NOTE

This song derives its text from the Langston Hughes poem of the same name, and it represents a lone entry in a larger collaborative project with the bass-baritone Davóne Tines of exploring Hughes’ poetry in an art-song setting. The poem paints a poignant vignette of the stock commedia dell’arte character Pierrot the clown, a recurring reference in Hughes’ work as a vivid symbol of the performativity of race.

Versions are available in the keys of Eb minor and F minor.