"And Kissed Me for the First Time in Over Twenty Years!"
I don't know what you'll think, Sir--I didn't come to inquire--But I picked up that agreement and stuffed it in the fire;And I told her we'd bury the hatchet alongside of the cow;And we struck an agreement never to have another row.
And I told her in the future I wouldn't speak cross or rashIf half the crockery in the house was broken all to smash;And she said, in regards to heaven, we'd try and learn its worthBy startin' a branch establishment and runnin' it here on earth.
And so we sat a-talkin' three-quarters of the night,And opened our hearts to each other until they both grew light;And the days when I was winnin' her away from so many menWas nothin' to that evenin' I courted her over again.
Next mornin' an ancient virgin took pains to call on us,Her lamp all trimmed and a-burnin' to kindle another fuss;But when she went to pryin' and openin' of old sores,My Betsey rose politely, and showed her out-of-doors.
Words in this poem
- crockery n.
- Earthenware; vessels formed of baked clay, especially the coarser kinds. [From Crock an earthen vessel.]
- smash v. t.
- To break in pieces by violence; to dash to pieces; to crush. [Cf. Sw. smisk a blow, stroke, smiska to strike, dial. Sw. smaske to kiss with a noise, and E. smack a loud kiss, a slap.]
- fuss n.
- A tumult; a bustle; unnecessary or annoying ado about trifles. [Cf. Fusome.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- politely adv.
- In a polished manner; so as to be smooth or glossy.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
"And Kissed Me for the First Time in Over Twenty Years!" is in the public domain. This text is taken from Farm Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #9500; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Will Carleton, "And Kissed Me for the First Time in Over Twenty Years!", in Farm Ballads (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9500, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carleton-farm-ballads/and-kissed-me-for-the-first-time-in-over-twenty-years.html, id L23259.
Form and metre
"And Kissed Me for the First Time in Over Twenty Years!" is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%).
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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-- inquireA · fireA · cow · row
- 2 AABB rashA · smashA · worthB · earthB
- 3 AABB nightA · lightA · menB · againB
- 4 AABB usA · fussA · soresB · doorsB
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I don't know what you'll think, Sir--I didn't come to inquire-- | 14 | ········/˘··˘/ |
| But I picked up that agreement and stuffed it in the fire; | 15 | ·····˘/˘·····/˘ |
| And I told her we'd bury the hatchet alongside of the cow; | 16 | ·····/˘·/˘˘//··· |
| And we struck an agreement never to have another row. | 15 | ····˘/˘/˘··˘/˘· |
| And I told her in the future I wouldn't speak cross or rash | 15 | ······/˘·/˘···· |
| If half the crockery in the house was broken all to smash; | 15 | ···/˘˘····/˘··· |
| And she said, in regards to heaven, we'd try and learn its worth | 15 | ····˘/·/˘······ |
| By startin' a branch establishment and runnin' it here on earth. | 16 | ·····˘/˘˘·/˘···· |
| And so we sat a-talkin' three-quarters of the night, | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| And opened our hearts to each other until they both grew light; | 16 | ·/˘/˘···/˘······ |
| And the days when I was winnin' her away from so many men | 16 | ·········˘/··/˘· |
| Was nothin' to that evenin' I courted her over again. | 16 | ·/˘······/˘···˘/ |
| Next mornin' an ancient virgin took pains to call on us, | 14 | ····/˘/˘······ |
| Her lamp all trimmed and a-burnin' to kindle another fuss; | 15 | ·········/˘˘/˘· |
| But when she went to pryin' and openin' of old sores, | 13 | ············· |
| My Betsey rose politely, and showed her out-of-doors. | 13 | ·/˘·˘/˘······ |
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.