St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-10-23

THE ROUSTABoUr.
0usint snatches 8f Song from New Oriea
Cotton: Boats and Levee.

Quaint Snatches 0f Song from New Orieau
| Cotton Boats and Leves.
| The last bale OF cotton having bee
rolled on board with many ..Heav
ho"' from the darkey crew, the happies
hour in the improvident. ..devil-may
care" existence of the Mississippi rive
roustabout is at hand. Roasting ol
railing, rope coils and cotton bales ol
the rear deck like convention o
dilapidated scarecrows. they are wait
Ing to respond to the farewell songs o
friends and sweethearts congregate,
on the levee.
Farewell, broders, if yo's gwine fo' to go
Wen weep TO to see yo face once mo-"
walls out dusky maiden ON the shOr,
and
On de lebee by de riber side.
roll the united voices.
I've ler my gall in New Orleans
70 she is young, jes' in hah teens.
trills thin tenor from the deck and
again
On de lebee by de riber side.
Swells the refrain.
Ducks plays cyards an chickens drinks wine.
An de monkey grow on de grape vino,
20 sta ch pudding and tapioca pc,
oh. de gray cat pick out dc brack cats eye.
thrillingly announces the heavy bass.
while the dual crowd breaks into united
rhythmical sway at the rousing refrain,
Walk that, Loo. Oh, Miss Loo!
All. ah. ah heah we go!
fo weah swine TO to leabe you, goodbye.
Fo weah ewine TO to ieabe 20. goodbye,
Liza Jane.
The echo scarcely dies away when a
rival songster on the shore begins:
Monkey dress in soldier close;
All cross ober to Jordan.
Went out in de woods 70 to drill de crows;
q, ia ru 81 lem.
Jay I'd sat on ole ickory. limb:
All cross ober to .lorian!
up wild u rock an hit him on de chin.
%, ia ru sa lem.
And then the excited crowd sweeps
with wild enthusiasm into:
Shine on, Shine on. All cross ober TO Jor
dan.
Then shine on. Shine on. o, Ja-ru sa lem. !.
Next a woman's figure breaks out
from the levee crowd with waving arms
and swaying body and proclaims in a
ringing treble:
Q. long fo' to reach dat heavenly sho'
To meet oil Peter stanin at de do
He say to me. 80 how you do.
Come sit right yonder in de goIen pew"
Eo' dc good colo d people da go clah froo
To dip in de Gofen Sea.
And the sympathetic brethren swell
the meloilious
Den dip me. bave me.
sterS. you and me.
Come. get in de boat. TO we all gwine to float
Fo to dip in de Goren Sea!
This is evidently favorite air, and
the throng becomes frantic with en-
thusiasm rs it repeats it with many
quaint stanza An ecstatic sister takes
up the burden again with
Good MIR. Jesus a sittn' in de prov,
Come all yo' niggahs make 20 bow:
Oh, i look down on de wO' below
An watch dem white trash shublin' snow.
While angel fishes da nip my toe,
Waitc, dip in de Gofen Sea
Then the responsive chorus swells
out. and again the basso profundo of
the crew determines that the sisters
shall not have a monopoly of the solo
parts, so he breaks i'm and crushingly
refers to the erratic mother of them all:
or Adam he wan de fus built man.
OATS lis what de Good Book say:
An Ebe come mex. den sin began;
OATS jis what de Good Book say.
Ebe BIT de apple right IN two,
A wicked fing for Ebe to do;
Yes. dats what de Good Book sayl
But his effort to silence them is futile
for they join him with unabated gusto
in
OATS les what de Good Book say, 1t am:
Yes dats what de Good Book say.
Jes' read ii froo: yOu II fin' it true,
Fo dat's what de Good Book say.
Another Biblical expounder is quick
ut hand to continue the song:
Dab wah . man. he name wah Lot:
OATS lis what de Good Book say.
An he nab wife and daughter got;
OATS lis what de Good Book say.
He wife she balk an make Z halt,
An de Lord he turn hah into salt;
Oh. dat's what de Good Book say!
But the swaying. time-beating crowd
on shore is now fast reccding from
view. and the boats many voiced crew
unites with heart-stirring earnestness
in
Use gwine rom lie cotton-helds, rse gwine
fom de cane.
Use gwine fom de oil log hut dat STAINS down
in de lane:
De boat am in de riber, dat am come to take
me on.
An Use gwine to join de exodus and strike
out TO de Sof
And afar over the moonlit waters
faint notes of weird melodies came
floating like distant echo of this
pathetic strain.-N o. Cor. N. Y.
Tribune.