Somersetshire Hunting Song
THERE’S no pleasures can compareWi’ the hunting o’ the hare,In the morning, in the morning,In fine and pleasant weather.
Cho. With our hosses and our hounds,We will scamps it o’er the grounds,And sing traro, huzza!And sing traro, huzza!And sing traro, brave boys, we will foller.
And when poor puss arise,Then away from us she flies;And we’ll gives her, boys, we’ll gives her,One thundering and loud holler!Cho. With our hosses, &c.
And when poor puss is killed,We’ll retires from the field;And we’ll count boys, and we’ll countOn the same good ren to-morrer.Cho. With our bosses and our hounds, &c.
Words in this poem
- huzza interj.
- A word used as a shout of joy, exultation, approbation, or encouragement. [Cf. G. hussa, husa, interj., hurrah, huzza. sq. root43. Cf. Hurrah.]
- puss n.
- A cat; -- a fondling appellation. [Cf. D. poes, Ir. & Gael. pus.]
- thundering a.
- Emitting thunder.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Somersetshire Hunting Song is in the public domain. This text is taken from Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, Project Gutenberg ebook #649; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Bell, Somersetshire Hunting Song, in Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England (1857), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #649, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bell-ancient-poems/somersetshire-hunting-song.html, id L11989.
Form and metre
Somersetshire Hunting Song is 19 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% 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 AA-- compareA · hareA · morning · weather
- 2 AABB- houndsA · groundsA · huzzaB · huzzaB · foller
- 3 AA--- ariseA · fliesA · her · holler · —
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THERE’S no pleasures can compare | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Wi’ the hunting o’ the hare, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In the morning, in the morning, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| In fine and pleasant weather. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Cho. With our hosses and our hounds, | 8 | ··//˘·/· |
| We will scamps it o’er the grounds, | 7 | ······· |
| And sing traro, huzza! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And sing traro, huzza! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And sing traro, brave boys, we will foller. | 10 | ·········· |
| And when poor puss arise, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Then away from us she flies; | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| And we’ll gives her, boys, we’ll gives her, | 8 | ········ |
| One thundering and loud holler! | 8 | ·/˘˘··/˘ |
| Cho. With our hosses, &c. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| And when poor puss is killed, | 7 | ······˘ |
| We’ll retires from the field; | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| And we’ll count boys, and we’ll count | 7 | ······· |
| On the same good ren to-morrer. | 8 | ········ |
| Cho. With our bosses and our hounds, &c. | 9 | ··//˘·/·· |
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