On the death of Langston Hughes

Theresia Bothe - vocal

Peter Croton - words, music & guitars

Have you heard the news,

have you heard the news?

Langston Hughes is dead.

Have you heard the news

have you heard the news?

Langston Hughes is gone.

I went down to the graveyard

many folks were buried there

people from all walks of life

people dark and fair

I wondered who had held the whip

I wondered who had died

raging at injustice

while their children cried

I looked upon the gravestones

and gazed at every name

thinking that their mortal flesh

all ends up the same

and now reduced to ashes

their vanity denied

the oppressed and the oppressor

are lying side by side

Have you heard the news

have you heard the news?

Langston Hughes is dead.

Have you heard the news

have you heard the news?

Langston Hughes is gone.

The lowly worm will till the earth

it seems a lonely plight

perhaps it is a blessing

to be without sight

I close my eyes and wonder

if he's better off than we

who think we are on higher ground

but look and do not see

I walked out of that graveyard

and felt so all alone

I felt the sins of centuries

as if they were my own

I felt like I had held the whip

and felt like I had died

raging at injustice -

and it was me who cried

Have you heard the news

have you heard the news?

Langston Hughes is dead.

Have you heard the news

have you heard the news?

Langston Hughes is gone.