Wooing Song of a Yeoman of Kent’s Sonne
‘I hae laid a herring in saut;Lass, ’gin ye lo’e me, tell me now!I ha’e brewed a forpit o’ maut,An’ I canna come ilka day to woo.’
There are modern copies of our Kentish Wooing Song, but the presentversion is taken from Melismata, Musical phansies fitting the court,citie, and countree. To 3, 4, and 5 voyces. London, printed byWilliam Stansby, for Thomas Adams, 1611. The tune will be found in
ICH have house and land in Kent,And if you’ll love me, love me now;Two-pence half-penny is my rent,—Ich cannot come every day to woo.Chorus. Two-pence half-penny is his rent,And he cannot come every day to woo.
Ich am my vather’s eldest zonne,My mouther eke doth love me well!For Ich can bravely clout my shoone,And Ich full-well can ring a bell.Cho. For he can bravely clout his shoone,And he full well can ring a bell.
My vather he gave me a hogge,My mouther she gave me a zow;Ich have a god-vather dwells there by,And he on me bestowed a plow.Cho. He has a god-vather dwells there by,And he on him bestowed a plow.
One time Ich gave thee a paper of pins,Anoder time a taudry lace;And if thou wilt not grant me love,In truth Ich die bevore thy vace.Cho. And if thou wilt not grant his love,In truth he’ll die bevore thy vace.
Ich have been twice our Whitson Lord,Ich have had ladies many vare;And eke thou hast my heart in hold,And in my minde zeemes passing rare.Cho. And eke thou hast his heart in hold,And in his minde zeemes passing rare.
Ich will put on my best white sloppe,And Ich will weare my yellow hose;And on my head a good gray hat,And in’t Ich sticke a lovely rose.Cho. And on his head a good grey hat,And in’t he’ll stick a lovely rose.
Wherefore cease off, make no delay,And if you’ll love me, love me now;Or els Ich zeeke zome oder where,—For Ich cannot come every day to woo.Cho. Or else he’ll zeeke zome oder where,For he cannot come every day to woo.
Words in this poem
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- canna n.
- A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet. [It.]
- mouther n.
- One who mouths; an affected speaker.
- bravely adv.
- In a brave manner; courageously; gallantly; valiantly; splendidly; nobly.
- clout n.
- A cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag. [AS. clut a little cloth, piece of metal; cf. Sw. klut, Icel. klutr a kerchief, or W. clwt a clout, Gael. clud.]
- vare n.
- A wand or staff of authority or justice. [Sp. vara staff, wand, L. vara forked pole.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- sloppe n.
- Any kind of outer garment made of linen or cotton, as a night dress, or a smock frock. Halliwell. [AS. slop a frock or over-garment, fr. sl to slip, to slide; akin to Icel sloppr a thin garment; cf. OHG. slouf a garment. Cf. Slip, v. i.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Wooing Song of a Yeoman of Kent’s Sonne 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, Wooing Song of a Yeoman of Kent’s Sonne, 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/wooing-song-of-a-yeoman-of-kent-s-sonne.html, id L11950.
Form and metre
Wooing Song of a Yeoman of Kent’s Sonne is 50 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 6% 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 A-A- sautA · now · mautA · woo
- 3 A-ABAB kentA · now · rentA · wooB · rentA · wooB
- 4 -ABABA zonne · wellA · shooneB · bellA · shooneB · bellA
- 5 --ABAB hogge · zow · byA · plowB · byA · plowB
- 6 -ABABA pins · laceA · loveB · vaceA · loveB · vaceA
- 7 --ABAB lord · vare · holdA · rareB · holdA · rareB
- 8 -ABABA sloppe · hoseA · hatB · roseA · hatB · roseA
- 9 --ABAB delay · now · whereA · wooB · whereA · wooB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ‘I hae laid a herring in saut; | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Lass, ’gin ye lo’e me, tell me now! | 8 | ········ |
| I ha’e brewed a forpit o’ maut, | 8 | ········ |
| An’ I canna come ilka day to woo.’ | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| There are modern copies of our Kentish Wooing Song, but the present | 17 | ··/˘/˘·/··/˘···˘/ |
| version is taken from Melismata, Musical phansies fitting the court, | 17 | /˘·/˘·····/˘·/˘·· |
| citie, and countree. To 3, 4, and 5 voyces. London, printed by | 14 | ·········/˘/˘· |
| William Stansby, for Thomas Adams, 1611. The tune will be found in | 15 | /˘···/˘/˘······ |
| ICH have house and land in Kent, | 7 | ······· |
| And if you’ll love me, love me now; | 8 | ········ |
| Two-pence half-penny is my rent,— | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ich cannot come every day to woo. | 9 | ·˘/·/˘··· |
| Chorus. Two-pence half-penny is his rent, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| And he cannot come every day to woo. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Ich am my vather’s eldest zonne, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My mouther eke doth love me well! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For Ich can bravely clout my shoone, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And Ich full-well can ring a bell. | 8 | ········ |
| Cho. For he can bravely clout his shoone, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| And he full well can ring a bell. | 8 | ········ |
| My vather he gave me a hogge, | 8 | ········ |
| My mouther she gave me a zow; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ich have a god-vather dwells there by, | 9 | ········· |
| And he on me bestowed a plow. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Cho. He has a god-vather dwells there by, | 10 | ·········· |
| And he on him bestowed a plow. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| One time Ich gave thee a paper of pins, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Anoder time a taudry lace; | 8 | ········ |
| And if thou wilt not grant me love, | 8 | ········ |
| In truth Ich die bevore thy vace. | 8 | ········ |
| Cho. And if thou wilt not grant his love, | 9 | ········· |
| In truth he’ll die bevore thy vace. | 8 | ········ |
| Ich have been twice our Whitson Lord, | 8 | ····//˘· |
| Ich have had ladies many vare; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And eke thou hast my heart in hold, | 8 | ········ |
| And in my minde zeemes passing rare. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Cho. And eke thou hast his heart in hold, | 9 | ········· |
| And in his minde zeemes passing rare. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ich will put on my best white sloppe, | 8 | ········ |
| And Ich will weare my yellow hose; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And on my head a good gray hat, | 8 | ········ |
| And in’t Ich sticke a lovely rose. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Cho. And on his head a good grey hat, | 9 | ········· |
| And in’t he’ll stick a lovely rose. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wherefore cease off, make no delay, | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| And if you’ll love me, love me now; | 8 | ········ |
| Or els Ich zeeke zome oder where,— | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For Ich cannot come every day to woo. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Cho. Or else he’ll zeeke zome oder where, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| For he cannot come every day to woo. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
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.