An Easy Goin' Feller - (2008) ![](images/01_Little_Green_Dot.gif)
Paul Laurence Dunbar
for baritone and piano
Ther' ain't no use in all this strife,
An' hurryin', pell-mell, right thro' life.
I don't believe in goin' too fast
To see what kind o' road you've passed.
It ain't no mortal kind o' good,
'N' I would n't hurry ef I could.
I like to jest go joggin' 'long,
To limber up my soul with song;
To stop awhile 'n' chat the men,
'N' drink some cider now an' then.
Do' want no boss a-standin' by
To see me work; I allus try
To do my dooty right straight up,
An' earn what fills my plate an' cup.
An' ez fur boss, I'll be my own,
I like to jest be let alone,
To plough my strip an' tend my bees,
An' do jest like I doggoned please.
My head's all right, an' my heart's meller,
But I'm a easy-goin' feller.
[ 4 pages, circa 3' 20" ]
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Paul Laurence Dunbar
For more information on Dunbar, please see my setting of his text, Theology.
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The tessitura might lie somewhat high for a baritone (as the setting is also apt for tenor), but the singing of it should be easy, and even crooned. The slow tempo and loping 6/8 meter should seem slightly lethargic, certainly at ease, and the accompaniment should be muted and tranquil even in the small syncopations.
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As bridge, some arpeggiated chords break the eighth note motor and imply a 3/4 meter underlying the duple of the vocal line.
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The score for An Easy Goin' Feller is available as a free PDF download, though any major commercial performance or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the composer. Click on the graphic below for this piano-vocal score.
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An Easy Goin' Feller
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