Two Songs of Spain
Fountain, cans't thou sing the songMy Juan sang to meThe moonlit orange groves among?Then list the words from me,And mark thee, by the morning's light,Or by the moon's soft beam,Or when my eyes with smiles are bright,Or when I wake or dream.O, Fountain, thou must sing the songMy Juan sang to me;Yet stay--the only words I knowAre "Inez, Love and Thee!"
Fountain, on my light guitarI'll play the strain to thee,And while I watch yon laughing star,The words will come to me.And mark thee, when my heart is sad,And full of sweet regrets,Or when it throbs to laughter glad,Like feet to castanets.O, Fountain, thou must sing the songMy Juan sang to me;Yet stay--the only words I knowAre "Inez, Love, and Thee!"
Fountain, clap thy twinkling handsBeneath yon floating moon,And twinkle to the starry bandsThat dance upon the gloom,For I am glad, for who could crave,The joyous night to fill,A richer treasure than I haveIn Juan's seguedille?So, Fountain, mark, no other songDare ever sing, to me,Tho' only four short words I know,Just, "Inez, Love and Thee!"
Morello strikes on his guitar,When over the olives the starOf eve, like a rose touch'd with gold,Doth slowly its sweet rays unfold.Perchance 'tis in some city square,And the people all follow us there.Don, donna, slim chulo, padrone,The very dog runs with his bone;One half of the square is in the shade,On the other the red sunset fades;The fount, as it flings up its jets,Responds to my brisk castanets;I wear a red rose at my ear;And many a whisper I hear:"If she were a lady, behold,None other should share my red gold!"
"St. Anthony save us, what eyes!How gem-like her little foot flies!""These dancers should all be forbidTo dance in the streets of Madrid.""If I were a monarch I'd ownNo other to sit on my throne!"Two scarlet streamers tie my hair;They burn like red stars on the air;My dark eyes flash, my clear cheek burns,My kirtle eddies in swift turns,My golden necklet tinkles sweet;Yes, yes, I love the crowded street!
Words in this poem
- moonlit a.
- Illumined by the moon.
- twinkling n.
- The act of one who, or of that which, twinkles; a quick movement of the eye; a wink; a twinkle. Holland.
- twinkle v. i.
- To open and shut the eye rapidly; to blink; to wink. [OE. twinklen, AS. twinclian; akin to OE. twinken to blink, wink, G. zwinken, zwinkern, and perhaps to E. twitch.]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- morello n.
- A kind of nearly black cherry with dark red flesh and juice, -- used chiefly for preserving. [Cf. It. morello blackish, OF. morel. Cf. Morelle.]
- donna n.
- A lady; madam; mistress; -- the title given a lady in Italy. [It. donna, L. domina. See Don, Dame.]
- padrone n.
- A patron; a protector. [It. See Patron.]
- kirtle n.
- A garment varying in form and use at different times, and worn doth by men and women. [OE. kirtel, curtel, AS. cyrtel; skin to Icel. kyrtill, Sw. kjortel, Dan. kiortel, kiole.]
- necklet n.
- A necklace. E. Anold.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Two Songs of Spain is in the public domain. This text is taken from Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #6815; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Isabella Valancy Crawford, Two Songs of Spain, in Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie and Other Poems (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6815, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crawford-poems/two-songs-of-spain.html, id L11172.
Form and metre
Two Songs of Spain is 64 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AB-BCDCDAB-B songA · meB · among · meB · lightC · beamD · brightC · dreamD · songA · meB · know · theeB
- 2 ABABCDCD-B-B guitarA · theeB · starA · meB · sadC · regretsD · gladC · castanetsD · song · meB · know · theeB
- 3 A-A-BCBC-D-D handsA · moon · bandsA · gloom · craveB · fillC · haveB · seguedilleC · song · meD · know · theeD
- 4 AABBCCDD--EEFFBB guitarA · starA · goldB · unfoldB · squareC · thereC · padroneD · boneD · shade · fades · jetsE · castanetsE · earF · hearF · beholdB · goldB
- 5 AABBCCDDEEFF eyesA · fliesA · forbidB · madridB · ownC · throneC · hairD · airD · burnsE · turnsE · sweetF · streetF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fountain, cans't thou sing the song | 7 | /˘····· |
| My Juan sang to me | 6 | ······ |
| The moonlit orange groves among? | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| Then list the words from me, | 6 | ······ |
| And mark thee, by the morning's light, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or by the moon's soft beam, | 6 | ······ |
| Or when my eyes with smiles are bright, | 8 | ········ |
| Or when I wake or dream. | 6 | ······ |
| O, Fountain, thou must sing the song | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My Juan sang to me; | 6 | ······ |
| Yet stay--the only words I know | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Are "Inez, Love and Thee!" | 6 | ······ |
| Fountain, on my light guitar | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| I'll play the strain to thee, | 6 | ······ |
| And while I watch yon laughing star, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The words will come to me. | 6 | ······ |
| And mark thee, when my heart is sad, | 8 | ········ |
| And full of sweet regrets, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Or when it throbs to laughter glad, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Like feet to castanets. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| O, Fountain, thou must sing the song | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My Juan sang to me; | 6 | ······ |
| Yet stay--the only words I know | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Are "Inez, Love, and Thee!" | 6 | ······ |
| Fountain, clap thy twinkling hands | 8 | /˘··/˘˘· |
| Beneath yon floating moon, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And twinkle to the starry bands | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That dance upon the gloom, | 6 | ······ |
| For I am glad, for who could crave, | 8 | ········ |
| The joyous night to fill, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A richer treasure than I have | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| In Juan's seguedille? | 6 | ······ |
| So, Fountain, mark, no other song | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Dare ever sing, to me, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Tho' only four short words I know, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Just, "Inez, Love and Thee!" | 6 | ······ |
| Morello strikes on his guitar, | 8 | ˘/˘···˘/ |
| When over the olives the star | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Of eve, like a rose touch'd with gold, | 8 | ········ |
| Doth slowly its sweet rays unfold. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Perchance 'tis in some city square, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| And the people all follow us there. | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| Don, donna, slim chulo, padrone, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| The very dog runs with his bone; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| One half of the square is in the shade, | 9 | ········· |
| On the other the red sunset fades; | 9 | ··/˘··/·· |
| The fount, as it flings up its jets, | 8 | ········ |
| Responds to my brisk castanets; | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| I wear a red rose at my ear; | 8 | ········ |
| And many a whisper I hear: | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| "If she were a lady, behold, | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| None other should share my red gold!" | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "St. Anthony save us, what eyes! | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| How gem-like her little foot flies!" | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| "These dancers should all be forbid | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To dance in the streets of Madrid." | 8 | ······˘/ |
| "If I were a monarch I'd own | 8 | ····/··· |
| No other to sit on my throne!" | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Two scarlet streamers tie my hair; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| They burn like red stars on the air; | 8 | ········ |
| My dark eyes flash, my clear cheek burns, | 8 | ········ |
| My kirtle eddies in swift turns, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| My golden necklet tinkles sweet; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Yes, yes, I love the crowded street! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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.