poem of the year. The poem was included in Hughes's first book, a collection of poems, also entitled The Weary Blues.[2] (Four poems from the book, although not the title poem, inspired the musical settings "Four Songs from The Weary Blues" by Florence Price.)[3]
The Weary Blues
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
He did a lazy sway . . .
He did a lazy sway . . .
To the tune o' those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man’s soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—
"Ain't got nobody in all this world,
Ain't got nobody but ma self.
I's gwine to quit ma frownin'
And put ma troubles on the shelf."
Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then 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.[4]
^Hughes, Langston. "(James) Langston Hughes." Gale Database Contemporary Authors (2003): Web. November 13, 2010.
^Knapp, James F. "Langston Hughes". The Norton Anthology of Poetry. www.wwnorton.com, n.d. Web. November 15, 2010.
^John Michael Cooper. "Four Songs from The Weary Blues". wisemusicclassical.com. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
^Langston Hughes (May 1925). "The Weary Blues". Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life. p. 143.
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Global Information
The Weary Blues at Wikisource