Play, dark musician, play--
How almost human sounds your saxophone!
(Somewhere in Africa
An angry lion tosses up a bone.)
Sambo’s a ready scholar
And hides his black skin under a black coat.
Although he wears a collar
Adam’s own apple yet sticks in his throat.
Play, dark musician, play--
I see your imitation diamond flash.
(Once in America
Your fathers howled and writhed beneath the lash.)
How leers the blackamoor,
Exhaling his melodious delight!
Music’s his paramour;
And yours, and mine, since we dance here to-night.
Play, dark musician, play--
Outdo the beast’s roar and the scourged slave’s moan.
Ambassador from U.S.A.,
How almost human sounds your saxophone!