Mammy's Little Coal Black Rose 1916

by James Pitt-Payne, London UK - 04 Jun 2005

I heard a pickaninny crying
down in Tennessee one night.
His little heart was nearly breaking
just because he wasn't white;
then his dear old Mammy kissed him,
and she said: "Chile don' you sigh;
Weep no more my baby."
Then she sang a Dixie Lullaby.

You better dry your eyes,
my little Coal Black Rose,
You better go to sleep and
let those eyelids close.
'Cause you're dark,
don't start a pinin'
you're a cloud with a silver lining,
tho' ev'ry old crow thinks
his babe am white as snow,
your dear old mammy knows
you're mighty as a rose,
and when the angels
gave those kinky curls to you,
they put a sunbeam
in your disposition too, that's true,
the reason you're so black I 'spose
they forgot to give your Mammy
a talcum powder chamois,
so don't you cry,
don't you sigh,
'cause you're Mammy's little Coal Black Rose.

You better dry your eyes,
my little Coal Black Rose,
You better go to sleep and
let those eyelids close.
'Cause you're dark,
don't start a pinin'
you're a cloud with a silver lining,
tho' ev'ry old crow thinks
his babe am white as snow,
your dear old mammy knows
you're mighty as a rose,
and when the angels
gave those kinky curls to you,
they put a sunbeam
in your disposition too, that's true,
the reason you're so black I 'spose
they forgot to give your Mammy
a talcum powder chamois,
so don't you cry,
don't you sigh,
'cause you're Mammy's little Coal Black Rose.

And then I saw that dear old Mammy
kiss those baby tears away
while in her arms the baby nestled
happy as a child at play;
then she whispered:
"Mammy loves you,
you're as sweet as possum pie,
go to sleep, my honey,
while your mammy sings a Lullaby."

You better dry your eyes,
my little Coal Black Rose,
You better go to sleep and
let those eyelids close.
'Cause you're dark,
don't start a pinin'
you're a cloud with a silver lining,
tho' ev'ry old crow thinks
his babe am white as snow,
your dear old mammy knows
you're mighty as a rose,
and when the angels
gave those kinky curls to you,
they put a sunbeam
in your disposition too, that's true,
the reason you're so black I 'spose
they forgot to give your Mammy
a talcum powder chamois,
so don't you cry,
don't you sigh,
'cause you're Mammy's little Coal Black Rose.

You better dry your eyes,
my little Coal Black Rose,
You better go to sleep and
let those eyelids close.
'Cause you're dark,
don't start a pinin'
you're a cloud with a silver lining,
tho' ev'ry old crow thinks
his babe am white as snow,
your dear old mammy knows
you're mighty as a rose,
and when the angels
gave those kinky curls to you,
they put a sunbeam
in your disposition too, that's true,
the reason you're so black I 'spose
they forgot to give your Mammy
a talcum powder chamois,
so don't you cry,
don't you sigh,
'cause you're Mammy's little Coal Black Rose.

Soft karaoke
Words
piano 1
piano 2
piano 3
piano 4
lyric
pizz str bass
*
Mammy's Little Coal Black Rose 1916
Lyric by Raymond Egan - Music by Richad A. Whiting
Performer: [Adele Rowland]
© MCMXVI by Jerome H. Remick & Co., N.Y.
*
sequence and karaoke by James Pitt-Payne, London UK
on Saturday 04 June 2005 at 14.31
in association with Doug Grierson
*