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

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


  • Ramzy Baroud
    Why Didn’t Iran Put Gaza on the Table? A Difficult Answer
    03 Jun 2026
    From Gaza to Tehran, from the politics of resistance to the limits of regional diplomacy, a pressing question has resurfaced amid the 2026 war: why was Palestine not explicitly placed at the center…
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 29, 2026
    29 May 2026
    In this week’s segment, we talk about the latest iterations of immigration enforcement and their connections to racist public policy, mass incarceration, and the settler colonial foundations of the…
  • Malcolm X and Fidel Castro
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Solidarity and the Cuban Revolution
    29 May 2026
    Our guest is Dr. Rosemari Mealy. She is the author of "Fidel and Malcolm: Memories of a Meeting," which analyzes the significance of the 1960 meeting between Fidel Castro and Malcolm X. She has lived…
  • Delaney Hall
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Racism, Mass Incarceration, Settler Colonialism and Immigration Enforcement
    29 May 2026
    The Trump administration is accelerating policies meant not just to deport undocumented people, but to restrict every avenue of legal immigration from the Global South. Abraham Paulos is Deputy…
  • Ajamu Baraka
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist , José Luis Granados Ceja , Kurt Hackbarth
    'The people who most love the game won't be able to go': Ajamu Baraka on Resistance to the World Cup
    27 May 2026
    In this episode of El Taller, hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth sit down with Ajamu Baraka, national organizer and spokesperson for the Black Alliance for Peace, a former vice-…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us