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| IF Ah evah git to glory, an’ Ah hope to mek it thoo, | |
| Ah expec’ to hyah a story, an’ Ah hope you’ll hyah it, too,— | |
| Hit’ll kiver Maine to Texas, an’ f’om Bosting to Miami,— | |
| Ov de highes’ shaf’ in glory, ’rected to de Negro Mammy. | |
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| You will see a lot o’ Washington, an’ Washington again; | 5 |
| An’ good of Fathah Lincoln, tow’rin’ ’bove de rest o’ men; | |
| But dar’ll be a bunch o’ women standin’ hard up by de th’one, | |
| An’ dey’ll all be black an’ homely,—’less de Virgin Mary’s one. | |
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| Dey will be de talk of angels, dey will be de praise o’ men, | |
| An’ de whi’ folks would go crazy ’thout their Mammy folks again | 10 |
| If it’s r’ally true dat meekness makes you heir to all de eart’, | |
| Den our blessed, good of Mammies must ’a’ been of noble birt’. | |
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| If de greates’ is de servant, den Ah got to say o’ dem, | |
| Dey’ll be standin’ nex’ to Jesus, sub to no one else but Him; | |
| If de crown goes to de fait’ful, an’ de palm de victors wear, | 15 |
| Dey’ll be loaded down wid jewels more dan anybody dere. | |
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| She’d de hardes’ road to trabel evah mortal had to pull; | |
| But she knelt down in huh cabin till huh cup o’ joy was full; | |
| Dough’ of Satan tried to shake huh f’om huh knees wid scowl an’ frown, | |
| She jes’ “clumb up Jacob’s ladder,” an’ he nevah drug huh down. | 20 |
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| She’d jes’ croon above de babies, she’d jes’ sing when t’ings went wrong, | |
| An’ no matter what de trouble, she would meet it wid a song; | |
| She jes’ prayed huh way to heaben, findin’ comfort in de rod; | |
| She jes’ “stole away to Jesus,” she jes’ sung huh way to God! | |
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| She “kep’ lookin’ ovah Jurdan,” kep’ “a-trustin’ in de word,” | 25 |
| Kep’ a-lookin’ fo “de char’et,” kep’ “a-waitin’ fo’ de Lawd,” | |
| If she evah had to quavah of de shadder of a doubt, | |
| It ain’t nevah been discovahed, fo’ she nevah sung it out; | |
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| But she trusted in de shadder, an’ she trusted in de shine, | |
| An’ she longed fo’ one possession: “dat heaben to be mine”; | 30 |
| An’ she prayed huh chil’en freedom, but she won huhse’f de bes’,— | |
| Peace on eart’ amids’ huh sorrows, an’ up yonder heabenly res’! | |
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