American Negro Folklore (1968)

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"Hawkins," "made in de shade, sold in de sun," and others of interest here.


AMERICAN NEGRO FOLKLORE
by J. Mason Brewer
Chicago: Quadrangle Books
1968

Pg. 189 (Slave Seculars and Work Songs):
_I Went to Atlanta_

I Went to Atlanta
Never been dere a-fo'
White folks eat de apple
Nigger wait fo' co'

(Other verses are "White folks sleep on feather bed" and "White folks wear de fancy suit" and "White folks sit in Lawd's place"--ed.)

Pg. 304 (Cold Weather Signs): If turkeys roost high in a tree, it's a sign of cold weather. You will hear the old folks say, "Look out, children. Hawkins is coming."

Pg. 323 (Creole Proverbs):
Great to speak, little to do.
One goes everywhere with fine clothes.
Ox who comes first always drinks clear water.
Pg. 324:
That is not the baptism of a doll. (No laughing matter.)
When the tree falls the goat climbs it.
The best swimmer is often drowned.
When one is very hungry one does not peel the sweet potato.
His tongue knows no Sunday.
I keep nothing hidden in the sideboard. (I keep nothing back.)
Set your type before you go and then read it. (Have on your tongue what you are going to say.)

Pg. 338 ("Dirty Dozens" Rhymes):
Yo' mama's in de kitchen; yo' papa's in jail;
Yo' sister's round de corner, hollerin' "Hot stuff for sale."

Pg. 339 (Street Cries):
I sell to the rich,
I sell to the po';
I'm gonna sell the lady
Standin' in that do'.

I got water with the melon, red to the rind!
If you don't believe it just pull down your blind.
You eat the watermelon and preee-serve the rind!

Pg. 340:
We sell it to the rich, we sell it to the poor,
We give it to the sweet brownskin, peepin' out the door.
_Tout chaud, Madame, tout chaud!_
Git 'em while they're hot. Hot _calas_!

The Waffle Man is a fine old man.
He washes his face in a frying-pan.
He makes his waffles with his hand.
Everybody loved the waffle man.

Char-coal! Char-coal!
My horse is white, my face is black.
I sell my charcoal, two-bits a sack--
Char-coal! Char-coal!

Pg. 342:
Porgy walk; Porgy talk,
Porgy eat wid a knife an' fork;
Porgy-e-e-e-!

Vanilla, chocolate, peach cream
Dat surely freezed by de stream.
It was made in de shade, an' is sold in de sun.
If you ain't got a nickel, you can't get none.

Any rags, any bones, any bottles today?
The same old rag man comin' this a-way.

Swimp man, swimp man, raw, raw, raw.
Fifteen cents a plate, two for a quarter.
Raw, raw, raw.

Pg. 343 (Jeering and Taunting Rhymes):
A bushel o' wheat, a bushel o' san',
Ah'd rather be a nigger than a po' white man.

You bowlegged, lazy,
An' almo' half crazy.

Pg. 367 (Autograph Album Rhymes):
You can kiss beneath a grapevine, you can kiss beneath the rose,
But the best place I know of is to kiss beneath the nose.

Pg. 368:
Apples on the table, peaches on the shelf,
If you don't love nobody, keep it to yourself.

Up the hickory, an' down the pine;
Good-looking boys is hard to find.

Sugar is sweet, an' coffee is strong;
Write me a letter, and don't be long.

It takes a rocking chair to rock,
A rubber ball to roll,
A tall, skinny papa
To satisfy my soul.

Orange is a city, Lemon is a state;
I wrote you a letter, but I forgot de date.

Pg. 369:
My papa is a butcher,
My mama cuts de meat.
Ah'm de little weiner-wish
Dat runs around destreet.

If the ocean was milk, and the bottom was cream,
I'd dive for you like a submarine.

Cream cheese, cream cheese floatin' in the air,
That bald-headed man ain't got no hair.

Pg. 373 (Ring-Game Songs):
Ooka dooka soda cracker,
Does your father chew tobacco?
Yes, my father chews tobacco.
Ooka dooka soda cracker.


Copy cat, copy cat, sittin' on duh fence,
Trying' tuh make a dollar out o' fifteen cents.


(NEWSPAPERARCHIVE)
   Trenton Times  Monday, October 17, 1904 Trenton, New Jersey
...of whioti starts off with "ANY RAGS, ANY BONES, ANY bottles today." Of course.....Fred Barlow, asked, "Have you ANY rags today''" H happened that Just..