Paul Laurence Dunbar: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Parted (2)

Paul Laurence Dunbar

“Parted (2)” as printed in The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar (1913).

Paul Laurence Dunbar: Collected Lyrics Text 76 1913 · historical text
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Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr">The QuiltingThe Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbarby Paul Laurence DunbarPartedForever→sister projects: Wikidata item

PARTED

Verse 2

De breeze is blowin' 'cross de bay.

My lady, my lady;

De ship hit teks me far away,

My lady, my lady;

Ole Mas' done sol' me down de stream;

Dey tell me 't ain't so bad 's hit seem,

My lady, my lady.

O' co'se I knows dat you 'll be true,

My lady, my lady;

But den I do' know whut to do,

My lady, my lady;

I knowed some day we 'd have to pa't,

But den hit put' nigh breaks my hea't,

My lady, my lady.

De day is long, de night is black,

My lady, my lady;

I know you 'll wait twell I come back,

My lady, my lady;

I 'll stan' de ship, I 'll stan' de chain,

But I 'll come back, my darlin' Jane,

My lady, my lady.

Jes' wait, jes' b'lieve in whut I say,

My lady, my lady;

D' ain't nothin' dat kin keep me 'way,

My lady, my lady;

A man 's a man, an' love is love;

God knows ouah hea'ts, my little dove;

He 'll he'p us f'om his th'one above,

My lady, my lady.

Credits

Written by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Words by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Historical text published in The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar (1913); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar (1913), “Parted (2)”

Every text in this collected edition is by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906); his works entered the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions in 1977, and the 1913 edition is in the public domain in the United States. The edition carries a Wikisource PD-old determination.

How to read this historical text and its source

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Retrieved 2026-10-27. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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