Mother to Son

"Mother to Son" is a song by Hall Johnson setting the poetry of Langston Hughes.

Date: 1970Composer: Hall JohnsonText: Langston Hughes

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Text

Mother to Son
by Langston Hughes

Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now—
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

Source: The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (Vintage Books, 1994)

Sheet Music

Mother to Son

Composer(s): Hall Johnson

Buy via Carl Fischer Music

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