Old Black Joe

Stephen C. Foster 1826 (Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania) – 1864 (New York City, New York)



1     Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay,
2     Gone are my friends from the cotton fields away,
3     Gone from the earth to a better land I know,
4     I hear their gentle voices calling 'Old Black Joe.'

5     [Chorus] I'm coming, I'm coming, for my head is bending low:
6     I hear those gentle voices calling, 'Old Black Joe.'

7     [Solo] Why do I weep when my heart should feel no pain
8     Why do I sigh that my friends come not again,
9     Grieving for forms Now departed long a go?
10   I hear their gentle voices calling 'Old Black Joe.'

11   [Chorus] I'm coming, I'm coming, for my head is bending low:
12   I hear those gentle voices calling, 'Old Black Joe.'

13   [Solo] Where are the hearts once so happy and so free?
14   The children so dear that I held upon my knee,
15   Gone to the shore where my soul has longed to go.
16   I hear their gentle voices calling 'Old Black Joe.'

17 [Chorus] I'm coming, I'm coming, for my head is bending low:
18 I hear those gentle voices calling, 'Old Black Joe.'

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:01 min read
64

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABB BB XXBB BB CCBB BB
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,040
Words 205
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 2, 4, 2, 4, 2

Stephen C. Foster

Stephen Collins Foster, known as "the father of American music", was an American songwriter known primarily for his parlor and minstrel music. more…

All Stephen C. Foster poems | Stephen C. Foster Books

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    "Old Black Joe" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/35647/old-black-joe>.

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