Poor Life
Lawd, Lawd, Lawd,
Save me from the low money life
Every dollar I keep throwin’ up to you, Lawd
The man keeps pullin’ it down
Lawd, Lawd
Save me from this sad money life
All for de children, de old folk, de singers,
de dancers in the street, oh Lawd
My heart is so big, Lawd
But my wages be so small
I ask the man for raise, oh Lawd
More wages for my Lawd.
But he just give his greasy grin, dear Lawd
And say tell me to think of the good
All de children, de old folk, de sick folk, my Lawd
Working day and night for the people, oh Lawd
Every time I give a dollar up
The ground keep pullin’ me down
Til’ the landlord put me out on the ground
All the working day and night, up and down
I just fall, Lawd
Fall on a pillow in a house that ain’t mine
It’s a day late, dollar short life, Lawd
Get me away from bein’ a dollar away from
De children, de old folk, de sick folk, the poor folk,
The dancer and signers, oh Lawd
I got the charity for folk that help other folk
Blues
Charity for charity
Alms for Alms
Daily bread for giving out bread e’rey day
If you don’t get what you deserve, you deserve what you get
Lawd, save me from this here poor life
Only rich man got the money to be poor in this land of strife
Every ditch I’m diggin’ is puttin’ me in the hole
My hand too blistered to feed my mouth
Ol’ St. Peter said in my dreams
he ain’t letting me the pearly gates, Lawd
‘Cause I robbed him to pay Paul
So e’rey day, I wake up at dawn
And toil ‘til the sun goes down.
Just for the coins, Lawd,
Just for them coins
That run away like a chain gang.
The folks in the alley ask me to spare
A coin or two
But they ran away
Ran away
To another man’s pocket
Holding them dead men’s ghost
Lawd, save me from this charity life
Pennies here, there and never near me
Day’s wages small and night wages
A little less
Now a day’s e’ry body asking for change, Lawd
Ask if I can spare a dime
I tell ‘em I’m ‘bout to ask you the same
Pennies lonely in my bag
Like war brides waiting for their men in green
To come home
Even for a little while.
A short visit at home, good Lawd,
and as soon as they come home, they go off again
on the front lines for the landlord, the light bill,
and my hungry gut
fightin’ off that wolf of hunger, oh Lawd
and the cold, outside world
all of after me like the warden’s dogs
comin’ to drag me back “home.”
Workin’ for them wages, Lawd.
even on your holy day.
every day I break my back, good Lawd
for a place to put my bed and lay
Day and night voices ring in my ears
so I can have a place to be quiet in, Lawd
Please
Save me
from this working charity life.
Stephanie Durann
Stephanie Durann is a writer from Philadelphia, PA who has performed under various reading series, festivals and cabarets in the city including Poets and Prophets, LadyFest Philly, and Black Women’s Arts Festival. She was also a participant in the National Book Foundation Summer Writing Camp in 2004. Stephanie has also worked as a freelance journalist, covering arts events in the city. As a devotee to music, Stephanie also works as a part-time live sound engineer and sound editor. One of her several dream jobs is to write and produce a podcast.