The South Country
When I am living in the MidlandsThat are sodden and unkind,I light my lamp in the evening:My work is left behind;And the great hills of the South CountryCome back into my mind.
The great hills of the South CountryThey stand along the sea;And it’s there walking in the high woodsThat I could wish to be,And the men that were boys when I was a boyWalking along with me.
The men that live in North EnglandI saw them for a day:Their hearts are set upon the waste fells,Their skies are fast and grey;From their castle-walls a man may seeThe mountains far away.
The men that live in West EnglandThey see the Severn strong,A-rolling on rough water brownLight aspen leaves along.They have the secret of the Rocks,And the oldest kind of song.
But the men that live in the South CountryAre the kindest and most wise,They get their laughter from the loud surf,And the faith in their happy eyesComes surely from our Sister the SpringWhen over the sea she flies;The violets suddenly bloom at her feet,She blesses us with surprise.
I never get between the pinesBut I smell the Sussex air;Nor I never come on a belt of sandBut my home is there.And along the sky the line of the DownsSo noble and so bare.
A lost thing could I never find,Nor a broken thing mend:And I fear I shall be all aloneWhen I get towards the end.Who will there be to comfort meOr who will be my friend?
I will gather and carefully make my friendsOf the men of the Sussex Weald,They watch the stars from silent folds,They stiffly plough the field.By them and the God of the South CountryMy poor soul shall be healed.
If I ever become a rich man,Or if ever I grow to be old,I will build a house with deep thatchTo shelter me from the cold,And there shall the Sussex songs be sungAnd the story of Sussex told.
I will hold my house in the high woodWithin a walk of the sea,And the men that were boys when I was a boyShall sit and drink with me.
Words in this poem
- unkind a.
- Having no race or kindred; childless. [See Kin kindred.]
- 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,]
- weald n.
- A wood or forest; a wooded land or region; also, an open country; -- often used in place names. [AS. See Wold.]
- stiffly adv.
- In a stiff manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The South Country is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sonnets and Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #60663; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Hilaire Belloc, The South Country, in Sonnets and Verse (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #60663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/belloc-sonnets-verse/the-south-country.html, id L21648.
Form and metre
The South Country is 60 lines in 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%).
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-A midlands · unkindA · evening · behindA · country · mindA
- 2 -A-A-A country · seaA · woods · beA · boy · meA
- 3 -A-A-A england · dayA · fells · greyA · see · awayA
- 4 -A-A-A england · strongA · brown · alongA · rocks · songA
- 5 -A-A-A-A country · wiseA · surf · eyesA · spring · fliesA · feet · surpriseA
- 6 -A-A-A pines · airA · sand · thereA · downs · bareA
- 7 -A-A-A find · mendA · alone · endA · me · friendA
- 8 -A-A-A friends · wealdA · folds · fieldA · country · healedA
- 9 -A-A-A man · oldA · thatch · coldA · sung · toldA
- 10 -A-A wood · seaA · boy · meA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When I am living in the Midlands | 9 | ···/˘··/· |
| That are sodden and unkind, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| I light my lamp in the evening: | 8 | ······/˘ |
| My work is left behind; | 6 | ······ |
| And the great hills of the South Country | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Come back into my mind. | 6 | ······ |
| The great hills of the South Country | 8 | ······/˘ |
| They stand along the sea; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And it’s there walking in the high woods | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| That I could wish to be, | 6 | ······ |
| And the men that were boys when I was a boy | 11 | ··········· |
| Walking along with me. | 6 | /˘˘/·· |
| The men that live in North England | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I saw them for a day: | 6 | ······ |
| Their hearts are set upon the waste fells, | 9 | ········· |
| Their skies are fast and grey; | 6 | ······ |
| From their castle-walls a man may see | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| The mountains far away. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| The men that live in West England | 8 | ······/˘ |
| They see the Severn strong, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| A-rolling on rough water brown | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Light aspen leaves along. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| They have the secret of the Rocks, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And the oldest kind of song. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But the men that live in the South Country | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Are the kindest and most wise, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| They get their laughter from the loud surf, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| And the faith in their happy eyes | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Comes surely from our Sister the Spring | 9 | ·/˘·//˘·· |
| When over the sea she flies; | 7 | ······· |
| The violets suddenly bloom at her feet, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| She blesses us with surprise. | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| I never get between the pines | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But I smell the Sussex air; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Nor I never come on a belt of sand | 9 | ··/······ |
| But my home is there. | 5 | ····· |
| And along the sky the line of the Downs | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| So noble and so bare. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A lost thing could I never find, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor a broken thing mend: | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| And I fear I shall be all alone | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| When I get towards the end. | 7 | ······· |
| Who will there be to comfort me | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or who will be my friend? | 6 | ······ |
| I will gather and carefully make my friends | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| Of the men of the Sussex Weald, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| They watch the stars from silent folds, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| They stiffly plough the field. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| By them and the God of the South Country | 10 | ········/˘ |
| My poor soul shall be healed. | 7 | ······˘ |
| If I ever become a rich man, | 8 | ··/˘/··· |
| Or if ever I grow to be old, | 8 | ··/····· |
| I will build a house with deep thatch | 8 | ········ |
| To shelter me from the cold, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And there shall the Sussex songs be sung | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| And the story of Sussex told. | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| I will hold my house in the high wood | 9 | ········· |
| Within a walk of the sea, | 7 | ······· |
| And the men that were boys when I was a boy | 11 | ··········· |
| Shall sit and drink with me. | 6 | ······ |
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.