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Country Lover
masculinity honors a side of Black culture that might otherwise
SUMMARY be subsumed by stories of suffering and struggle.
The speaker describes a guy listening to the blues. He's wearing
shoes with sharp toes and stylish pants that cut off above the Where this theme appears in the poem:
ankle. He's out at a Saturday night dance, drinking a bright-red • Lines 1-6
soft drink—and he'll dance with any woman who's around.

THEMES LINE-BY
LINE-BY-LINE
-LINE ANAL
ANALYSIS
YSIS
LINES 1-4
SOUTHERN BLACK MASCULINITY, Funky blues ...
CONFIDENCE, AND FUN ... Saddy night dance
In just 17 words, "Country Lover" conjures up a “Country Lover” uses a combination of colloquial language and
scene, a character, and a culture, capturing the energy of a short, sharp descriptions to thrust readers right into a specific
young Black man from the southern U.S. sometime around the place and time: the American South sometime around the
1960s. Describing a "Country Lover" (a rural ladykiller), the 1960s. The country lover of the title is all dressed up in his
poem's speaker approvingly observes his stylishness, his “keen toed shoes” and “high water pants”—pointy, polished
confidence, and his immersion in a distinctly Southern world of wingtips and pants that cuff a couple of inches above the ankle,
"red soda water" (a bright-red soft drink) and the "funky blues." the apex of fashion in the '60s. Some “funky blues” music is
A snapshot of a place, time, and character, the poem celebrates being played at the “Saddy night dance”—that is, the Saturday
the joie de vivre of Southern Black culture at the time—and night dance, as described in a rich Black Southern accent.
particularly of that culture's young men.
None of these four lines is longer than three words long, and
The "Country Lover" the speaker describes is a confident and yet a whole world spills out of them. The very brevity of the
stylish guy. Dressed in "keen toed shoes" (shoes with sharp poem's phrasing helps to set the tone. The poem is structured
points) and "high water pants" (pants that cuff a couple inches through intense par
parallelism
allelism. Every line is a brief, punchy entry
above the ankles), he's at the height of 1960s style—and he's on a list describing a night on the town, like so:
ready to tear up the dance floor. With the "funky blues" playing,
he's eager to dance with "anybody's daughter"; he's there to Funky blues
have a good time, the poem suggests, and the ladies had better Keen toed shoes
watch out.
This economical description of a type of rural Lothario one The accentual meter (a meter counted by number of beats
might see at the "Saddy night dance" (the Saturday night dance, rather than measured out in regular metrical feet like iambs or
that is) feels dangerous, fun, and very Southern (as the trochees
trochees) and the rhymed couplets here help to create the
colloquial pronunciation of "Saddy" underscores). This kind of effect, too: the rhythms and rhymes feel as punchy and lively as
man, the poem suggests, is a guy you'd get used to seeing if you the “funky blues” music that's playing.
often went out dancing in the South in the 1960s. He might be What’s more, the world feels open and alive from the get-go.
a little bit of a player, a danger to the ladies, but he's also stylish, The speaker is clearly a regular at the scene they describe,
confident, and charismatic. In describing him, the poem intimately familiar with what goes on at the “Saddy night
celebrates him and also delights in the world around him: a dance”: their accent and their knowing descriptions of the
world that revels in the "funky blues" and knows how to have a “country lover” make that clear. They don’t need to go on at
good time. length about what they see. They know that just mentioning
This short poem might feel especially celebratory considering these few details will be enough to let readers in on what’s
its context. Angelou published this poem in 1978, but, again, it happening tonight. The poem thus feels inviting, friendly, and
certainly seems to record the world closer to the '60s, when casual—but also charged with Saturday-night energy.
the Civil Rights movement was in full swing and young Black
men were fighting (and not infrequently dying) for their rights. LINES 5-6
This tribute to a swaggery, life-loving kind of Black Southern Red soda water ...

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... and anybody's daughter ladykiller out for the weekend—the speaker tells us he’s at the
In its rhythm and its world-building, the poem’s concluding “Saddy night dance.” The word “Saddy” captures the speaker’s
couplet works much the same way that the four lines before it Southern Black accent as they pronounce the word “Saturday,”
did. The speaker uses adjective-driven parparallelism
allelism and local an effect that helps to make the “Saddy night dance” feel even
detail just as before—this time mentioning the “red soda water” more familiar and habitual. The speaker and the “country lover”
being served at the Saturday night dance, an allusion to a bright alike have spent plenty of time out at the “Saddy night dance,”
red soft drink popular in the South. (It’s also a drink with a the reader gathers.
special meaning in Southern Black culture. Traditionally, people And if that’s so, they’ve also spent plenty of time listening to the
drink red soda water on Juneteenth, the holiday honoring the “funky blues.” The word “funky” here helps to set the poem in a
end of slavery in the United States.) Besides again revealing time as well as a place: “funky” only became a term of approval
something about the poem’s setting, this line adds a pop of in the 1950s, and for a long time it was distinctly associated
imagery
imagery: “red” is the only color mentioned in the poem. The with Black American slang.
redness of that red soda water sheds a glow of passion and The speaker’s use of these colloquial words makes the poem
energy over the whole scene. feel relaxed and familiar. The speaker is right at home in the
The only change in the form here comes in the final line, which world of the “country lover,” and they invite readers into that
brings the poem’s list to a close with a conclusive conjunction: world with them.
“and
and anybody’s daughter.” That little variation also means the
poem’s last little wink lands with special force. The “country Where Colloquialism appears in the poem:
lover,” this line suggests, isn’t any too picky about who he
dances with—so long as she’s a girl. The implication is that he’s a • Line 1: “Funky blues”
little bit of a Lothario, a lover and a leaver: watch out, ladies. • Line 4: “Saddy”

The turn of phrase “anybody’s daughter

daughter” (as opposed to, say,
PARALLELISM
plain “any old girl” or “any woman near”) might also help readers
to picture a party populated by teenagers—and a small, Par
arallelism
allelism gives this poem its shape, its punch, and its swing.
intimate country town where everybody knows who everybody Every single line of the poem is just an item in a list—a list that
else’s parents are. gradually builds up to a vivid picture of a cocky young man’s
Saturday night on the town. By lining up the sights of the
Taken as a whole, this lively, jaunty poem feels like a snapshot of
evening one by one, the poem's parallelism creates a snappy,
a time and place the speaker knows well—and of a type the
quick rhythm.
speaker knows well. The “Country Lover” they describe here
comes across as a sort of guy one might see at a dance in the And every item on this rhythmic list starts with an adjective:
‘60s. He might be a little bit of a cad, but he’s also enjoying
being young and free, relishing the fun of looking sharp and Funky blues
dancing to good music. Keen toed shoes
High water pants
The delight in this poem also ends up feeling like a celebration
Saddy night dance
of rural Black American culture in the ‘60s—and of Black
American masculinity. Describing an era of Black history more
These phrasings all lean on what’s particular and specific about
often defined by the sorrows, struggles, and courage of Civil
this scene. The blues are funky, the shoes are pointy, the pants
Rights activists, this poem celebrates plain old life-affirming fun
are cuffed high, the dance is on a Saturday: it must be a
in Black culture, as well as the snappy, self-confident energy of
weekend out in the 1960s.
a young Black man on the town.
The only place the poem breaks from this parallelism in the
slightest is at the very end. The final line changes the rhythm
POETIC DEVICES just the tiniest bit, introducing a single conjunction to bring the
list to its conclusion: “and
and anybody’s daughter.” That brief little
COLLOQUIALISM jolt away from the pattern the poem has established means the
This short poem calls up a whole world in just a few short lines. poem’s final joke—the information that the “country lover” isn’t
A big part of its conjuring power comes from the speaker’s too picky about who he dances with, so long as she’s a
colloquialisms
colloquialisms: their pronunciation and their vocabulary lets girl—lands with a nudge and a wink.
readers know that the poem is set in the world of Black culture
in the southern United States. Where P
Par
arallelism
allelism appears in the poem:
Introducing readers to the “country lover” of the title—a young • Lines 1-5

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night out at the dance. And its pulsing accentual meter and
• Line 6 catchy couplet
couplet-driven rh
rhyme
yme scheme helps to evoke the
compulsive rhythm of the "funky blues" on the dancefloor.
IMAGERY The poem's form suggests that this country lover is a guy who
A few quick touches of imagery help to evoke the scene the doesn't waste words or time. He's here to have fun with
speaker describes, picking out details of fashion and culture like "anybody's daughter," and the poem gets him out on the floor
a spotlight. The first of these moments of imagery appears among the girls in just a few short, evocative lines.
when the speaker describes the styles the young “country In its confident, playful brevity, this poem feels like a
lover” is sporting: “keen toed shoes” and “high water pants.” The celebration of young Black American masculinity (as well as,
description of the “keen,” sharp toes of those shoes helps perhaps, a little warning to the girls: this guy will flirt with
readers to picture a natty 1960s outfit with pointy, high-polish "anybody's daughter," so watch out, ladies).
black wingtips as the finishing touch. (Perhaps that adjective
also plants the idea that the country lover is himself “keen,” METER
either in the sense of “eager” or the sense of “sharp-witted and "Country Lover" is written in accentual meter. That means that
alert.”) The “high water pants” place readers in the same fashion it uses around the same number of strong beats per
world: gotta keep those cuffs high to show the shoes off! line—either two or three, in this case—but doesn't stick to any
More subtly, the poem also comes to colorful life with the one kind of metrical foot, like the da-DUM
DUM of the iamb or the
mention of “red soda water.” On the one hand, this is just a DUM
DUM-da-da of the dactyl
dactyl. The lines can instead use as many
factual description of what’s on tap at the Saturday night unstressed syllables as the poet likes.
dance: “red soda water” is a bright red soft drink popular in the Accentual meter here creates a jaunty, varied rhythm with a
South (and traditionally served to commemorate Juneteenth
Juneteenth). driving pulse, a fitting effect for a poem describing a cocky guy
Here, this simple description does a little extra work in evoking at a dance. Readers can hear the beat of the "funky blues" in the
the scene. “Red” is the only color specified in the poem, and its background as the speaker describes the scene in lines 1-3:
lively brightness—symbolically
symbolically suggesting vigor, life, and
passion—pops off the page to enliven the whole scene. Funk
unky blues
Keen toed shoes
Where Imagery appears in the poem: High wa
water pants
• Line 2: “Keen toed shoes”
Like the poem's lively colloquial vocabulary, these playful
• Line 5: “Red soda water”
rhythms help to capture the speaker's upbeat energy. Whether
they use two beats or three, these lines feel punchy and fun.
The rhythm of the lines does evolve a little over the course of
VOCABULARY the poem: the two-word opening line, "Funky blues," feels a lot
Keen toed shoes (Line 2) - Shoes with sharp, pointy toes. more compact than the pattering rhythm of the last line, "and
an
anybo
body's daugh
daughter." The poem thus seems to get looser and
High water pants (Line 3) - Pants that end above the ankles.
more playful as it rolls along.
Particularly fashionable in the 1960s.
Saddy (Line 4) - "Saturday," as pronounced in a Black Southern RHYME SCHEME
accent. This short poem uses a lively rh
rhyme
yme scheme of couplets
couplets,
Red soda water (Line 5) - A bright-red soft drink. Traditionally running:
associated with Juneteenth celebrations honoring the end of AABBCC
slavery in the United States. These rhymes fit right in with the poem's brisk two- and three-
beat accentual rhythms: everything here sounds snappy and
crisp.
FORM, METER, & RHYME
Playful, easy, and jaunty, the rhyme scheme matches the energy
FORM of the cocky young man this poem describes. Perhaps the
neatly paired rhymes here also suits the "country lover" in his
"Country Lover" conjures up a whole scene (and a lively, vivid
stylish outfit: he's considered every detail of his look for the
central character) in just one six-line stanza. The poem's snappy
evening, from his "keen toed shoes" to his "high water pants,"
lines—never more than three words long, and sometimes
and the rhymes feel as snappy and coordinated as his clothes.
fewer!—capture the equally snappy energy of the stylish,
confident, cool young man the speaker describes on a Saturday

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course of her long career, she would write a whole series of
SPEAKER memoirs, as well as many books of poetry. "Country Lover" first
appeared in her acclaimed 1978 collection And Still I Rise.
The poem's speaker is an outside voice looking on at the poem's
main character: the "Country Lover" of the title, a young man Angelou was a member of the Black Arts Movement, a cultural
having a good time at a weekend dance. Describing this figure's movement that sprang up in Harlem in the 1960s and '70s. In
stylish clothes and the energy of the "funky blues," the speaker response to oppression, violence, and racism, Black writers and
paints an approving picture of a lively guy enjoying himself. artists including Angelou, Amiri Bar
Baraka
aka, Gwendolyn Brooks
Brooks,
Perhaps, though, they also hint that this young lover might be a Sonia Sanchez
Sanchez, Nikki Gio
Giovanni
vanni, Audre LLorde
orde, June Jordan
Jordan, and
little bit of a ladykiller, not altogether to be trusted: he'll dance Etheridge Knight sought to foster a Black artistic community
with "anybody's daughter," any girl on the dance floor. free from the dominance of white society. Their work centered
Black experiences and articulated visions of justice and social
The speaker's voice suggests they belong to the same world as
change. This poem's description of a young Black man's
the country lover. Colloquial pronunciations like "Saddy"
swagger on a night out shows the defiantly celebratory face of
(meaning "Saturday") and references to "red soda water" (a soft
the movement.
drink often served at Juneteenth celebrations) suggest that the
speaker and the country lover are both Black Americans, likely As a Black American poet and memoirist, Angelou also saw
from the South—like Maya Angelou herself, who grew up in herself as a member of a literary tradition that included writers
Arkansas. like Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar
Dunbar. She was also
good friends with the essayist and novelist James Baldwin
Baldwin; the
two were both major voices in the Civil Rights movement of the
SETTING 1960s and '70s. In turn, Angelou has influenced countless
people, from the cartoonist Keith Knight to the former U.S.
The poem takes place at a "Saddy night dance" (that is, a dance President Bar
Barack
ack Obama
Obama.
on Saturday night). Aside from that, there aren't any direct
details about the setting. Nonetheless, readers get a strong HISTORICAL CONTEXT
sense of where and when this poem takes place through the The fashion choices of this poem's "Country Lover"—high-
speaker's voice and their description of the "Country Lover." water pants, pointy shoes—suggest that this poem takes place
With his "high water pants" and his "keen toed shoes," this man some time around the 1960s, right in the middle of the
would be right in style for the 1960s. And the speaker's accent American Civil Rights movement. This movement was focused
(in which "Saturday" becomes "Saddy") tells readers that they on achieving equality for Black people and other people of color
and the young man they describe are Black Americans, in the United States. The tireless and courageous efforts of
probably living in the southern United States (if the "red soda Civil Rights activists led to landmark legislation and judicial
water," a bright red soft drink often served at barbecues and rulings, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Juneteenth celebrations in the South, is anything to go by).
Angelou herself was one such Civil Rights activist: she worked
The poem's setting thus captures a moment of lively fun and with both Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Much of
personal pride in a time and place of struggle and danger. In the her poetry famously celebr
celebrates
ates Black resilience and courage.
1960s, the U.S. was in the throes of the Civil Rights movement, Here, she honors the joy and liveliness of the Southern Black
in which Black Americans and their allies stood up against culture she grew up with in her native Arkansas, familiarly
racism and fought for desegregation and equal rights. This describing a Saturday night out where the "funky blues" play
poem takes a snapshot of a young Black Southern man of this and the "red soda water" (a bright-red soft drink) flows like,
time, celebrating his cocky stylishness and his lust for life (and well, regular old water.
for "anybody's daughter").

MORE RESOUR
RESOURCES
CES
CONTEXT
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
LITERARY CONTEXT
• Angelou's W Website
ebsite — Visit Angelou's personal website to
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was one of the most beloved find a wealth of information about her life and her long,
American writers of the 20th century. She first became famous influential career. (https:/
(https://www
/www.ma
.mayaangelou.com/)
yaangelou.com/)
for her memoir I Know Wh
Whyy the Caged Bir
Birdd Sings
Sings, in which she
describes her troubled childhood with an honesty and • An Interview with Angelou — Watch a delightful, lively
interview with Maya Angelou, given toward the end of her
openness that many of her early critics found shocking—and
life. (https:/
(https:///youtu.be/q6W
outu.be/q6WqYMdRIRI?si=a-rf5QKMEe-
qYMdRIRI?si=a-rf5QKMEe-
many of her early readers found moving and inspiring. Over the
z620k)

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• A Brief Biogr
Biograph
aphyy — Read the Poetry Foundation's short • Phenomenal W Woman
oman
overview of Angelou's life and work. • Still I Rise
(https:/
(https://www
/www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ma
.poetryfoundation.org/poets/maya-angelou)
ya-angelou) • When Great T Trees
rees Fall
• Woman W Work
ork
• Angelou's LLegacy
egacy — Read Angelou's obituary in the
Guardian. (https:/
(https://www
/www.theguardian.com/books/2014/
.theguardian.com/books/2014/
ma
mayy/28/ma
/28/maya-angelou)
ya-angelou) HOW T
TO
O CITE
• A Celebr
Celebration
ation of Angelou — Read former U.S. President
Barack Obama's memorial to Angelou. MLA
(https:/
(https:///obama
obamawhitehouse.archiv
whitehouse.archives.go
es.govv/blog/2014/05/
Nelson, Kristin. "Country Lover." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 23 Jul
28/remembering-and-celebr
28/remembering-and-celebrating-life-dr-ma
ating-life-dr-maya-angelou)
ya-angelou)
2024. Web. 25 Jul 2024.
LITCHARTS ON OTHER MAYA ANGELOU POEMS
CHICAGO MANUAL
• Caged Bird
Nelson, Kristin. "Country Lover." LitCharts LLC, July 23, 2024.
• Harlem Hopscotch
• Life Doesn
Doesn't
't F
Frighten
righten Me Retrieved July 25, 2024. https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/maya-
angelou/country-lover.
• On Aging
• On the Pulse of Morning

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