Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1886-12-30
ROUSTABOUTS' SONGS.
VOCAL MUSIC ON BOAT AND LEVEE
AT NEW ORLEANS

AT NEW ORLEANS
After tho Last BALE of Cotton Has Bcea
Rolled on Board-weird Melodies and
Pathetic Strains-Cuaint Verse and
Song.
The last bale of cotton having been rolled
on board with many "heave ho!' from tho
darby crew, the happiest hour in the i'm
provident, devil-may-care existence of the
Mississippi river roustabout is at hand.
Roasting on railing, rope coils and cotton
bales on the rear deck like convention Of
dila pidated scareTows, they are waiting to
respond to the farewell songs Of friends and
sweethearts congregated on the leyee.
Farewell, broders, if yo's gwine fo to go,
Wen weep 70 to see yo' face once mo-
walls out dusky maiden on the shore, and
ION de lebeo by the ribber side
roll the united voices.
I've left my girl in New Orleans
Fo' she is young, jes in har teens"
trills thin tenor from the deck and again
ION de lebee by de riber side
swells the refrain:
Ducks play guards an chickens drinks wine.
An de monkey grow on de grape vine.
Con sta'ch pudding and tapioca pie,
Oh, de gray cat pick out the brack cats eye"
thrillingly announces the heavy bass. while
the dual crowd breaks into united rhythni-
cal sway at the rousing refrain:
walk that, Loo, o Miss Loo!
An ah. ahi heah we go.
Fo we ah gwine fo' to leabe you, good-by, good
by!
Fo' we alb gwine fo' to leabe you, good-by Liza
Jane"
The echo scarcely dies away when a rival
songster on the shore begins:
Monkey dress in soldier close:
All cross ODER to Jordani
Went out N de woods TO to drill de crowd:
o! JaruSa-lem,
Jay bird sat on ole hickory limb;
All cross ober to Jordan!
Iup wild rock and hit him on de chin;
O! Ja-rusa-iem!"
And then the excited crowd sweeps with
wild enthusiasm into:
''Shine on. Shine on! All cross ODER to Jordan
Then shine on! Shine on! o JarlI-sa-lem"'
Next womans figure breaks out from tn
levee crowd with waving arms and swaying
body and proclaims in a ringing treble:
oh long fo' to reach dat heavenly sho'
To meet or Peter stanin' at de do.
He say to me, 'Ol how you do?
Come sit right yonder in de goien pew
Fo' de good colod people do 60 c!ah froo
To dip in de goren sea"
And the sympathetic brethren swells the
melOdiouS
Den dip me! bave me:
Sisters, you and me!
Come git in de boat, To- we al gwire to float
Fo' to dip in de gol'en sea!
This is evidently a favorite air and the
throng becomes frantic with enthusiasm as il
repeats it with many a quaint stanza. An
ecstatic sister takes up tho burden again with
Good Mr. Jesus sitting in de prov,
Come all yo niggahs make yo' bow!
Oh! look down on dc world below
An watch dem white trash shubblin snow,
While angel fishes da nip my toe
While dip in de goren seal
Then the responsive chorus swells out, and
again the basso profundo Of the crew deter
mines tho sisters shall not have q monopoly
of the solo parts, % be breaks In and crush
ingly refers to the erratic mother Of then
| all:
Obi Adam no was fus' built man,
OATS jis' what de Good Book say;
And Ebs como mex, den sin began,
OATS jis' what de Good Book say.
Ebe bit de apple right In two,
wicked fnx TO Ebs 10 do;
| Yes. dnts what dc Good Book say!
But lis effort to silence them is futile, fol
they join with him in undated gusto in
OATS jes' what de Good Book say, it am;
| Yes, OATS what De Good Book say;
Jes' read it froo, you'll find it true,
Fo' OATS what dc Good Book say.
Another biblical e1pounder is quick a
hand to continue the song:
Dab wah a man, he name wah Lot,
| OATS jis what de Good Book say;
An he hab a wife an daughter got.
OATS js' what de Good Book say.
He wife she balk en- make halt,
An de Lord he turn hah into salt;
Oh OATS what de Good Book say.
But the swaying, time beating crowd OF
shore is now fast receding from view, and thu
boats many voiced crew unites with heart
stirring earnestness in:
Use gwine f'om do cotton fields, Use gwile f'ou
dc cane,
Use gwinc f'om de OF log hut dat STAINS down /,
| de lane;
De boat am in de riber, dat comes to take of
An Use gvine to jine de exodus, and strike on
| TO de nof
And nfar over the moonlit waters faint
notes of weird melodies came floating like
distant echo Of this pathetic strain-Chicagt