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The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902-May 22, 1967) was infamously known as one of the most prominent and influential figures of the Harlem Renaissance, a rebirth movement of African Americans in the arts, politics and social sciences during the 1920s. During this time, Hughes wrote about the world around him, giving a voice to African Americans in a segregated society. His believed that this movement would reach the world and bring about change in the lives of African Americans. It did. Not only was Hughes a vital part of this movement, he was also a critical supporter of his fellow African American writers. Together they embraced the negativity and injustice of segregation and made art. Although poetic and melodic, Hughes' poems evoke feelings of segregation, racism and prejudice. The use of colloquial language escorts the reader into a world that is accessible. The short language and improper English highlights the miseducation of the people and the frustration or enthusiam they possess. He has written several novels, memoirs, song lyrics, children's books, countless poems and has published more than 20 books. One of his most famous poems is "The Weary Blues."

The Weary Blues

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.

"The Weary Blues" was written in 1926. The poem sets the scene of an old Harlem bar located on Lenox Ave. There is a piano player playing the blues. As he plays, the speaker observes his body movement and the sound of his voice. Hughes uses vivid imagery to describe the piano player and every action. Words such as "rocking," "swaying," "drowsy," "mellow croon," lazy sway," weary blues," "moan," and "raggy tune," evoke the feelings of a sad blues song. Throughout the poem, there are varying literary devices used to implore the sensation of the piano player and his position in life.

The piano player is referred to as a "Negro." This word was used during the time of segregation and was not a word of reverence. This alone indicates the piano player's position in society. The speaker goes on to notice the hands of the piano player. In a world where blacks and whites are segregated, the speaker notes that "his ebony hands on each ivory key." This line is critical in the realm of the context. The poem was written in a time where a black man could not use the same water fountain as a white man, yet Hughes deliberately lets the black man touch the white keys. The symbolism of this line illustrates the juxtaposition of white and black, how they live side by side, yet are expected never to touch.

The piano itself, becomes a symbol in the poem and is also personified. The piano moans. Perhaps, it is moaning at the touch of a black man's hands or the idea that his pain, his burdens and his strife are literally hurting the piano.

References

Hughes, Langston. "(James) Langston Hughes." Gale Database: Contemporary Authors (2003). web. 14 Nov. 2010.

Moore, David Chioni. "Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 315: Langston Hughes, a Documentary Volume." Research In African Literatures 37.1 (2006):154-155. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 11 Nov. 2010.

Wall, Cheryl A. "A Note On 'The Weary Blues.'" Lenox Avenue: A Journal of Interarts Inquiry 3 (1997): ii-vi. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2010.

External links

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