Not Goo Hwome To-Night
No, no, why you've noo wife at hwomeAbiden up till you do come,Zoo leaeve your hat upon the pin,Vor I'm your waiter. Here's your inn,Wi' chair to rest, an' bed to roost;You have but little work to doThis vrosty time at hwome in mill,Your vrozen wheel's a-stannen still,The sleepen ice woont grind vor you.No, no, you woont goo hwome to-night,Good Robin White, o' Craglin mill.
As I come by, to-day, where stoodWi' neaeked trees, the purple wood,The scarlet hunter's ho'ses veetTore up the sheaeken ground, wind-fleet,Wi' reachen heads, an' panken hides;The while the flat-wing'd rooks in vlock.Did zwim a-sheenen at their height;But your good river, since last night,Wer all a-vroze so still's a rock.No, no, you woont goo hwome to-night,Good Robin White, o' Craglin mill.
Zee how the hufflen win' do blow,A-whirlen down the giddy snow:Zee how the sky's a-weaeren dim,Behind the elem's neaeked lim'.That there do leaen above the leaene:Zoo teaeke your pleaece bezide the dogs,An' sip a drop o' hwome-brew'd eaele,An' zing your zong or tell your teaele,While I do bait the vier wi' logs.No, no, you woont goo hwome to-night,Good Robin White, o' Craglin mill.
Your meaere's in steaeble wi' her hocksIn straw above her vetterlocks,A-reachen up her meaeney neck,An' pullen down good hay vrom reck,A-meaeken slight o' snow an' sleet;She don't want you upon her back,To vall upon the slippery stwonesOn Hollyhuel, an' break your bwones,Or miss, in snow, her hidden track.No, no, you woont goo hwome to-night,Good Robin White, o' Craglin mill.
Here, Jenny, come pull out your keyAn' hansel, wi' zome tidy tea,The zilver pot that we do oweTo your prize butter at the show,An' put zome bread upon the bwoard.Ah! he do smile; now that 'ull do,He'll stay. Here, Polly, bring a light,We'll have a happy hour to-night,I'm thankvul we be in the lew.No, no, he woont goo hwome to-night,Not Robin White, o' Craglin mill.
Words in this poem
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- reck v. t.
- To make account of; to care for; to heed; to regard. [AS. reccan, remccan, to care for; akin to OS. rokian, OHG. ruochan, G. geruhen, Icel. rækja, also to E. reckon, rake an implement. See Rake, and cf. Reckon.]
- sleet n.
- The part of a mortar extending from the chamber to the trunnions.
- jenny n.
- A familiar or pet form of the proper name Jane.
- polly n.
- A woman's name; also, a popular name for a parrot.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Not Goo Hwome To-Night is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect, Project Gutenberg ebook #21785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Barnes, Not Goo Hwome To-Night, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/not-goo-hwome-to-night.html, id L02336.
Form and metre
Not Goo Hwome To-Night is 55 lines in 5 stanzas of 11 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 51% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 --AA-BCCB-C hwome · come · pinA · innA · roost · doB · millC · stillC · youB · night · millC
- 2 AABB-CDDCD- stoodA · woodA · veetB · fleetB · hides · vlockC · heightD · nightD · rockC · nightD · mill
- 3 AABB-CDDC-- blowA · snowA · dimB · limB · leaene · dogsC · eaeleD · teaeleD · logsC · night · mill
- 4 AABB-CDDC-- hocksA · vetterlocksA · neckB · reckB · sleet · backC · stwonesD · bwonesD · trackC · night · mill
- 5 AABB-CDDCD- keyA · teaA · oweB · showB · bwoard · doC · lightD · nightD · lewC · nightD · mill
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| No, no, why you've noo wife at hwome | 8 | ········ |
| Abiden up till you do come, | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo leaeve your hat upon the pin, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor I'm your waiter. Here's your inn, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wi' chair to rest, an' bed to roost; | 8 | ········ |
| You have but little work to do | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| This vrosty time at hwome in mill, | 8 | ········ |
| Your vrozen wheel's a-stannen still, | 8 | ········ |
| The sleepen ice woont grind vor you. | 8 | ········ |
| No, no, you woont goo hwome to-night, | 8 | ········ |
| Good Robin White, o' Craglin mill. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As I come by, to-day, where stood | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' neaeked trees, the purple wood, | 8 | ··˘··/˘· |
| The scarlet hunter's ho'ses veet | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Tore up the sheaeken ground, wind-fleet, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' reachen heads, an' panken hides; | 8 | ········ |
| The while the flat-wing'd rooks in vlock. | 8 | ········ |
| Did zwim a-sheenen at their height; | 8 | ········ |
| But your good river, since last night, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wer all a-vroze so still's a rock. | 8 | ········ |
| No, no, you woont goo hwome to-night, | 8 | ········ |
| Good Robin White, o' Craglin mill. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Zee how the hufflen win' do blow, | 8 | ········ |
| A-whirlen down the giddy snow: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Zee how the sky's a-weaeren dim, | 8 | ········ |
| Behind the elem's neaeked lim'. | 8 | ······˘· |
| That there do leaen above the leaene: | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo teaeke your pleaece bezide the dogs, | 8 | ········ |
| An' sip a drop o' hwome-brew'd eaele, | 9 | ········· |
| An' zing your zong or tell your teaele, | 9 | ········· |
| While I do bait the vier wi' logs. | 8 | ········ |
| No, no, you woont goo hwome to-night, | 8 | ········ |
| Good Robin White, o' Craglin mill. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Your meaere's in steaeble wi' her hocks | 8 | ········ |
| In straw above her vetterlocks, | 8 | ········ |
| A-reachen up her meaeney neck, | 8 | ········ |
| An' pullen down good hay vrom reck, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A-meaeken slight o' snow an' sleet; | 8 | ········ |
| She don't want you upon her back, | 8 | ········ |
| To vall upon the slippery stwones | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| On Hollyhuel, an' break your bwones, | 8 | ········ |
| Or miss, in snow, her hidden track. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| No, no, you woont goo hwome to-night, | 8 | ········ |
| Good Robin White, o' Craglin mill. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Here, Jenny, come pull out your key | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' hansel, wi' zome tidy tea, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The zilver pot that we do owe | 8 | ········ |
| To your prize butter at the show, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' put zome bread upon the bwoard. | 8 | ········ |
| Ah! he do smile; now that 'ull do, | 8 | ········ |
| He'll stay. Here, Polly, bring a light, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| We'll have a happy hour to-night, | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| I'm thankvul we be in the lew. | 8 | ········ |
| No, no, he woont goo hwome to-night, | 8 | ········ |
| Not Robin White, o' Craglin mill. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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