The Congo

THE CONGO: A Study of the Negro Race BOOM, steal the pygmies,
by Vachel Lindsay BOOM, kill the Arabs,

BOOM, kill the white men,
I.
BLACK ( All ): BLACK ( All ):
Fat black bucks in a wine-barrel room HOO, HOO, HOO.
Barrel-house kings, with feet unstable,
Sagged and reeled and pounded on the table, BLACK KING:
Pounded on the table, Listen to the yell of Leopold’s ghost
Beat an empty barrel with the handle of a broom, Burning in Hell for his hand-maimed host.
Hard as they were able, "Be careful what you do,
Boom, boom, BOOM, Or Mumbo-Jumbo, God of the Congo, And all of the other
With a silk umbrella and the handle of a broom, Gods of the Congo,
Boomlay, boomlay, boomlay, BOOM.
THEN I had religion, Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you, Mumbo-Jumbo will
THEN I had a vision. hoo-doo you, Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you."
I could not turn from their revel in derision.
II.
TOURIST:
THEN I SAW THE CONGO, CREEPING THROUGH THE boomlay, boomlay, boomlay, BOOM. THEN I SAW THE
BLACK, CONGO, CREEPING THROUGH THE BLACK,
CUTTING THROUGH THE FOREST WITH A GOLDEN TRACK. CUTTING THROUGH THE FOREST WITH A GOLDEN TRACK.
A negro fairyland swung into view,
BLACK ( All ): A minstrel river
CUTTING THROUGH THE FOREST WITH A GOLDEN TRACK. Where dreams come true.
Then along that riverbank The ebony palace soared on high
A thousand miles Through the blossoming trees to the evening sky.
Tattooed cannibals danced in files; The inlaid porches and casements shone
Then I heard the boom of the blood-lust song With gold and ivory and elephant-bone.
And the black crowd laughed till their sides were sore
BLACK ( Mabini ): At the baboon butler in the agate door,
And a thigh-bone beating on a tin-pan gong. And the well-known tunes of the parrot band That trilled
on the bushes of that magic land.
WITCH ( Roshan ): A troupe of skull-faced witch-men came Through the
agate doorway in suits of flame,
And "BLOOD" screamed the whistles and the fifes of the Yea, long-tailed coats with a gold-leaf crust And hats that
warriors, were covered with diamond-dust.
"BLOOD" screamed the skull-faced, lean witch-doctors, And the crowd in the court gave a whoop and a call
And danced the juba from wall to wall.
BLACK KING: But the witch-men suddenly stilled the throng
"Whirl ye the deadly voo-doo rattle, With a stern cold glare, and a stern old song:
Harry the uplands, "Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you."…
Steal all the cattle, Just then from the doorway, as fat as shotes,
Rattle-rattle, rattle-rattle, Bing. Came the cake-walk princes in their long red coats,
Canes with a brilliant lacquer shine,
BLACK ( All ): 4× And tall silk hats that were red as wine.
Boomlay, boomlay, boomlay, BOOM," And they pranced with their butterfly
partners there,
BLACK KING: Coal-black maidens with pearls in their hair, Knee-skirts
A roaring, epic, rag-time tune trimmed with the jassamine sweet,
From the mouth of the Congo And bells on their ankles and little black-feet.
To the Mountains of the Moon. And the couples railed at the chant and the frown
Death is an Elephant, Of the witch-men lean, and laughed them down.
Torch-eyed and horrible, (O rare was the revel, and well worth while
Foam-flanked and terrible. That made those glowering witch-men
smile.) A million boats of the angels sailed
The cake-walk royalty then began With oars of silver, and prows of blue
To walk for a cake that was tall as a man And silken pennants that the sun shone through.
To the tune of "Boomlay, boomlay, BOOM," 'Twas a land transfigured, 'twas a new creation.
While the witch-men laughed, with a sinister air, Oh, a singing wind swept the negro nation
And sang with the scalawags prancing there: And on through the backwoods clearing flew: -
"Walk with care, walk with care, "Mumbo-Jumbo is dead in the jungle.
Or Mumbo-Jumbo, God of the Congo, Never again will he hoo-doo you.
And all the other Never again will he hoo-doo you.
Gods of the Congo, Redeemed were the forests, the beasts and the men,
Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you. And only the vulture dared again
Beware, beware, walk with care, By the far, lone mountains of the moon
Boomlay, boomlay, boomlay, boom. To cry, in the silence, the Congo tune:-
Boomlay, boomlay, boomlay, boom. "Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you,
Boomlay, boomlay, boomlay, boom. "Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you.
Boomlay, boomlay, boomlay, Mumbo... Jumbo... will... hoo-doo... you."
BOOM."
Oh rare was the revel, and well worth while That made
those glowering witch-men smile.
III.
A good old negro in the slums of the town Preached at a
sister for her velvet gown. Howled at a brother for his low-
down ways,
His prowling, guzzling, sneak-thief days.
Beat on the Bible till he wore it out
Starting the jubilee revival shout.
And some had visions, as they stood on chairs,
And sang of Jacob, and the golden stairs,
And they all repented, a thousand strong
From their stupor and savagery and sin and wrong
And slammed with their hymn books till they shook the
room
With "glory, glory, glory,"
And "Boom, boom, BOOM."
THEN I SAW THE CONGO, CREEPING
THROUGH THE BLACK,
CUTTING THROUGH THE FOREST WITH A
GOLDEN TRACK.
And the gray sky opened like a new-rent veil
And showed the Apostles with their coats of mail.
In bright white steel they were seated round And their
fire-eyes watched where the Congo wound.
And the twelve Apostles, from their thrones on high
Thrilled all the forest with their heavenly cry:
"Mumbo-Jumbo will die in the jungle;
Never again will he hoo-doo you,
Never again will he hoo-doo you."
Then along that river, a thousand miles
The vine-snared trees fell down in files.
Pioneer angels cleared the way
For a Congo paradise, for babes at play,
For sacred capitals, for temples clean.
Gone were the skull-faced witch-men lean. There, where
the wild ghost-gods had wailed

The Congo

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Congo

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Congo

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

THE CONGO: A Study of the Negro Race BOOM, steal the pygmies,

by Vachel Lindsay BOOM, kill the Arabs,

You might also like