Dixie's Land
Dixie's Land
Original Text
Charles Burleigh Galbreath, Daniel Decatur Emmett: Author of "dixie" (Columbus, Ohio: Fred J. Heer, 1904): 14-15, 18, 34 ("latest edition"). ML 410 .E54 G15 University of Michigan Graduate Library.
2Old times dar am not forgotten;
4In Dixie Land whar I was born in,
5Early on one frosty mornin,
6 Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land!
7 Den I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray!
8 In Dixie's Land we'll take our stand, to lib an' die in Dixie.
9 Away! away! away down South in Dixie.
10 Away! away! away down south in Dixie.
12Willum was a gay deceaber;
13 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
14But when he put his arm around her,
15He smiled as fierce as a forty-pounder;
16 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
17 Den I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray!
18 In Dixie's Land we'll take our stand, to lib an' die in Dixie.
19 Away! away! away down South in Dixie.
20 Away! away! away down south in Dixie.
21His face was sharp as a butcher's cleaber;
22But dat did not seem to greab her;
23 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
24Ole missus acted de foolish part,
25And died for a man dat broke her heart;
26 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
27 Den I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray!
28 In Dixie's Land we'll take our stand, to lib an' die in Dixie.
29 Away! away! away down South in Dixie.
30 Away! away! away down south in Dixie.
31Now here's health to de next ole missus,
32An' all the gals dat want to kiss us;
33 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
34But if you want to drive 'way sorrow,
35Come and hear dis song tomorrow;
36 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
37 Den I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray!
38 In Dixie's Land we'll take our stand, to lib an' die in Dixie.
39 Away! away! away down South in Dixie.
40 Away! away! away down south in Dixie.
41Dar's buckwheat cakes an' Injin batter,
42Makes you fat or a little fatter;
43 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
45To Dixie's land I'm bound to trabble;
46 Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
47 Den I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray!
48 In Dixie's Land we'll take our stand, to lib an' die in Dixie.
49 Away! away! away down South in Dixie.
50 Away! away! away down south in Dixie.
Notes
1] The publishers rejected the song's first stanza on religious grounds (Galbreath, pp. 13-14). It ran as follows:
Dis worl' was made in jiss six days,The last four stanzas of the original version (Galbreath, pp. 14-15; MS facsimile on 16-17, taken from the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society Library) vary from the latest edition in ways that suggest the gradual removal of overt racism from the song.
An' finish'd up in various ways;
Look away! look away! look away! Dixie Land!
Dey den made Dixie trim an' nice,
But Adam call'd it "Paradise."
Look away! look away! look away! Dixie Land!
In Dixie Land de darkies grow,Back to Line
If white folks only plant dar toe;
Look away, etc.
Dey wet de groun' wid 'bakker smoke,
Den up de darkies' heads will poke.
Look away, etc.Missus married Will de weaber,
Will, he was a gay deceaber;
Look away, etc.
When he put his arms around 'er,
He look as fierce as a forty pounder.
Look away, etc.Ole missus die, -- she took a decline,
Her face was de color ob bacon-rhine;
Look away, etc.
How could she act de foolish part,
An' marry a man to broke her heart.
Look away, etc.Den here's a health to de next ole missus
An' all de galls dat want to kiss us;
Look away, etc.
Den hoe it down an' scratch yoa grabble.
To Dixie Land I'm boun' to trabble.
Look away, etc.
3] Dixie Land: the states south of the Mason-Dixon line that separates Pennsylvania and Maryland. Back to Line
11] The rhymes would seem to be "weaver"and "deceiver." Back to Line
44] The rhymes would seem to be "gravel" and "travel." Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1860
Publication Notes
Daniel D. Emmett, Emmett's Inimitable Plantation Songs, Written and Composed for Bryant's Minstrels, of 470 Broadway, New York (New York: Firth, Pond, 1860)
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
RPO 1998.
Rhyme