R. P. Player; Chicago Defender, September 22, 1917

[missing lines will be filled in]

I see ten thousand restless souls
Give up their daily toil;
I hear ten million voices speak
As if in great turmoil.
The nation’s asking why this stir,
And why this host’s all fired;
The answer comes from far and near,
The Negro’s getting tired.

He has fought in all great battles.
He cleared the fields and smiled.
While other folks who fought or toiled
Were either chafed or riled,
In peace he worked; in wars he fought–
He did all things required,
He helped to save the Nation’s cause,
But now he’s getting tired.

The Negro disobeys some laws.
The other folks aren’t free.
It doesn’t seem just really fair,
To hang him from a tree.
An object lesson, some folks say,
And thus the news is wired,
A lesson that is voice of good,
The Negro’s getting tired.

He worked almost three hundred years,
For a trip across the sea.
Four million worthy souls were born
Seeped in humility.
When Providence id set him free,
His race was much inspired;
Ambition gained ?????????
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He goes into the market place
To buy and spend his cash;
They spy his face: he has to wait,
Almost considered trash;
His money has not bought for him
The things life most desired,
An equal chance is all he asks,
He’s getting awful tired.

If young some call him, “Uncle Jack,”
If old they’ll call him “boy;”
They sometimes use him as a mat,
And sometimes as a toy;
He’s given names of many kinds,
As though he wasn’t sired.
There are o many reasons why
The Negro’s getting tired.

the Good Book says that of one blood
All men are equally made,
But when he seeks true brotherhood
He has too dark a shade.
Yet others say they’re in the path
Of Him who oft retired
And prayed for all, refusing none,
The Negro’s getting tired.

He long has walked the darksome road,
It doesn’t seem much brighter.
How long! How long! O might God,
Ere the load is lighter?
The cry of shame before Thy throne
Has oft his rights inquired,
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