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


  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    COMMENTARY: The Shrinking American Empire, Glen Ford, 2009
    16 Sep 2026
    “The Iraq invasion greatly accelerated the process of U.S. imperialism’s decline.”
  • ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Black Radicalism and the Return of the “Subversive Negro”
    16 Sep 2026
    NSPM-7 and the State Department's international campaign against "far-left political terrorism" represent new and more dangerous forms of domestic repression in the 21st century, while reconstructing…
  • Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Colin Kaepernick’s “The Perilous Fight”
    16 Sep 2026
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Colin Kaepernick.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    A Climate “Movement” Homonym: (Or, How the Big Apple’s Annual Environmental Gathering Surfaces an Imperative Inquiry, Climate Week or Climate Weak?)
    16 Sep 2026
    The climate movement has been captured by a professional managerial class that prefers charity galas and virtue signaling to building power.
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Find me another 11,780 votes?
    16 Sep 2026
    "Find me another 11,780 votes?" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us