Classic Poem

I've been an' heerd the opery — an' I reckon it wuz grand;
But the music I've been raised to is " Dixie " by the band;
" Way Down in Alabama, " an' " Darlin' Nelly Gray, "
An' that hifalutin' singing made a feller lose his way!

An' then, the words wuz furrin', an' I r'aly never knowed
How to track 'em an' to keep 'em in the middle o' the road;
Fer what I wuz a-wantin' — but I hoped fer it in vain —
Wuz a lively double-shuffle, an' " Han's Roun', Liza-Jane! "

But the folks applauded lively, till all the house wuz stirred,
Though them that cheered the loudest couldn't understand a word!
An' I hired of a feller fer a quarter of a dollar,
To nudge me at the proper time, an' tell me when to holler.

I stood it out, right noble, an' when the thing wuz through,
Sez I: " I reckon that you done the best you all could do;
But you didn't hit me heavy! " an' I struck on comin' down,
A feller whistlin' " Dixie, " an' follered him roun' town!