Songs of Jamaica (1912)
Jubba
[Footnote on the title: “Jubba”[1]]
My Jubba waiting dere fe me;
Me, knowin', went out on de spree,
An' she, she wait deh till midnight,
Bleach-bleachin' in de cold moonlight:
An' when at last I did go home
I found out dat she had just come,
An' now she tu'n her back away,
An' won't listen a wud I say.
Forgive me, Jubba, Jubba dear,
As you are standing, standing there,
An' I will no more mek you grieve,
My Jubba, ef you'll but forgive.
I'll go to no more dancing booth,
I'll play no more wid flirty Ruth,
I didn' mean a t'ing, Jubba,
I didn' know you'd bex fe da';
I only took two set o' dance
An' at de bidding[2] tried me chance;
I buy de big crown-bread fe you,
An' won't you tek it, Jubba ? —do.
Forgive me, Jubba, Jubba dear, etc.
It was a nice tea-meeting though,
None o' de boy dem wasn' slow,
An' it was pack' wid pretty gal,
So de young man was in dem sall;[3]
But when I 'member you a yard[4]
I know dat you would t'ink it hard,
Aldough, Jubba, 'twas sake o' spite
Mek say you wouldn' come te-night.[5]
Forgive me, Jubba, Jubba dear, etc.
l Ief' you, Jub, in such a state,
I neber knew dat you would wait i
Yet all de while I couldn' res',
De t'ought o' you was in me breas';
So nummo time I couldn' was'e,
But me go get me pillow-case[6]
An' put in deh you bread an' cake
Forgive me, Jubba, fe God sake!
Forgive me, Jubba, Jubba dear, etc.
- The 'u' has the value of the 'oo' in look ↵
- An auction of loaves of fine bread, profusely decorated by the baker's art, is a feature of rustic dances ↵
- So the young men had a fine time of it ↵
- In the yard, i.e., at home ↵
- Out of caprice Jubba had refused to go to the dance; she was jealously watching outside the booth, while her young man imagined she was at home ↵
- The usual receptacle for bread ↵