Harlem Shadows
I hear the halting footsteps of a lass
In Negro Harlem when the night lets fall
Its veil. I see the shapes of girls who pass
To bend and barter at desire's call.
Ah, little dark girls who in slippered feet
Go prowling through the night from street to street!
Through the long night until the silver break
Of day the little gray feet know no rest;
Through the lone night until the last snow-flake
Has dropped from heaven upon the earth's white breast,
The dusky, half-clad girls of tired feet
Are trudging, thinly shod, from street to street.
Ah, stern harsh world, that in the wretched way
Of poverty, dishonor and disgrace,
Has pushed the timid little feet of clay,
The sacred brown feet of my fallen race!
Ah, heart of me, the weary, weary feet
In Harlem wandering from street to street.
poem by Claude McKay
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Pretty Girls
Here she comes just a-walk just just a-walkin down the street
Singin down do be do do wop a do do wop
Singin down do be do do wop a do do wop
See the pretty pretty pretty girls in the street
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
See them walkin with their pretty shoes on their feet
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
I took a walk round the market down town
Taking it easy just to see what I could find
I found the girls there, long legs and blond hair
All getting set to make a mess out of my mind
Hey! eyes left!
See the pretty pretty pretty girls in the street
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
See them walkin with their pretty shoes on their feet
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
I got my heart burnt, you know where I hurt
They say the miniskirt is coming back in style
I say its not fair but what do they care
When youve got power then you use it for a while
Hey! eyes right!
See the pretty pretty pretty girls in the street
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
See them walkin with their pretty shoes on their feet
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
God, if youre up there, listen to my prayer
In future man should have a different design
Give him a switch so he can turn off his libido now
Give him a tranquilizer built into his mind
Hey! eyes right!
See the pretty pretty pretty girls in the street
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
See them walkin with their pretty shoes on their feet
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Dont talk to me about womens liberation
They already got their right just where it hurts
Now here she comes just a-walk just a-walkin down the street
Singin down do be do do wop a do do wop
Singin down do be do do wop a do do wop
See the pretty pretty pretty girls in the street
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
See them walkin with their pretty shoes on their feet
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
Down do be do do wop a do do wop a do do wop
song performed by by Joe Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Skylark's Message
SWEET little upturned faces,
Poor little hands and feet,
Little eyes that are careworn and anxious
From hunger and want in the street,
Hear ye that skylark singing
5
Like an angel far away?
'Tis bringing to you a message
From the Golden Gates of day.
Ah, little know ye of the meadows,
Poor little blistered feet,
10
Down in the smoke of the city,
Down in the noise of the street!
But it sings of a better country,
Where tired little hearts can rest;
Of a sun that shines for ever,
15
And the love of a Father's breast.
O poor little weary spirits,
I would that ye knew its song,
For the world is very heartless,
And your journey may be long;
20
And ye need such heavenly music
To cheer you in the night,
Little hearts that are now so noble,
Little souls that are now so white.
I would that ye heard it always,
25
That sweet bird's voice within,
When the heart is sad and lonely
In the long, long struggle with sin;
Till a rest comes out of the sunset
For the labouring hands and feet,
30
And a silence has fallen for ever
On the noise and the dust of the street.
poem by Frederick George Scott
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Hat And Feet
Hat And Feet
Fountains Of Wayne
I'm just a hat and feet
That's all that's left of me
A spot on the sidewalk
A mark on the street
I'm just a hat and feet
I'm just a hat and feet
You dropped a bomb on me
I didn't even see
Like a falling piano
From out of the window
Now I'm just a hat and feet
I'm just a hat and feet
I'm just a sitting duck
That ran out of luck
I'm the unhappy guy
That didn't look up high
I started running when I saw it coming
It got faster and louder til I took a powder
Now
I'm just a hat and feet
That's what 's become of me
Flat on the sidewalk
Stuck in the street
I'm just a hat and feet
I'm just a hat and feet
song performed by by Fountains Of Wayne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hat & Feet
Im just a hat and feet
Thats all thats left of me
A spot on the sidewalk
A mark on the street
Im just a hat and feet
Im just a hat and feet
You dropped a bomb on me
I didnt even see
Like a falling piano
From out of a window
Now Im just a hat and feet
Im just a hat and feet
Im just a sitting duck
That ran out of luck
Im the unhappy guy
That didnt look up high
I started running when I saw it coming
It got faster and louder til I took a powder
Now
Im just a hat and feet
Thats what become of me
Flat on the sidewalk
Stuck to the street
Im just a hat and feet
Im just a hat and feet
song performed by by Fountains Of Wayne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On Yonge Street
See the people walkin up and down
See the people movin all around
On the streets of my hometown on yonge street
Longest street in the world they say
Summertime soon slips away
I hope Ill see you one fine day on yonge street
Everywhere you go in a city by the lake
Back there in the flow you may give a hand a shake
Everyone you pass seems to wanna say hello
Even late at night on the freshly fallen snow
See the children jumpin all around
See the parents looking up and down
Upon the streets of my hometown on yonge street
Its a mean street if you choose
Its a lean street when you lose
An in-between street when you cruise on yonge street
Everywhere you go in a city by the lake
Youll be sure and find its a case of give and take
Everyone you pass seems to want to say hello
Even late at night when the streets are all aglow
Its the longest street in the world
With the most feet in the world
Another street where boy meets girl on yonge street
See the people walkin up and down
See the people movin all around
Those are the streets of my hometown on yonge street
Everywhere you walk people almost say hello
Even late at night when the streets are all aglow
On yonge street
On yonge street
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Temporary Purity
The once white snow is dirty grey.
Churned into slush by passing feet,
pedestrians pass to and fro.
Along this busy shopping street
At 5am it had been white.
Before the world was wide awake
Fresh snow had fallen through the night
like frosting on a birthday cake.
I could not sleep and watched it fall.
My windows overlook the street
Well before anyone at all
had left the marks of booted feet
But life goes on despite the snow,
as all the blurry footprints show.
Monday,09 November 2009
http: // blog.myspace.com/poeticpiers
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Main Street
(For S.M.L.)
I like to look at the blossomy track of the moon upon the sea,
But it isn't half so fine a sight as Main Street used to be
When it all was covered over with a couple of feet of snow,
And over the crisp and radiant road the ringing sleighs would go.
Now, Main Street bordered with autumn leaves, it was a pleasant thing,
And its gutters were gay with dandelions early in the Spring;
I like to think of it white with frost or dusty in the heat,
Because I think it is humaner than any other street.
A city street that is busy and wide is ground by a thousand wheels,
And a burden of traffic on its breast is all it ever feels:
It is dully conscious of weight and speed and of work that never ends,
But it cannot be human like Main Street, and recognise its friends.
There were only about a hundred teams on Main Street in a day,
And twenty or thirty people, I guess, and some children out to play.
And there wasn't a wagon or buggy, or a man or a girl or a boy
That Main Street didn't remember, and somehow seem to enjoy.
The truck and the motor and trolley car and the elevated train
They make the weary city street reverberate with pain:
But there is yet an echo left deep down within my heart
Of the music the Main Street cobblestones made beneath a butcher's cart.
God be thanked for the Milky Way that runs across the sky,
That's the path that my feet would tread whenever I have to die.
Some folks call it a Silver Sword, and some a Pearly Crown,
But the only thing I think it is, is Main Street, Heaventown.
poem by Joyce Kilmer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Wild Night
As you brush your shoes and stand before your mirror
And you comb your hair and grab your coat and hat
And you walk the streets trying to remember
All those wild nights breeze through your mind
And everything looks so complete
When youre walking out on the street
And the wind catches your feet
And sends you flying, crying
Oooh, oo-ooh wee the wild night is calling
All the girls walked by dressed up for each other
And the boys do the boogie woogie on the corner of the street
And the people passing by just stare with the wild wonder
And the inside jukebox roars just like thunder
And everything looks so complete
When youre walking out on the street
And the wind catches your feet
And sends you flying, crying
Oooh, oo-ooh wee the wild night is calling
The wild --------- night is calling
Come on out and dance
Come on out and make romance
Come on out and dance
Come on out and make romance
And everything looks so complete
When youre walking out on the street
And the wind catches your feet
And sends you flying, crying
Oooh, oo-ooh wee the wild night is calling
Oooh, oo-ooh wee the wild night is calling
song performed by by John Mellencamp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Shed
I'm like a freight train feelin' no pain
I never turn back one track
Better step aside
Like a shotgun
I'm really someone
You'll feel my heatwave
Won't save anyone near to me
I'm steel
So come and try to bend me if you can, hah
I don't feel
Before you know it it's over
Get out of my way
I'm street walking, street walking
Night stalking, i'm street walking
No reputation
You better quick run
Cause i got no time i'll climb all over you
You need a strong hand
To be a mean man
You've got to think fast
I'll last longer than you could know
I'm steel
So won't you come and try to bend me if you can
I don't feel
Before you know it it's over
Out of my way
I'm street walking
Hey, i'm a wild cat
Don't need to prove that
I'm always howlin' prowlin'
Stalkin' my prey
It could be your night
To feel the dog bite
And hear the slashing, crashin'
Tearin' inside of you
I'm steel
So come and try to break me if you can, no way
Like a wheel
About to roll you over
Get out of my way
I'm street walkin', street walkin'
No talkin', street walking
Night stalking, street walking
No talkin', i'm street walkin', yeah
Street walkin', street walkin'
Night stalking, street walking
song performed by by Rainbow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Funny - Fat Cat
Once, there was a white cat
Who was really, really fat
So fat
She looked like a bat
Who has eaten a huge rat.
The cat was walking in the street
Following a beat, with her feet
Tic, tac, tic, tac
Tictactictactictac
Looking for anything to eat
Milk, fish, tuna, meat...
But what a pity
The street was empty
So empty
Not even a birdie
To make her get nasty.
The cat kept walking in the street
Following a beat, with her feet
Tic, tac, tic, tac
Tic, tac, tic, tac
Looking for somewhere to sleep
Bed'n'sheets? Get real! Just a seat...
But she didn't find any, what a shame
Because she was really lame
So lame
She had forgotten her own name
And from where she originally came.
So she kept walking in the street
Feeling the heat, and pain in her feet
Tic, tac, tic, tac
Tic, tac
Looking for someone to blame
Same situation, same game...
Then, the white cat
Saw a tiny red hat
One hat
She ran, jumped and sat
In it, what a lucky cat!
But since she was really fat
She got stuck in the hat
So stuck
She looked like a rat
In a cheese trap.
A dog came walking in the street
Following a beat, with his feet
Tic, tac, tictac
Tic, tac, tictac
He saw something red
So he stopped near the cat's head:
'Haha! Cat, you pay the fees
For acting so bad with your peers! '
'Help, please'
'Call me bad boy, I love to tease
I'm getting outta here, say cheers! '
Then a bird came flying in the street
With his wings, following a beat
Tictactictactictac
Tictactictactictac
He saw something red
So he stopped above the cat's head:
'Oh, poor white cat
Are you trapped in this hat? '
'Damn I am! '
'Let me help you, sad little cat
Here, you're out, care for a chat? '
Rumors I heard
Say the cat ate the bird.
poem by by unknown author
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Shake A Leg
Idle juvenile on the street, on the street
Who is kicking everything with his feet, with his feet
Fighting on the wrong side of the law, of the law
Dont kick, dont fight, dont sleep at night
Its shake a leg, shake a leg, shake a leg, shake it yeah
Keeping out of trouble with eyes in the back of my face
Kicking ass in the class and they tell me youre a damn disgrace
They tell me what they think but they stink and I really dont care
Got a mind of my own, move on, get out of my hair
Chorus:
Shake a leg, shake your head
Shake a leg, wake the dead
Shake a leg, get stuck in
Shake a leg, shake a leg yeah
Magazines, wet dreams, dirty women on machines for me
Big licks, skin flicks, trickey dicks are my chemistry
Goin against the grain, trying to keep me sane with you
So stop your grinnin and drop your linen for me
Chorus
Idle juvenile on the street, on the street
Kicking everything with his feet, with his feet
Fighting on the wrong side of the law, of the law
Spitting and biten and kicking and fightin for more
Chorus
song performed by by AC-DC
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Shed (Subtle)
Im like a freight train feelin no pain
I never turn back one track
Better step aside
Like a shotgun
Im really someone
Youll feel my heatwave
Wont save anyone near to me
Im steel
So come and try to bend me if you can, hah
I dont feel
Before you know it its over
Get out of my way
Im street walking, street walking
Night stalking, Im street walking
No reputation
You better quick run
Cause I got no time Ill climb all over you
You need a strong hand
To be a mean man
Youve got to think fast
Ill last longer than you could know
Im steel
So wont you come and try to bend me if you can
I dont feel
Before you know it its over
Out of my way
Im street walking
Hey, Im a wild cat
Dont need to prove that
Im always howlin prowlin
Stalkin my prey
It could be your night
To feel the dog bite
And hear the slashing, crashin
Tearin inside of you
Im steel
So come and try to break me if you can, no way
Like a wheel
About to roll you over
Get out of my way
Im street walkin, street walkin
No talkin, street walking
Night stalking, street walking
No talkin, Im street walkin, yeah
Street walkin, street walkin
Night stalking, street walking
song performed by by Rainbow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Bad Girl
Bad girls
Talking about the sad girls
Sad girls
Talking About bad girls, yeah
See them out on the street at night, walkin'
Picking up on all kinds of strangers
If the price is right
You can't score if you're pocket's tight
But you want a good time
You ask yourself who they are
Like everybody else, they come from near and far
Bad girls
Talking about the sad girls
Sad girls
Talking About bad girls, yeah
Friday night and the strip is hot
Sun's gone down and they're out to trot
Spirit's high and legs look hot
Do you wanna get down?
Now don't you ask yourself who they are?
Like everybody else, they wanna be a star
Now you and me we're both the same
But you call yourself by different names
Now your mama won't like it when she finds out
That her girl is out at night
Street talkin', street walkin'
Hey, mister, have you got a dime?
Mister, do you want to spent some time? Oh, yeah
I got what you want, you got what I need
I'll be your baby, come and spend it on me
Sad Girls, you such a dirty bad girl
Beep-Beep uh uh
You bad girl you sad girl
you such a dirty bad girl
Beep-Beep uh uh
song performed by by Donna Summer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Street Fighting Man
Everywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, boy
cause summers here and the time is right for fighting in the street, boy
Tell me what can a poor boy do
cept for sing for a rock n roll band
cause in this sleepy l.a. town
Theres just no place for a street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
Do you think the time is right for a palace revolution
Where I live the game to play is compromise solution
Well then what can a poor boy
cept for sing for a rock n roll band
cause in this sleepy l.a. town
Theres just no place for a street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
Well what else can a poor boy do?
Well what else can a poor boy do?
Well what else can a poor boy do?
Well what else can a poor boy do?
Hey my name is called disturbance
Ill shout and scream, Ill kill the king, Ill rail at all his servants
Well what can a poor boy do
For sing for a rock n roll band
In this sleepy l.a. town
Theres just no place for
For a street fighting man
A street fighting man
For a street fighting man
A street fighting man
For a street fighting man
A street fighting man
For a street fighting man
A street fighting man
For a street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
song performed by by Rage Against The Machine
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dead End Street
Theres a crack up in the ceiling,
And the kitchen sink is leaking.
Out of work and got no money,
A sunday joint of bread and honey.
What are we living for?
Two-roomed apartment on the second floor.
No money coming in,
The rent collectors knocking, trying to get in.
We are strictly second class,
We dont understand,
(dead end!)
Why we should be on dead end street.
(dead end!)
People are living on dead end street.
(dead end!)
Gonna die on dead end street.
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
On a cold and frosty morning,
Wipe my eyes and stop me yawning.
And my feet are nearly frozen,
Boil the tea and put some toast on.
What are we living for?
Two-roomed apartment on the second floor.
No chance to emigrate,
Im deep in debt and now its much too late.
We both want to work so hard,
We cant get the chance,
(dead end!)
People live on dead end street.
(dead end!)
People are dying on dead end street.
(dead end!)
Gonna die on dead end street.
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
(dead end!)
People live on dead end street.
(dead end!)
People are dying on dead end street.
(dead end!)
Gonna die on dead end street.
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Head to my feet (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Hows it feel? (yeah)
Hows it feel? (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
Dead end street (yeah)
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On The Street
On the street
On the street
O, O, On the street
On the street
O, O, On the street
[Everybody dance]
[Watch for the difference]
On the street
{Breaking on broadway]
O, O, On the street
[Shaking on sunset strip]
On the street
[Like nobody booming supporting that]
Da, da, da, da, da ...
On the street
On the street
Dancing
On the street
On the street
Dancing
Dancing
On the street
On the street
[Twisting on the turnpipe]
Dancing
On the street
On the street
On the street ...
Da, da, da, da, ...
Dance on the street ...
song performed by by Madonna
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sleepwalkers
See them over there
See them moving down the road
Their arms held out ahead
And their eyes, their eyes are closed
Don't make any noise
Cry out loud or stamp your feet
You'll wake the girls and boys
Who are walking in their sleep
Every night they throw aside their blankets
Swing their feet down
Stand up and move out to the street
Like they're under a spell
And together they roam across the country
And they're walking in their sleep
You'll recognize them when you see
Their rumpled hair and stocking feet
It seems like they want something
But we don't know what it is
But here they come again
Yes, here they come again
Move aside and let the people go by
They don't see you
Thinking that they're home in their beds
They must not be disturbed
When they're wandering all across the country
And they're walking in their sleep
Perhaps when they awake
They'll remember everything
They'll think it was a dream
It will be forgotten then
But don't make any noise
Cry out loud or stamp your feet
You'll wake the girls and boys
Who are walking in their sleep
song performed by by They Might Be Giants
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Footsteps in the Street
Oh, will the footsteps never be done?
The insolent feet
Thronging the street,
Forsaken now of the only one.
The only one out of all the throng,
Whose footfall I knew,
And could tell it so true,
That I leapt to see as she passed along,
As she passed along with her beautiful face,
Which knew full well
Though it did not tell,
That I was there in the window-space.
Now my sense is never so clear.
It cheats my heart,
Making me start
A thousand times, when she is not near.
When she is not near, but so far away,
I could not come
To the place of her home,
Though I travelled and sought for a month and a day.
Do you wonder then if I wish the street
Were grown with grass,
And no foot might pass
Till she treads it again with her sacred feet?
poem by Robert Fuller Murray
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Moon Over Bourbon Street
Theres a moon over bourbon street tonight
I see faces as they pass beneath the pale lamplight
Ive no choice but to follow that call
The bright lights, the people, and the moon and all
I pray everyday to be strong
For I know what I do must be wrong
Oh youll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While theres a moon over bourbon street
It was many years ago that I became what I am
I was trapped in this life like an innocent lamb
Now I can only show my face at noon
And youll only see me walking by the light of the moon
The brim of my hat hides the eye of a beast
Ive the face of a sinner but the hands of a priest
Oh youll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While theres a moon over bourbon street
She walks everyday through the streets of new orleans
Shes innocent and young from a family of means
I have stood many times outside her window at night
To struggle with my instinct in the pale moon light
How could I be this way when I pray to God above
I must love what I destroy and destroy the thing I love
Oh youll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While theres a moon over bourbon street
song performed by by Sting
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On The Sunny Side Of The Street
Dorothy fields / jimmy mchugh
Grab your coat and get your hat
Leave your worry on the doorstep
Just direct your feet
To the sunny side of the street
Cant you hear a pitter-pat
And that happy tune is your step
Life can be so sweet
On the sunny side of the street
I used to walk in the shade
With those blues on parade
But now Im not afraid
This rover crossed over
If Id never have a cent
Id be rich as rockefeller
Going to set my feet
On the sunny side of the street
song performed by by Billie Holiday
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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