Buie Annajohn
Buie Annajohn was the king's black mare,Buie, Buie, Buie Annajohn!Satin was her coat and silk was her hair,Buie Annajohn,The young king's own.March with the white moon, march with the sun,March with the merry men, Buie Annajohn!
Buie Annajohn, when the dew lay hoar,(Buie, Buie, Buie Annajohn!)Down through the meadowlands went to war,--Buie Annajohn,The young king's own.March by the river road, march by the dune,March with the merry men, Buie Annajohn!
Buie Annajohn had the heart of flame,Buie, Buie, Buie Annajohn!First of the hosts to the hostings cameBuie Annajohn,The young king's own.March till we march the red sun down,March with the merry men, Buie Annajohn!
Back from the battle at the close of day,(Buie, Buie, Buie Annajohn!)Came with the war cheers, came with a neigh,Buie Annajohn,The young king's own.Oh, heavy was the sword that we laid on;But half of the heave was Buie Annajohn,Buie, Buie, Buie Annajohn!
Words in this poem
- hoar v. t.
- To become moldy or musty. [AS. harian to grow gray.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- dune n.
- A low hill of drifting sand usually formed on the coats, but often carried far inland by the prevailing winds. [The same word as down: cf. D. duin. See Down a bank of sand.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Buie Annajohn is in the public domain. This text is taken from More Songs From Vagabondia, Project Gutenberg ebook #18007; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Bliss Carman, Buie Annajohn, in More Songs from Vagabondia (1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18007, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carman-vagabondia/buie-annajohn.html, id L24727.
Form and metre
Buie Annajohn is 29 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABAB--B mareA · annajohnB · hairA · annajohnB · own · sun · annajohnB
- 2 ABAB--B hoarA · annajohnB · warA · annajohnB · own · dune · annajohnB
- 3 ABAB--B flameA · annajohnB · cameA · annajohnB · own · down · annajohnB
- 4 ABAB-BBB dayA · annajohnB · neighA · annajohnB · own · onB · annajohnB · annajohnB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Buie Annajohn was the king's black mare, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Buie, Buie, Buie Annajohn! | 9 | ˘/˘/˘/··· |
| Satin was her coat and silk was her hair, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Buie Annajohn, | 5 | ˘/··· |
| The young king's own. | 4 | ···· |
| March with the white moon, march with the sun, | 9 | ········· |
| March with the merry men, Buie Annajohn! | 11 | ···/˘·˘/··· |
| Buie Annajohn, when the dew lay hoar, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| (Buie, Buie, Buie Annajohn!) | 9 | ˘/˘/˘/··· |
| Down through the meadowlands went to war,-- | 9 | ···/˘/··· |
| Buie Annajohn, | 5 | ˘/··· |
| The young king's own. | 4 | ···· |
| March by the river road, march by the dune, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| March with the merry men, Buie Annajohn! | 11 | ···/˘·˘/··· |
| Buie Annajohn had the heart of flame, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Buie, Buie, Buie Annajohn! | 9 | ˘/˘/˘/··· |
| First of the hosts to the hostings came | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Buie Annajohn, | 5 | ˘/··· |
| The young king's own. | 4 | ···· |
| March till we march the red sun down, | 8 | ········ |
| March with the merry men, Buie Annajohn! | 11 | ···/˘·˘/··· |
| Back from the battle at the close of day, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| (Buie, Buie, Buie Annajohn!) | 9 | ˘/˘/˘/··· |
| Came with the war cheers, came with a neigh, | 9 | ········· |
| Buie Annajohn, | 5 | ˘/··· |
| The young king's own. | 4 | ···· |
| Oh, heavy was the sword that we laid on; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But half of the heave was Buie Annajohn, | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| Buie, Buie, Buie Annajohn! | 9 | ˘/˘/˘/··· |
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.