Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/Gettin' Hum
GETTIN' HUM
There air some mighty purty scenesTer see upon the farm,An' there ain't nothin' in the townTer my notion ter charmYer like those homely kentry scenes,With all their quiet ways,Instead o' everything agog,An' everything ablaze.
I went down ter the city onceTer see what I could see,An' got alfired lonesome likeAn' blue as I could be;The folks all look so worried likeAn' never stop ter talk,An' don't say nuthin' 'bout the craps,An' gallup when they walk.
I didn't see a bit o' grass,Or any kind o' land,Or anything but bricks and stunAn' houses built so grandYou'd hardly dast ter look at em,An' made so tarnal high You'd kinder hev ter hold yer breathWhenever yer went by.
The furniture is all so softMade out o' plush and hair,It kinder seemed ter say ter youSit down on me with care;I didn't sit down good and hardThe whole time I wuz there—I tell yer what, I longed sometimesFur my ole straight-backed chair.
My cousins were so tarnal p'liteAn' made so many bonesAbout my comin' down ter town,An' called me Mr. Jones,An' axed sech funny questions too,They made me want ter run,I'd gin a V ter heard um say"How be yer, Jonathan."
I shook the dust off o' my feetWhen I had stayed a week,And got out of that Babylon,Where everything wuz Greek,An' homes were kept so mighty fineYou'd think they're made for kings,With beds that wouldn't let yer sleepFor fear you'd bust their springs.
When I gut hum 'twas harvest timeAn' there wuz golden cornA-standin' waitin' in the shocks,An' mother's dinner hornCum ringin' cheery down the road,It sounded mighty sweet,It seemed ter say, cum home old manAn' git somethin' ter eat.
An' there wuz cattle in the fieldsAn' punkins on the vinesAn' flaming maples in the woodsAmong the spruce an' pines,An' squirrels jumped from limb to limbWhere there was nuts to spare,An' autumn's haze wuz on the hills,An' peace wuz in the air.
An' when I saw our little homeA-nestlin' in the trees,Jest in the sunshine an' the shadeWith jest a bit o' breeze,I'll 'low my heart swelled up a bitAn' kept a-swellin' more,Until it fairly bust itselfWith Hannah at the door.
An' when she hugged me roun' the neckAn' kissed me on the cheek, An' said, "how be yer, Jonathan,"I swow, I couldn't speak.'Twuz worth a year of city life,An' more than kingdom come—'Bout all the fun o' goin' offIs jest a gettin' hum.