Paul Laurence Dunbar: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

When de Co'n Pone's Hot

Paul Laurence Dunbar

“When de Co'n Pone's Hot” as printed in The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar (1913).

Paul Laurence Dunbar: Collected Lyrics Text 141 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

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Merry AutumnThe Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbarby Paul Laurence DunbarWhen de Co'n Pone's HotBallad→

WHEN DE CO'N PONE'S HOT

Verse 2

Dey is times in life when Nature

Seems to slip a cog an' go,

Jes' a-rattlin' down creation,

Lak an ocean's overflow;

When de worl' jes' stahts a-spinnin'

Lak a picaninny's top,

An' yo' cup o' joy is brimmin'

'Twell it seems about to slop,

An' you feel jes' lak a racah,

Dat is trainin' fu' to trot—

When yo' mammy says de blessin'

An' de co'n pone 's hot.

When you set down at de table,

Kin' o' weary lak an' sad,

An' you 'se jes' a little tiahed

An' purhaps a little mad;

How yo' gloom tu'ns into gladness,

How yo' joy drives out de doubt

When de oven do' is opened,

An' de smell comes po'in' out;

Why, de 'lectric light o' Heaven

Seems to settle on de spot,

When yo' mammy says de blessin'

An' de co'n pone 's hot.

When de cabbage pot is steamin'

An' de bacon good an' fat,

When de chittlins is a-sputter'n'

So 's to show you whah dey's at;

Tek away yo' sody biscuit,

Tek away yo' cake an' pie,

Fu' de glory time is comin',

A n' it's 'proachin' mighty nigh,

An' you want to jump an' hollah,

Dough you know you 'd bettah not,

When yo' mammy says de blessin'

An' de co'n pone 's hot.

I have hyeahd o' lots o' sermons,

An' I 've hyeahd o' lots o' prayers,

An' I 've listened to some singin'

Dat has tuck me up de stairs

Of de Glory-Lan' an' set me

Jes' below de Mastah's th'one,

An' have lef my hea't a-singin'

In a happy aftah tone;

But dem wu'ds so sweetly murmured

Seem to tech de softes' spot,

When my mammy says de blessin',

An' de co'n pone's hot.

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), “When de Co'n Pone's Hot”

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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