Zong
If you'll but let your clackers restVrom jabberen an' hooten,I'll teaeke my turn, an' do my best,To zing o' sparrow shooten.Since every woone mus' pitch his key,An' zing a zong, in coo'se, lads,Why sparrow heads shall be to-dayThe heads o' my discoo'se, lads.
We'll zend abroad our viery hailTill ev'ry foe's a-vled, lads,An' though the rogues mid all turn tail,We'll quickly show their head, lads.In corn, or out on oben ground,In bush, or up in tree, lads,If we don't kill em, I'll be bound,We'll meaeke their veathers vlee, lads.
Zoo let the belted spwortsmen bragWhen they've a-won a neaeme, so's,That they do vind, or they do bag,Zoo many head o' geaeme, so's;Vor when our cwein is woonce a-won,By heads o' sundry sizes,Why, who can slight what we've a-done?We've all a-won head prizes.
Then teaeke a drap vor harmless fun,But not enough to quarrel;Though where a man do like the gun,He can't but need the barrel.O' goodly feaere, avore we'll start,We'll zit an' teaeke our vill, min;Our supper-bill can be but short,'Tis but a sparrow-bill, min.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- sundry a.
- Several; divers; more than one or two; various. [OE. sundry, sondry, AS. syndrig, fr. sundor asunder. See Sunder, v. t.]
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- vill n.
- A small collection of houses; a village. [OF. ville, vile, a village, F. ville a town, city. See Villa.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Zong 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, Zong, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/zong.html, id L02249.
Form and metre
Zong is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABAB-C-C restA · hootenB · bestA · shootenB · key · ladsC · day · ladsC
- 2 ABABCBCB hailA · ladsB · tailA · ladsB · groundC · ladsB · boundC · ladsB
- 3 ABABCDCD bragA · so'sB · bagA · so'sB · wonC · sizesD · doneC · prizesD
- 4 A-A--B-B funA · quarrel · gunA · barrel · start · minB · short · minB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| If you'll but let your clackers rest | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom jabberen an' hooten, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I'll teaeke my turn, an' do my best, | 8 | ········ |
| To zing o' sparrow shooten. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Since every woone mus' pitch his key, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' zing a zong, in coo'se, lads, | 7 | ······· |
| Why sparrow heads shall be to-day | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The heads o' my discoo'se, lads. | 7 | ······· |
| We'll zend abroad our viery hail | 8 | ··˘//··· |
| Till ev'ry foe's a-vled, lads, | 7 | ······· |
| An' though the rogues mid all turn tail, | 8 | ········ |
| We'll quickly show their head, lads. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| In corn, or out on oben ground, | 8 | ········ |
| In bush, or up in tree, lads, | 7 | ······· |
| If we don't kill em, I'll be bound, | 8 | ········ |
| We'll meaeke their veathers vlee, lads. | 7 | ······· |
| Zoo let the belted spwortsmen brag | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| When they've a-won a neaeme, so's, | 7 | ······· |
| That they do vind, or they do bag, | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo many head o' geaeme, so's; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Vor when our cwein is woonce a-won, | 8 | ··/····· |
| By heads o' sundry sizes, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Why, who can slight what we've a-done? | 8 | ········ |
| We've all a-won head prizes. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Then teaeke a drap vor harmless fun, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But not enough to quarrel; | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| Though where a man do like the gun, | 8 | ········ |
| He can't but need the barrel. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| O' goodly feaere, avore we'll start, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| We'll zit an' teaeke our vill, min; | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Our supper-bill can be but short, | 8 | //˘····· |
| 'Tis but a sparrow-bill, min. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.