Here you will find the Long Poem Mon Frere Camille of poet William Henry Drummond
Mon frere Camille he was first class blood W'en he come off de State las' fall, Wearin' hees boot a la mode box toe An' diamon' pin on hees shirt also Sam' as dem feller on Chi-caw-go; But now he 's no blood at all, Camille, mon frere. W'at 's makin' dat change on mon frere Camille? Wall! lissen for minute or two, An' I 'll try feex it up on de leetle song Dat 's geevin' some chance kin' o' help it along So wedder I'm right or wedder I'm wrong You 'll know all about heem w'en I get t'roo, Mon frere Camille. He never sen' leter for t' orteen year So of course he mus' be all right Till telegraph 's comin' from Kan-Ka-Kee 'I 'm leffin' dis place on de half pas't'ree W'at you want to bring is de beg' buggee An' double team sure for me t' orsday night Ton frere Camille.' I wish you be dere w'en Camille arrive I bet you will say 'W'at 's dat?' For he 's got leetle cap very lak tuque bleu Ole habitant 's wearin' in bed, dat's true, An' w'at do you t'ink he carry too? Geev it up? Wall! small valise wit' de fine plug hat. Mon frere Camille. 'Very strange.' I know you will say right off, For dere 's not'ing wrong wit' hees clothes, An' he put on style all de bes' he can Wit' diamon' shinin' across hees han' An' de way he's talkin' lak Yankee man Mus' be purty hard on hees nose, Mon frere Camille. But he 's splain all dat about funny cap, An' tole us de reason w'y, It seem no feller can travel far, An' specially too on de Pullman car, 'Less dey wear leetle cap only 'cos dollarre, Dat 's true if he never die, Mon frere Camille. Don't look very strong dem fancy boot But he 's splain all dat also He say paten' ledder she 's nice an' gay You don't need to polish dem ev'ry day, Besides he 's too busy for dat alway, W'en he's leevin' on Chi-caw-go, Mon frere Camille. But de State she was n't de only place He visit all up an' down, For he's goin' Cu-baw an' de Mex-i-co, W'ere he 's killin' two honder dem wil' taureau, W'at you call de bull: on de circus show, O! if you believe heem he travel roun'. Mon frere Camille. So of course w'en ma broder was gettin' home All de peop' on de parish come Every night on de parlor for hear heem tell How he foller de brave General Roosvel' W'en rough rider feller dey fight lak hell An' he walk on de front wit' great beg drum, Mon frere Camille. An' how is he gainin' dat diamon' ring? Way off on de Mex-i-co W'ere he 's pilin' de bull wan summer day Till it 's not easy haulin' dem all away, An' de lady dey 're t'rowin' heem large bouquet For dey lak de style he was keel taureau, Mon frere Camille. Wall! he talk dat way all de winter t'roo, An' hees frien' dey was tryin' fin' Some bull on de country dat 's wil' enough For mon frere camille, but it 's purty tough 'Cos de farmer 's not raisin' such fightin' stuff An' he don't want not'ing but mos' worse kin' Mon frere Camille. Dat 'd not pleasan' t'ing mebbe los' hees trade, If we don't hurry up, for sure, I s'pose you t'ink I was goin' it strong? Never min' , somet'ing happen 'fore very long It 'll all come out on dis leetle song W'en he pass on de house of Ma-dame Latour Camille, mon frere. We 're makin' pique-nique on Denise Latour For helpin' put in de hay Too bad she 's de moder large familee An' los' de bes' husban' she never see W'en he drown on de reever, poor Jeremie, So he come wit' de res' of de gang dat day, Camille, mon frere. An' affer de hay it was put away Don't tak' very long at all, De boy an' de girl she was lookin' 'roun For havin' more fun 'fore dey lef' de groun' An' dey see leetle bull, mebbe t'ree honder poun' An' nex' t'ing I hear dem call Mon frere Camille. So nice leetle feller I never see Dat bull of Ma-dame Latour Wit' curly hair on de front hees head An' quiet? jus' sam' he was almos' dead An' fat? wall! de chil'ren dey see heem fed So he 's not goin' keel heem I 'm very sure, Mon frere Camille. But de girl kip teasin' an' ole Ma-dame She say, 'You can go ahead He cos' me four dollarre six mont' ago So if anyt'ing happen ma small taureau, Who 's pay me dat monee I lak to know?' An' he answer, 'Dat 's me w'en I keel heem dead' Mon frere Camille. Den he feex beeg knife on de twelve foot pole, So de chil'ren commence to cry An' he jomp on de fence, an' yell, 'Hooraw' An' shout on de leetle French bull, 'Dis donc! Ain't you scare w'en you see feller from Cu- baw?' An' he show heem hees red necktie, Mon frere Camille. L'petit taureau w'en he see dat tie He holler for half a mile Den he jomp on de leg an' he raise de row Ba Golly! I'm sure I can see heem now.