A Christmas Folksong
De win' is blowin' wahmah,An hit's blowin' f'om de bay;Dey's a so't o' mist a-risin'All erlong de meddah way;Dey ain't a hint o' frostin'On de groun' ner in de sky,An' dey ain't no use in hopin'Dat de snow'll 'mence to fly.It's goin' to be a green Christmas,An' sad de day fu' me.I wish dis was de las' oneDat evah I should see.
Dey's dancin' in de cabin,Dey's spahkin' by de tree;But dancin' times an' spahkin'Are all done pas' fur me.Dey's feastin' in de big house,Wid all de windahs wide--Is dat de way fu' peopleTo meet de Christmas-tide?It's goin' to be a green Christmas,No mattah what you say.Dey's us dat will remembahAn' grieve de comin' day.
Dey's des a bref o' dampnessA-clingin' to my cheek;De aih's been dahk an' heavyAn' threatenin' fu' a week,But not wid signs o' wintah,Dough wintah'd seem so deah--De wintah's out o' season,An' Christmas eve is heah.It's goin' to be a green Christmas,An' oh, how sad de day!Go ax de hongry chu'chya'd,An' see what hit will say.
Dey's Allen on de hillside,An' Marfy in de plain;Fu' Christmas was like springtime,An' come wid sun an' rain.Dey's Ca'line, John, an' Susie,Wid only dis one lef':An' now de curse is comin'Wid murder in hits bref.It's goin' to be a green Christmas--Des hyeah my words an' see:Befo' de summah beckonsDey's many 'll weep wid me.
Words in this poem
- dampness n.
- Moderate humidity; moisture; fogginess; moistness.
- springtime n.
- The season of spring; springtide.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Christmas Folksong is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Project Gutenberg ebook #18338; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Paul Laurence Dunbar, A Christmas Folksong, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/a-christmas-folksong.html, id L00806.
Form and metre
A Christmas Folksong is 48 lines in 4 stanzas of 12 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% 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 -A-ABCBC-D-D wahmah · bayA · risin · wayA · frostinB · skyC · hopinB · flyC · christmas · meD · one · seeD
- 2 -A-ABC-CBD-D cabin · treeA · spahkin · meA · houseB · wideC · people · tideC · christmasB · sayD · remembah · dayD
- 3 -A-A-B-B-C-C dampness · cheekA · heavy · weekA · wintah · deahB · season · heahB · christmas · dayC · chu'chya'd · sayC
- 4 -A-A-B-B-C-C hillside · plainA · springtime · rainA · susie · lefB · comin · brefB · christmas · seeC · beckons · meC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| De win' is blowin' wahmah, | 7 | ······· |
| An hit's blowin' f'om de bay; | 7 | ······· |
| Dey's a so't o' mist a-risin' | 8 | ······/˘ |
| All erlong de meddah way; | 7 | ······· |
| Dey ain't a hint o' frostin' | 7 | ······· |
| On de groun' ner in de sky, | 7 | ······· |
| An' dey ain't no use in hopin' | 8 | ········ |
| Dat de snow'll 'mence to fly. | 6 | ······ |
| It's goin' to be a green Christmas, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| An' sad de day fu' me. | 6 | ······ |
| I wish dis was de las' one | 7 | ······· |
| Dat evah I should see. | 6 | ······ |
| Dey's dancin' in de cabin, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Dey's spahkin' by de tree; | 6 | ······ |
| But dancin' times an' spahkin' | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Are all done pas' fur me. | 6 | ······ |
| Dey's feastin' in de big house, | 7 | ······· |
| Wid all de windahs wide-- | 6 | ······ |
| Is dat de way fu' people | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| To meet de Christmas-tide? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| It's goin' to be a green Christmas, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| No mattah what you say. | 6 | ······ |
| Dey's us dat will remembah | 7 | ······· |
| An' grieve de comin' day. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Dey's des a bref o' dampness | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| A-clingin' to my cheek; | 6 | ······ |
| De aih's been dahk an' heavy | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' threatenin' fu' a week, | 7 | ······· |
| But not wid signs o' wintah, | 7 | ······· |
| Dough wintah'd seem so deah-- | 6 | ······ |
| De wintah's out o' season, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' Christmas eve is heah. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| It's goin' to be a green Christmas, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| An' oh, how sad de day! | 6 | ······ |
| Go ax de hongry chu'chya'd, | 7 | ······· |
| An' see what hit will say. | 6 | ······ |
| Dey's Allen on de hillside, | 7 | ·/˘··/· |
| An' Marfy in de plain; | 6 | ······ |
| Fu' Christmas was like springtime, | 7 | ·/˘··/· |
| An' come wid sun an' rain. | 6 | ······ |
| Dey's Ca'line, John, an' Susie, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Wid only dis one lef': | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| An' now de curse is comin' | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Wid murder in hits bref. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| It's goin' to be a green Christmas-- | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Des hyeah my words an' see: | 6 | ······ |
| Befo' de summah beckons | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Dey's many 'll weep wid me. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
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