Poem- "The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes

[Ms. Knarr]

The Weary Blues By Langston Hughes



Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,

Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,

I heard a Negro play.

Down on Lenox Avenue the other night

By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light

He did a lazy sway. . . .

He did a lazy sway. . . .

To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.

With his ebony hands on each ivory key

He made that poor piano moan with melody.

O Blues!

Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool

He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.

Sweet Blues!

Coming from a black man’s soul.

O Blues!

In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone

I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—

“Ain’t got nobody in all this world,

Ain’t got nobody but ma self.

I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’

And put ma troubles on the shelf.”



Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.

He played a few chords then he sang some more—

“I got the Weary Blues

And I can’t be satisfied.

Got the Weary Blues

And can’t be satisfied—

I ain’t happy no mo’

And I wish that I had died.”

And far into the night he crooned that tune.

The stars went out and so did the moon.

The singer stopped playing and went to bed

While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.

He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.

[abigaildolan]

Hello it's Abbey please post after me.

1) This poem seems very said and the author seems to be saying that there are people out there with absolutely no one in the world to love them. From what the song says maybe the author means for the readers to see that we can't always have everything and we have to appreciate what we have because there are people who have so much less. This man who plays the piano and sings the blues is described to be singing from his soul. So the author could be implying that people who play the blues are actually blue inside themselves.

2) I have read this poem before and I know I really like it. I'm not sure why but it has a very slow, melodious rhythm to it that I like. Even though it makes me feel sort of despondent I enjoy it because it makes you slow down and think about it, think about what the man singing is think about. Then the last line 'He slept like a rock or a man that's dead'. That line, the emotion I felt reading that was just immensely deep. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I think Langston Hughes is a very thoughtful and deep author. He can make a reader feel what the poem is about.

Question 1: This poem has a song in it. Why do you think that Langston Hughes chose to write a song in his poem? Does it make sense with out the song?

Question 2: The last line of the song 'And I wish that I had died' is very vague. What do you think the author could have meant by this line?

Question 3: The author describes the music he is hearing as 'Sweet Blues' and yet the music is not very sweet when you read what it says. Why do you think that he described it in such a endearing manor when the music is rather depressing?

Question 4: The pianist is playing all night and then continues to dream of the music as he sleeps. Do you think it is possible that this tune is so much a part of this man's life that he can not escape from it? If so do you think if he decided to play something happy his life might get better?

[stephhsieh]

1. I agree with Abbey about her overall meaning of this poem. I also believe the tone of this poem is very sad and depressing and many people are feeling blue. I think the overall meaning of this song is, everyone feels blue and sometimes there's nothing to cure this feeling. I also think that the meaning of this poem is, if someone doesn't have love, they would rather die. Because when Hughes said, "Ain’t got nobody in all this world....And I wish that I had died" it means that loneliness leads to depression.

2. I also really liked this piece. I enjoyed this poem because it makes the reader think and understand there's a deeper meaning to the song rather than the poem. I also really like it because there's a nice rhythm and flow to the poem, it really does seem like a blue's song. I also agree with Abbey, that Langston Hughes is a very thoughtful and deep author; he does indeed make the reader feel the poem.

3. (answering Q2) I think what Hughes meant by that last line of the song is instead of putting his troubles aside, "And put ma troubles on the shelf”, that he much rather die then to pretend everything is okay.

(my question) This poem is very sad and depression, why do you think Hughes wrote it? Was he the singer himself during a period of his lifetime?

[clareaker]

1. I agree with both Abbey and Steph that this poem is very sad and melancholy. I think this poem is about a man singing the blues by himself. I think the purpose of this poem is to signify the time period and how blues and singing and this type of music was very important at the time. I also think it is to show the sorrows that these people went through in their lives, such as slaves and the feeling of lonliness.
2. I like this poem very much. I think it has several meanings to it. It shows that music was very important at the time. I also think it shows the effects that slavery and hardships has on people. The poem is very smooth and easy to read and understand the deeper meaning.
3. To answer Steph's question, I think Hughes wrote this poem to show the significane of blues in this time period.
Q: Why do you feel that this man is so lonley? Do you think he could have been a slave or lost a loved one because of slavery?

[alexacevedo]

1. In this poem, Langston Hughes examines thoroughly a solitary scene, that of a man playing the blues through the night. Here, as Abbey noted earlier, Hughes examines how the man plays this song from the depths of his soul, putting his feelings into the music, and in my opinion, using it as a form of release, using it to relieve some of his pain. Contrary to those saying there is no relief for such melancholy the pianist suffers from, I feel that Hughes explains the sort of comforting effect the song has, noting that after the musician finished playing he sleeps "like a rock or a man that's dead". Hughes also uses repetition in this piece to stress the importance of certain themes, such as the 'lazy sway' and the "Weary Blues" that is the namesake of the poem.

2. I like this particular poem because of it's rhythmic flow and verse. Descriptions like 'syncopated tune', 'ebony hands', and 'rickety stool' provide a sort of imagery for the piece, allowing me to pciture the scene as I read the piece. Personally, I feel the poem is best read slowly, in order to appreciate the emphasis on the certain words and phrases as described above.

3. Answering Abigail's third question, I feel that the blues is in fact 'sweet' for the pianist, as it provides a means of expressing the pain he appears to have encountered his entire life. He finds a sort of solace in the music, which is relief for his agony and depression.

How does, however, such music have the power to relieve? What about the blues is comforting in a way?

[jimmymahoney]

1. It's hard to come up with a meaning that doesn't completely mirror the ones previously stated. Hughes obviously was very depressed when he wrote this, or he was inspired by a depressed peer. Regardless, this poem conveys nothing but gloom and doom. It's hard to think that the man in the poem was ever happy at any point.

2. This poem seems to be written with music in mind. It wouldn't be surprising for a person to see this in music rather than just poetry. Even while I read it, all I could picture was Bob Dylan crooning this to depressing guitar melody.

3. To answer Abbey's 2nd question, I believe that the line "And I wish that I had died" implies that the singer is depressed because he lost a loved one, or a lover, and he wishes that he had died with them also. My question is whether this poem was written about himself, or did Langston Hughes get inspired by someone else?

[clareaker]

1. I agree with what Jimmy said about this man never being happy. It is very possible that the author intended for the character in this novel was always depressed. It could very easily have reflected Hughes, and his personal experiences.
2. To answer Jimmy's question, I think Langston Hughes could very well be referring to himself and writing about himself in this poem. I also think that Hughes could have just been writing about how many black people could have been feeling in this particular time period.

[abigaildolan]

1) I agree with Steph and Clare. I can definitely see how you could get that the man would rather die without love. Also it definitely represents the times. The time of the renaissance African Americans were still being persecuted and coming out in there culture. Their culture was very important to the people who sang and played music. I also think that the poem is more about looking back on the past though. The sadness African Americans were coming from. A time of oppression and subservience to others and breaking away from that. That, sticking to what I said originally, we have to appreciate what we have.

2) I am answering Steph's question. I think Hughes wrote the poem to show that not all life is happy. There are bad things in life and we need to learn to cope with these problems not live with them. The man in this poem seems to be just going through life with his depression and Hughes shows us how it comes through in his music. I don't think he was the singer but I think he is taking all the sadness he has witnessed or felt in his life and embodying it in this one man. This man lives a life around his sadness and its not getting any better. I think the message of this poem is that we can't be like that. We have to face the things that are holding us back and work through it to move on as a people.

My Question - Music is very powerful in African culture. Do you think that by incorporating music in his poem Langston Hughes is trying to bring his culture into the piece?

[Maureen Hoey]

1. In this poem I felt that the author was trying to convey to the readers a very sad and melancholy feeling. While reading this, I thought that the author, Hughes, was going through a hard time in his life. This piece also shows the true feelings that come from being lonely. Hughes shows that when someone is lonely there is no real cure for that and without that feeling of being loved and having companionship there is no true, deep happiness in a person's life.

2. I actually did enjoy reading this piece, but it did show me that most of the times when you are sad the only thing that is sometimes needed to do is to sleep, like Hughes says at the end. I also liked it, because when many people are sad they listen to music, because the lyrics match up to their feelings better than that person is able to explain. In this poem, Hughes incorporates the main character to sing and play music to express how he is feeling. I like that a lot, because I can create a setting in my head and the lyrics in the song make the poem more understandable.

3. To answer Abby's question, I definitely think that the author is trying to incorporate his own culture into this poem by using different dialect and using words such as "black man's soul."

Q:In this poem do you think the author is trying to convey that in life if you are a lonely person then there is no purpose to life?

[chrismarrie]

1. I agree strongly with everyone's opinion, in that what the author attempted to show sadness and lonliness. It is clear that the man singing this blues song is extremely lonely, without the feeling of love. He is so lonely that it seems that he is singing to himself.

2. I enjoyed reading this poem. I feel like if you were upset and felt like this man did, you could really relate by reading this piece. As Maureen said, when people are sad they can feel more confort knowing someone else feels the same way they do by listening to music This poem gives reading the same affect, and it is a good way of getting through tough times.

3. (Maureen's question) No, I think the author is just trying to help out people feeling this way. The purpose of the poem is to make people understand that they are not alone, and others feel depressed at times too.
(My question) Does "putting his trouble on the shelf," mean storing them away and avoiding them?

[maureen]

Re post

1. Chris' answer to my question made me look at the poem much differently. Now i do realize that Hughes cold have also been trying to offer comfort while writing this to show readers that through life everyone goes through times where they feel alone.

2. I think when Hughes says he is "putting his trouble on a shelf" he is not avoiding them or waiting until later to fix them. I think that by putting his troubles away, Hughes means that he is going to let go of his problems and let whatever is supposed to happen occur. He is showing the readers that sometimes you have to let the situation fall out of your hands and "let the chips fall where they may."

Q: Do you think that Hughes might be trying to portray how many people might have viewed colored people (sad and lonely)?