Of De Witt Williams on His Way to Lincoln Cemetery
Of De Witt Williams on His Way to Lincoln Cemetery - meaning Summary
A Funeral's Humble Recounting
The poem mourns a Black man's death by naming ordinary places and pleasures that shaped his life. Repetition and a spiritual refrain frame him as both specific — born in Alabama, raised in Illinois, known for dances and pool halls — and emblematic, reduced by others to "nothing but a plain black boy." The poem blends local geography with communal song to insist on the value and remembered humanity of a modest life.
Read Complete AnalysesHe was born in Alabama. He was bred in Illinois. He was nothing but a Plain black boy. Swing low swing low sweet sweet chariot. Nothing but a plain black boy. Drive him past the Pool Hall. Drive him past the Show. Blind within his casket, But maybe he will know. Down through Forty-seventh Street: Underneath the L, And Northwest Corner, Prairie, That he loved so well. Don’t forget the Dance Halls— Warwick and Savoy, Where he picked his women, where He drank his liquid joy. Born in Alabama. Bred in Illinois. He was nothing but a Plain black boy. Swing low swing low sweet sweet chariot. Nothing but a plain black boy.
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