John
I'VE worked in the field all day, a-plowin' the "stony streak;"I've scolded my team till I'm hoarse; I've tramped till my legs are weak;I've choked a dozen swears (so's not to tell Jane fibs)When the plow-p'int struck a stone and the handles punched my ribs.
I've put my team in the barn, and rubbed their sweaty coats;I've fed 'em a heap of hay and half a bushel of oats;And to see the way they eat makes me like eatin' feel,And Jane won't say to-night that I don't make out a meal.
Well said! the door is locked! but here she's left the key,Under the step, in a place known only to her and me;I wonder who's dyin' or dead, that she's hustled off pell-mell:But here on the table's a note, and probably this will tell.
Good God! my wife is gone! my wife is gone astray!The letter it says, "Good-bye, for I'm a-going away;I've lived with you six months, John, and so far I've been true;But I'm going away to-day with a handsomer man than you."
A han'somer man than me! Why, that ain't much to say;There's han'somer men than me go past here every day.There's han'somer men than me--I ain't of the han'some kind;But a lovin'er man than I was I guess she'll never find.
Curse her! curse her! I say, and give my curses wings!May the words of love I've spoke be changed to scorpion stings!Oh, she filled my heart with joy, she emptied my heart of doubt,And now, with a scratch of a pen, she lets my heart's blood out!Curse her! curse her! say I; she'll some time rue this day;
Words in this poem
- jane n.
- A coin of Genoa; any small coin. [LL. Janua Genoa; L. Genua, also OE. Jean.]
- sweaty a.
- Moist with sweat; as, a sweaty skin; a sweaty garment.
- 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
John 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, John, in Farm Ballads (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9500, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carleton-farm-ballads/john.html, id L23261.
Form and metre
John is 25 lines in 6 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 5 of its 6 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 AABB streakA · weakA · fibsB · ribsB
- 2 AABB coatsA · oatsA · feelB · mealB
- 3 AABB keyA · meA · mellB · tellB
- 4 AABB astrayA · awayA · trueB · youB
- 5 AABB sayA · dayA · kindB · findB
- 6 AABB- wingsA · stingsA · doubtB · outB · day
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'VE worked in the field all day, a-plowin' the "stony streak;" | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| I've scolded my team till I'm hoarse; I've tramped till my legs are weak; | 15 | ·/˘············ |
| I've choked a dozen swears (so's not to tell Jane fibs) | 13 | ··˘·/˘······· |
| When the plow-p'int struck a stone and the handles punched my ribs. | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| I've put my team in the barn, and rubbed their sweaty coats; | 14 | ·········˘·/˘· |
| I've fed 'em a heap of hay and half a bushel of oats; | 14 | ··········/˘·· |
| And to see the way they eat makes me like eatin' feel, | 13 | ············· |
| And Jane won't say to-night that I don't make out a meal. | 13 | ············· |
| Well said! the door is locked! but here she's left the key, | 13 | ······˘······ |
| Under the step, in a place known only to her and me; | 14 | ········/˘···· |
| I wonder who's dyin' or dead, that she's hustled off pell-mell: | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| But here on the table's a note, and probably this will tell. | 14 | ····/˘···/˘··· |
| Good God! my wife is gone! my wife is gone astray! | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| The letter it says, "Good-bye, for I'm a-going away; | 14 | ·/˘·······/˘˘/ |
| I've lived with you six months, John, and so far I've been true; | 14 | ··˘··········· |
| But I'm going away to-day with a handsomer man than you." | 15 | ··/˘/·········· |
| A han'somer man than me! Why, that ain't much to say; | 13 | ············· |
| There's han'somer men than me go past here every day. | 14 | ··········/˘˘· |
| There's han'somer men than me--I ain't of the han'some kind; | 14 | ·············· |
| But a lovin'er man than I was I guess she'll never find. | 14 | ············/· |
| Curse her! curse her! I say, and give my curses wings! | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| May the words of love I've spoke be changed to scorpion stings! | 14 | ··········/˘˘· |
| Oh, she filled my heart with joy, she emptied my heart of doubt, | 14 | ········/˘···· |
| And now, with a scratch of a pen, she lets my heart's blood out! | 14 | ·············· |
| Curse her! curse her! say I; she'll some time rue this day; | 12 | ············ |
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.