Living

Temperance Rhyme

by Thomas W. Talley (collector) 1870–1952

From Negro Folk Rhymes (1922)

Living

Whisky nor brandy hain't no friend to my kind.
Dey killed my pō' daddy, an' dey troubled my mind.
Sometime he drunk whisky, sometime he drunk ale;
Sometime he kotch de rawhide, an' sometime de flail.

On yon'er high mountain, I'll set up dar high;
An' de wild geese can cheer me while passin' on by.
Go 'way, young ladies, an' let me alone;
For you know I'se a poor boy, an' a long ways from home.

Go put up de hosses an' give 'em some hay;
But don't give me no whisky, so long as I stay.
For whisky nor brandy hain't friend to my kind;
Dey killed my pō' daddy, an' dey troubled my mind.

MLA

Thomas W. Talley (collector). “Temperance Rhyme.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/talley/324/.

Chicago

Thomas W. Talley (collector). “Temperance Rhyme.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/talley/324/.

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