Mule on the Mount

LYRICS- MULE ON THE MOUNT
[Sung by Zora Neale Hurston]

Cap'n got a mule, mule on the mount called Jerry
Haa!
Cap'n got a mule, mule on the mount called Jerry
Gonna ride him down, Lawd, Lawd gonna ride him down.

I got a woman shake like jelly all over
Haa!
I got a woman shake like jelly all over
Haa!
Her hips so broad, Lawd, Lawd her hips so broad.

My little woman, she had a baby this morning
Haa!
My little woman , she had a baby this morning
Haa!
He had blue eyes, Lawd, Lawd, he had blue eyes

I outa had told her
He musta be the hell fired captain’s
Hmm
I outa had told her
He must be the hell fired captain’s
Haa!
He had blue eyes, Lawd Lawd he had blue eyes

Oh don’t you hear them
A coo coo bird a keep on hollerin
Haa!
Oh don’t you hear them
A coo coo bird a keep on hollerin
Haa!
It looks like rain, Lawd, Lawd, it looks like rain.

I got a rain-bow wrapped and tied around my shoulder,
Haa!
I got a rain-bow wrapped and tied around my shoulder,
Haa!
It ain't goin' rain, Lawd, Lawd, it ain't goin' rain

Oh hand me down two, three cans of tomatoes
Haa!
Oh hand me down two, three cans of tomatoes
Haa!
And a can of corn, Lawd Law a can of corn

I got a woman she's pretty but she's too bulldozing,
I got a woman she's pretty but she's too bulldozing,
She won't live long, Lawd, Lawd, she won't live long.

This song was recorded in 1939 in Florida. Hurston learned the song in Eatonville Florida, where a portion of her novel takes place. By listening to this song and learning how Hurston learned it, we can understand better the times in the novel when characters gather on their porches to sing. This shows the importance that folk music and community can have on an individual.

Florida WPA Recording, 1939, (AFC 1939/005), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress