Langston Hughes inspired poem White Girl Blues

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Source: Alexandra

	Thank You, Ma'am (Home Edition) Amazon Price: $17.99
	Voices & Visions: Langston Hughes [VHS] Amazon Price: $19.98
	Looking for Langston [VHS] Amazon Price: $45.99 List Price: $29.95
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Structure of the Blues

A “blues stanza” has three lines: the second line repeats the first, sometimes with a few words missing. The third line rhymes with the first two.

The music drives like an irregular heartbeat, daDUM daDUM daDUM.

Blues music expresses a penetrating sadness in a lighthearted way. Biographer Arnold Rampersad explained the basic idea this way, “The music seemed to cry, but the words somehow laughed.”

Here is a blues poem written by poet Langston Hughes...

Wide River

Ma baby lives across de river
An I ain't got no boat.
She lives across de river.
I ain't got no boat.
I ain't a good swimmer
An I don't know how to float.

Wide, wide river
'Twixt ma love an' me.
Wide, wide river
'Tixt ma love an me.
I never knowed how
Wide a river can be.

Got to cross that river
An' git to ma baby somehow.
Cross that river,
Git to ma baby somehow-
Cause if I don't see ma baby
I'll lay down an' die right now.

Source: Gallery Players

White Girl Blues

White folk laugh!
I'm white but not your white
You whites laugh!
I'm white but not your white
What you believe
spooks me all night.

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tonymac04 18 months ago

I really enjoyed this one, Barbara! Long been a fan of Hughes and the blues!

Thanks for writing this one.

Love and peace

Tony

Jess Killmenow 19 months ago

The blues is deep down inside. Thank you, Storyteller.

ahorseback Level 7 Commenter 19 months ago

Hi Story ; nice tribute , thats poetry.

fastfreta Level 5 Commenter 19 months ago

What a beautiful poem and an astounding clip. I must go over and read more of what you wrote on Langston Hughes. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

Jeremey 19 months ago

Thanks for the intro to Langston Hughes, I"m a great fan of all genres of music, have a decent collection of blues but no Hughes!

kimh039 Level 6 Commenter 19 months ago

“The music seemed to cry, but the words somehow laughed.”

Yeah, the music cried and the words laughed.

And I can write a blues tune at last.

Thanks Story. Very interesting and informative. Nicely structured too.

Micky Dee Level 4 Commenter 19 months ago

Story Dear- it's amazing what you have created here with such an economy of material! Kudos my Dear! The blues by Langston Hughes is remarkable as is your definition. I do love the entire package.

But the video you chose was right on the nose.

That music and movement was right on the nose.

Anything else would work I suppose,

But you're on the nose and so it goes.

It really is "inspiration" to write of simple, earthy, but magical verse. Thank you very much!