I don't believe in 'ristercrats

  An' never did, you see;

The plain ol' homelike sorter folks

  Is good enough fur me.

O' course, I don't desire a man

  To be too tarnal rough,

But then I think all folks should know

  When they air nice enough.

Now, there is folks in this here world,

  From peasant up to king,

Who want to be so awful nice

  They overdo the thing.

That's jest the thing that makes me sick,

  An' quicker than a wink

I set it down that them same folks

  Ain't half so good's you think.

I like to see a man dress nice,

  In clothes becomin', too;

I like to see a woman fix

  As women orter do;

An' boys an' gals I like to see

  Look fresh an' young an' spry, 

We all must have our vanity

  An' pride before we die.

But I jedge no man by his clothes, 

  Nor gentleman nor tramp;

The man that wears the finest suit

  May be the biggest scamp,

An' he whose limbs are clad in rags

  That make a mournful sight,

In life's great battle may have proved

  A hero in the fight.

I don't believe in 'ristercrats;

  I like the honest tan

That lies upon the healthful cheek

  An' speaks the honest man;

I like to grasp the brawny hand

  That labor's lips have kissed,

For he who has not labored here

  Life's greatest pride has missed, 

The pride to feel that yo'r own strength

  Has cleaved fur you the way

To heights to which you were not born,

  But struggled day by day.

What though the thousands sneer an' scoff,

  An' scorn yo'r humble birth?

Kings are but subjects; you are king

  By right o' royal worth.

The man who simply sits an' waits

  Fur good to come along,

Ain't worth the breath that one would take

  To tell him he is wrong.

Fur good ain't flowin' round this world

  Fur ev'ry fool to sup;

You've got to put yo'r see-ers on,

  An' go an' hunt it up.

Good goes with honesty, I say,

  To honor an' to bless

To rich an' poor alike it brings

  A wealth o' happiness.

The 'ristercrats ain't got it all,

  Fur much to their su'prise,

That's one of earth's most blessed things

  They can't monopolize.

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

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