by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
Oh, de weathah it is balmy an' de breeze...
Language: English
Oh, de weathah it is balmy an' de breeze is sighin' low, [Li'l']1 gal, An' de mockin' bird is singin' in de locus by de do', [Li'l']1 gal; Dere's a-hummin' an' a-bummin' in de lan' f'om eas' to wes', I's a-sighin' fu' you, honey, an' I nevah know no res'. Fu' dey's lots o' trouble [brewin' an' a-stewin']2 in my breas', [Li'l']1 gal. Whut's de mattah wid de weathah, whut's de mattah wid de breeze, [Li'l']1 gal? Whut's de mattah wid de locus' dat's a-singin' in de trees, [Li'l']1 gal? W'y dey knows dey ladies love 'em, an' dey knows dey love 'em true, An' dey love 'em back, I reckon, des' lak I's a-lovin' you; Dat's de reason dey's a-weavin' an' a-sighin', thoo an' thoo, [Li'l']1 gal. Don't you let no [da'ky]3 fool you 'cause de clo'es he waihs is fine, [Li'l']1 gal. Dey's a hones' hea't a-beatin' unnerneaf dese rags o' mine, [Li'l']1 gal. C'ose dey ain' no use in mockin' whut de birds an' weathah do, But I's so'y I cain't 'spress it w'en I knows I loves you true, Dat's de reason I's a-sighin' an' a-singin' now fu' you, [Li'l']1 gal.
J. Johnson sets stanzas 1, 3
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Johnson: "Lit'l"
2 Johnson: "stewin' and' a-brewin'"
3 Adams: "fella"
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "Li'l' Gal", appears in Lyrics of Love and Laughter, first published 1903 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by H. Leslie Adams (b. 1932), "Li'l' Gal", from The Wider View, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Rosamond Johnson (1873 - 1954), "Litl' Gal", published 1902, stanzas 1,3 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 2 times]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-01-11
Line count: 15
Word count: 195