Farm Ballads
The American farm ballad at its most popular: "Over the Hill to the Poor-House", "Betsey and I Are Out", "Gone with a Handsomer Man".
Measured across the book
Across its 1,671 lines, 87% of stressed syllables fall on the beat (95% interval 86% to 88%). Alliteration runs at 1.06 times what shuffling the words would give (0.39 observed against 0.37 expected). 17% of the lines have a feminine ending.
Baselines and intervals are described in the methods.
Contents
Betsey and I Are OutAABB · 84 lines"Give Us Your Hand, Mr. Lawyer: How Do You Do To-Day?"iambic heptameter · AABB · 26 lines"And Just as I Turned a Hill-Top I See the Kitchen Light"iambic heptameter · AABB · 10 lines"And Intently Readin' a Newspaper, A-Holdin' It Wrong Side Up"iambic heptameter · AABB · 12 lines"And Kissed Me for the First Time in Over Twenty Years!"iambic heptameter · AABB · 16 lines"My Betsey Rose Politely, and Showed Her Out-Of-Doors"AABB · 12 linesJohniambic heptameter · AABB · 25 lines"Curse Her! Curse Her! Say I; She'll Some Time Rue This Day!"AABB · 39 linesJane: "Why, John, What a Litter Here! You've Thrown Things All Around!"7 linesJohnAABB · 8 linesJohnny Richtrochaic tetrameter · AAABBB · 34 lines"'Tis a Hairy Sort of Night for a Man to Face and Fight"iambic tetrameter · AABB · 12 lines"And You Lie There, Quite Resigned, Whisky Deaf, and Whisky Blind"iambic tetrameter · AAABBB · 57 linesOut of the Old House, Nancy5 lines"And Bid the Old House Good-Bye"iambic heptameter · AABB · 44 lines"Settlers Come to See That Show a Half a Dozen Miles"iambic heptameter · AABB · 9 lines"Right in There the Preacher, with Bible and Hymn-Book Stood"iambic heptameter · AABB · 23 lines"Over the Hill to the Poor-House, I'm Trudgin' My Weary Way"iambic heptameter · AABB · 47 lines"Till at Last He Went A-Courtin', and Brought a Wife from Town"iambic heptameter · AABB · 34 linesOver the Hill from the Poor-Houseiambic pentameter · AABB · 115 linesUncle Sammy106 linesTom Was Goin' for a Poet50 linesGoin' Home To-Dayiambic heptameter · AABBCC · 42 linesOut o' the Fireiambic heptameter · AABB · 92 linesThe New Church Organiambic tetrameter · ABABCDCDEFEF · 96 linesThe Editor's Guestsanapaestic hexameter · 163 linesThe House Where We Were Wediambic tetrameter · 32 linesOur Army of the Deadiambic octameter · AABBCCDD · 40 linesApple-Blossomstrochaic tetrameter · ABABCDCD · 32 linesApples Growingtrochaic tetrameter · ABABCDCD · 32 linesOne and Twoiambic tetrameter · 45 linesThe Fading Floweriambic tetrameter · ABAB · 48 linesAutumn Daystrochaic tetrameter · 20 linesDeath-Doomediambic heptameter · AABBCCDD · 57 linesUp the Lineiambic tetrameter · AABB · 35 linesHow We Kept the Dayiambic pentameter · AABB · 162 lines
About this text
Public domain. Text from Farm Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #9500. Free to read, print, copy and reuse.