The Weary Blues - A poem by Langston Hughes

Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, I heard a Negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other night By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light He did a lazy sway . . . He did a lazy sway . . . To the tune o' those Weary Blues. With his ebony hands on each ivory key He made that poor piano moan with melody. O Blues! Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool. Sweet Blues! Coming from a black man's soul. O Blues! In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan-- "Ain't got nobody in all this world, Ain't got nobody but ma self. I's gwine to quit ma frownin' And put ma troubles on the shelf." Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor. He played a few chords then he sang some more-- "I got the Weary Blues And I can't be satisfied. Got the Weary Blues And can't be satisfied-- I ain't happy no mo' And I wish that I had died." And far into the night he crooned that tune. The stars went out and so did the moon. The singer stopped playing and went to bed While the Weary Blues echoed through his head. He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.

Comment 20 of 21, added on March 21st, 2008 at 1:19 PM.

I really like how Hughes seems to make his poem flow like a blues song. I feel as if the pianist himself shows not just black people but great musicians themselves, a musicians heart and sole is in his instrument, and when one isn't playing it they are really nothing, just normal.

Jake from United States

Comment 19 of 21, added on December 6th, 2007 at 2:57 PM.

"The Weary Blues" is a good poem. I think the piano is the symbol in this poem because when he plays it its like a song but when its over he falls asleep like a rock and that shows that the piano is a symbol in this poem. It's like if the piano represents the life of the man.

sergio c from United States

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