Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

Big Eyz Fo' Massa William Mule
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
20 Feb 2013
🖨️ Print Article

by Raymond Nat Turner

Don' know what it tiz 'bout

Massa William, voice, smile?

His hornin'? He do play de sax,

Or, de carrut and stik he carry?

 

Big Eyz Fo' Massa William Mule

by Raymond Nat Turner

All dem big, fancy-ass Negroz

Got big eyz fo' – an' wanna ride

Massa William mule, dey say –

Dem say, it bring 'em honor,

Glory an' de dollas dey desuv

Fo' servus rendud – gettin' paid!

 

Dat ol' Charlatan boy got on

Massa William mule and

Didn't wanna get off & Cap'n

Fletcher had his britches all

Hiked up and was waggin'

His finger in our faces jus'
Lak Massa William do...

 

Dat fas-mouf, big wurd boy &

Dat Booker boy been eyein' Massa

William mule, evuh sinz Charlit

 

Don' know if Dem boyz know

How stubburn Massa William

Ol' mule be, won't let 'em mount

Him les daze ridin' bareback, bakwuds –

An' ain't no soap known to man

Kin get de odur off skin and cloz

 

Doz big fancy-ass Negroz talkin'

Fo' yeahs 'bout how dey tell Massa

William dey want dey freedum,

'Bout how de take dey freedum &

Massa William mule, too, if dey

Hav a mind to, dey say, Dem say

De mule de symbul ob power...

 

Dem big, fancy-ass Negroz talk'n

& Talk'n talk &, but when Massa 

William show up, dey freedum

Seemz no bigga den Massa 

William nex comman...

 

Don' know what it tiz 'bout

Massa William, voice, smile?

His hornin'? He do play de sax,

Or, de carrut and stik he carry?

Hurd one dem big, fancy-ass

Negroz sangin' "You mus undastan

Dat de bak ob his han make my pulze reak."

Miss Hillree mean, too, she jus' soon

Kill one dem big, fancy-ass Negroz

Den put on a pantz soot –

One ob de Haitian hired hep

Up in Harlem heard Ms Hillree

Cacklin' 'bout " a little poison!"

Negroz drinkin' de politks ob fear:

De Tea Party, de Coke Bros— wit

Cristal, Hennessey, fo' dey chasuh...

 

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at upsurgejazz.com.

Raymond Nat Turner (c) 2012 All Rights Reserved

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    POEM: The Beirut Jokebook, June Jordan, 1982
    25 Jun 2025
    “What did the Arab lady say to the Israeli tank?”
  • x
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    The Tactical Failure of Israel/U.S. Attacks on Iran Is Leading Both to a Strategic Disaster
    25 Jun 2025
    The U.S. and Israel’s unchecked aggression has plunged the world into a lawless state of imperial violence—yet their latest attacks on Iran have only exposed the limits of colonial power. As Western…
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Rwanda: Victoire Ingabire Must Not Suffer the Fate of Kizito Mihigo
    25 Jun 2025
    Kizito Mihigo and Victoire Ingabire both challenged Rwanda's foundational genocide narrative. He died in jail, and she is now in custody.
  • Jon Jeter
    Unable to Reinvent Itself, Dems Can’t Capitalize on Trump’s Missteps
    25 Jun 2025
    The Democratic Party is in crisis—divided, broke, and struggling to counter Trump’s agenda despite growing public backlash. Internal battles over strategy and leadership have left the DNC paralyzed.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    There’s Plenty Left in New York City, and the Democrat Establishment is Shook
    25 Jun 2025
    Zohran Mamdani’s upset over Andrew Cuomo in NYC’s mayoral primary has cracked the Democratic machine’s decades-long grip, proving grassroots organizing can muscle out billionaire financing and…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us