Call Boy

Git out o' bed, you rascals,
Take it up from de covers,
Bring it to de strawboss
Fast as you can;
Down to de railroads
De day is beginnin',
An' day never waited
Fo' no kinda man.

Sun's jes a-peekin'
Over top o' de mountains,
An' de fogclouds a-liftin'
Fo' de break of day;
Number Forty-four's pantin',
Takin' on coal an' water,
And she's strainin' ready
Fo' to get away.

Leave yo' wives and yo' sweethearts,
Yo' pink and yo' yaller,
Yo' blue black and stovepipe,
Yo' chocolate brown;
All you backbitin' rascals,
Leave de other men's women,
De night crew from de roundhouse
Is a-roundin' roun'.

O you shifters and humpers,
You boiler washers,
You oilers and greasers
Of de drivin' rods,
You switchers and flagmen,
Tile layers and tampers,
Youse wanted at de Norfolk
And Western yards.

You cooks got to cook it
From here to Norfolk,
You waiters got to dish it
From here to Tenessee,
You porters got to run
From here to Memphis,
Gotta bring de man's time,
Dontcha see, dontcha see?

De air may be cold an'
Yo' bed may be easy,
Yo' babe may be comfy
An' warm by yo' side;
But don't snore so loud
Dat you can't hear me callin',
Don't ride no nightmare,
Dere's engines to ride.

Git up off o' yo' shirt-tails,
You dumb lazy rounders,
Think I'm gonna let you
Sleep all day?
Bed has done ruint
Dem as can't leave it,
You knows you can't make it
Actin' datway...

Sterling A. Brown

Strawboss: A worker who acts as a boss or crew leader in addition to performing regular duties.
Roundhouse: workplace consisting of a circular building for repairing locomotives .
Stovepipe: ? [one Urban Dictionary definition is "a white woman who sleeps with black men."]
Blueblack: African American with very dark skin.
Shifter: A switcher in the terminology of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Humper: [Not sure but a hump yard is a yard where railcars are rearranged by rolling down a hill into a series of tracks. [http://www.vnerr.com/news/slang.html]
Oilers and greasers: oil and grease moving parts of friction surfaces of mechanical equipment (eg driving rods)


Check out this website for old Harlem Slang:
http://aalbc.com/authors/harlemslang.htm

Image taken between 1909-1932.
Obtained from http://www.old-picture.com