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DICK AND SARAH

Written by:  Barry P. Foley
Copyright ©  13 Jun 2021

Dick Rowland was High School dropout, a tall fellow at 19
Shoeshine boy with fancy clothes and wore a diamond ring
He talked trash as he popped that rag, always getting big tips
Miss Damie warned him more than once, white folks don’t want hear your lip

Sarah Page was only 17 when she arrived Tulsa
Back in Kansas City was her old man, trying to divorce her
She got a job running the lift in the Drexel Building on Main Street
Dick Rowland was the last man on earth she should ever meet

1st Chorus
What happened in that elevator, that made Miss Sarah scream
Didn’t matter to clerk who called the law, when he saw Dick Rowland flee
“Negro attacks white girl”, the afternoon headlines roared
The mobs gather at the Court House Square, banging on the Sheriff's door

Sarah told the Sheriff, nothing really happened, and would not press charges
Why wasn't Dick Rowland immediately released, one could easily argue
Or secretly slipped out of town, to avoid any kind of attack
The Sheriff might have stopped the riot, right then and there dead in its tracks

1st Chorus
Some say they were lovers, or maybe they’d been found out
They had spent many a Sunday dinner over at Miss Damie’s house
Sarah Page fled Tulsa and she got married again
While Greenwood laid in ashes paying for Dick Rowland’s sin

But we'll never know the truth about Dick and Sarah!

 

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