The King and the Countryman
THERE was an old chap in the west country,A flaw in the lease the lawyers had found,’Twas all about felling of five oak trees,And building a house upon his own ground.Right too looral, looral, looral—right too looral la!
Now, this old chap to Lunnun would go,To tell the king a part of his woe,Likewise to tell him a part of his grief,In hopes the king would give him relief.
Now, when this old chap to Lunnun had come,He found the king to Windsor had gone;But if he’d known he’d not been at home,He danged his buttons if ever he’d come.
Now, when this old chap to Windsor did stump,The gates were barred, and all secure,But he knocked and thumped with his oaken clump,There’s room within for I to be sure.
But when he got there, how he did stare,To see the yeomen strutting about;He scratched his head, and rubbed down his hair,In the ear of a noble he gave a great shout:
‘Pray, Mr. Noble, show I the King;Is that the King that I see there?I seed an old chap at Bartlemy fairLook more like a king than that chap there.
‘Well, Mr. King, pray how d’ye do?I gotten for you a bit of a job,Which if you’ll be so kind as to do,I gotten a summat for you in my fob.’
The king he took the lease in hand,To sign it, too, he was likewise willing;And the old chap to make a little amends,He lugg’d out his bag, and gave him a shilling.
The king, to carry on the joke,Ordered ten pounds to be paid down;The farmer he stared, but nothing spoke,And stared again, and he scratched his crown.
The farmer he stared to see so much money,And to take it up he was likewise willing;But if he’d a known King had got so much money,He danged his wig if he’d gien him that shilling!
Words in this poem
- windsor n.
- A town in Berkshire, England. Windsor bean. (Bot.) See under Bean.
- oaken a.
- Made or consisting of oaks or of the wood of oaks. [AS. acen.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The King and the Countryman 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, The King and the Countryman, 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/the-king-and-the-countryman.html, id L11985.
Form and metre
The King and the Countryman is 41 lines in 10 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 4 of the 10 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.7 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 -A-A- country · foundA · trees · groundA · la
- 2 AABB goA · woeA · griefB · reliefB
- 3 A-AA comeA · gone · homeA · comeA
- 4 ABAB stumpA · secureB · clumpA · sureB
- 5 ABAB stareA · aboutB · hairA · shoutB
- 6 -AAA king · thereA · fairA · thereA
- 7 A-A- doA · job · doA · fob
- 8 -A-A hand · willingA · amends · shillingA
- 9 ABAB jokeA · downB · spokeA · crownB
- 10 ABAB moneyA · willingB · moneyA · shillingB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| THERE was an old chap in the west country, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| A flaw in the lease the lawyers had found, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| ’Twas all about felling of five oak trees, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| And building a house upon his own ground. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Right too looral, looral, looral—right too looral la! | 13 | ············· |
| Now, this old chap to Lunnun would go, | 9 | ········· |
| To tell the king a part of his woe, | 9 | ········· |
| Likewise to tell him a part of his grief, | 10 | /········· |
| In hopes the king would give him relief. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Now, when this old chap to Lunnun had come, | 10 | ·········· |
| He found the king to Windsor had gone; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| But if he’d known he’d not been at home, | 9 | ········· |
| He danged his buttons if ever he’d come. | 9 | ···/˘·/·· |
| Now, when this old chap to Windsor did stump, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| The gates were barred, and all secure, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But he knocked and thumped with his oaken clump, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| There’s room within for I to be sure. | 9 | ········· |
| But when he got there, how he did stare, | 9 | ········· |
| To see the yeomen strutting about; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| He scratched his head, and rubbed down his hair, | 9 | ········· |
| In the ear of a noble he gave a great shout: | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| ‘Pray, Mr. Noble, show I the King; | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Is that the King that I see there? | 8 | ········ |
| I seed an old chap at Bartlemy fair | 10 | ·········· |
| Look more like a king than that chap there. | 9 | ········· |
| ‘Well, Mr. King, pray how d’ye do? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I gotten for you a bit of a job, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Which if you’ll be so kind as to do, | 9 | ········· |
| I gotten a summat for you in my fob.’ | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The king he took the lease in hand, | 8 | ········ |
| To sign it, too, he was likewise willing; | 10 | ······/·/˘ |
| And the old chap to make a little amends, | 11 | ·······/˘˘/ |
| He lugg’d out his bag, and gave him a shilling. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| The king, to carry on the joke, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ordered ten pounds to be paid down; | 8 | /˘······ |
| The farmer he stared, but nothing spoke, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| And stared again, and he scratched his crown. | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| The farmer he stared to see so much money, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| And to take it up he was likewise willing; | 11 | ·······/·/˘ |
| But if he’d a known King had got so much money, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| He danged his wig if he’d gien him that shilling! | 11 | ·········/˘ |
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