1st Period: Langston Hughes’s “I, Too, Sing America” (3) Lyrics

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes.
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"

Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--


I, too, am America.

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

This poem was written to chronicle the struggle of African-Americans to demonstrate how they, too, are Americans. The color of their skin doesn’t make them any less of a citizen than whites.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

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