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Very early in life, it seemed to me that there was a relationship between the problems of the Negro people in America and the Jewish people in Russia,...more

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I went down to the river,I set down on the bank.I tried to think but couldn't,So I jumped in and sank.

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Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.

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Oh, God of Dust and Rainbows,Help us to seeThat without the dust the rainbowWould not be.

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Jazz, to me, is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in America: the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul - the tom-tom of revolt agains...more

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In all my life, I have never been free. I have never been able to do anything with freedom, except in the field of my writing.

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Though you may hear me holler,And you may see me cry--I'll be dogged, sweet baby,If you gonna see me die.

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Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.

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So since I'm still here livin',I guess I will live on.I could've died for love--But for livin' I was born.