Joggin' Erlong
De da'kest hour, dey allus say,Is des' befo' de dawn,But it's moughty ha'd a-waitin'W'ere de night goes frownin' on;An' it's moughty ha'd a-hopin'W'en de clouds is big an' black,An' all de t'ings you 's waited fu'Has failed, er gone to wrack--But des' keep on a-joggin' wid a little bit o' song,De mo'n is allus brightah w'en de night's been long.
Dey 's lots o' knocks you 's got to tekBefo' yo' journey 's done,An' dey 's times w'en you 'll be wishin'Dat de weary race was run;W'en you want to give up tryin'An' des' float erpon de wave,W'en you don't feel no mo' sorrerEz you t'ink erbout de grave--Den, des' keep on a-joggin' wid a little bit o' song,De mo'n is allus brightah w'en de night's been long.
De whup-lash sting a good deal mo'De back hit 's knowed befo',An' de burden 's allus heavies'Whaih hits weight has made a so';Dey is times w'en tribulationSeems to git de uppah han'An' to whip de weary trav'lah'Twell he ain't got stren'th to stan'--But des' keep on a-joggin' wid a little bit o' song,De mo'n is allus brightah w'en de night's been long.
Words in this poem
- wrack n.
- Wreck; ruin; destruction. [OE. wrak wreck. See Wreck.]
- tribulation n.
- That which occasions distress, trouble, or vexation; severe affliction. [OE. tribulacium, F. tribulation, L. tribulatio, from tribulare to press, afflict, fr. tribulum a thrashing sledge, akin to terere, tritum, to rub. See Trite.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Joggin' Erlong 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, Joggin' Erlong, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/joggin-erlong.html, id L00703.
Form and metre
Joggin' Erlong is 30 lines in 3 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 13% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 -ABABC-CDD say · dawnA · waitinB · onA · hopinB · blackC · fu · wrackC · songD · longD
- 2 -A-A-B-BCC tek · doneA · wishin · runA · tryin · waveB · sorrer · graveB · songC · longC
- 3 A--ABB-BCC moA · befo · heavies · soA · tribulationB · hanB · trav'lah · stanB · songC · longC
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| De da'kest hour, dey allus say, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| Is des' befo' de dawn, | 6 | ······ |
| But it's moughty ha'd a-waitin' | 8 | ······/˘ |
| W'ere de night goes frownin' on; | 7 | ······· |
| An' it's moughty ha'd a-hopin' | 8 | ········ |
| W'en de clouds is big an' black, | 7 | ······· |
| An' all de t'ings you 's waited fu' | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Has failed, er gone to wrack-- | 7 | ··˘···· |
| But des' keep on a-joggin' wid a little bit o' song, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| De mo'n is allus brightah w'en de night's been long. | 12 | ············ |
| Dey 's lots o' knocks you 's got to tek | 10 | ·········· |
| Befo' yo' journey 's done, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| An' dey 's times w'en you 'll be wishin' | 10 | ·········· |
| Dat de weary race was run; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| W'en you want to give up tryin' | 8 | ······/˘ |
| An' des' float erpon de wave, | 7 | ······· |
| W'en you don't feel no mo' sorrer | 8 | ········ |
| Ez you t'ink erbout de grave-- | 7 | ······· |
| Den, des' keep on a-joggin' wid a little bit o' song, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| De mo'n is allus brightah w'en de night's been long. | 12 | ············ |
| De whup-lash sting a good deal mo' | 8 | ········ |
| De back hit 's knowed befo', | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| An' de burden 's allus heavies' | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| Whaih hits weight has made a so'; | 7 | ······· |
| Dey is times w'en tribulation | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Seems to git de uppah han' | 7 | ······· |
| An' to whip de weary trav'lah | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| 'Twell he ain't got stren'th to stan'-- | 7 | ······· |
| But des' keep on a-joggin' wid a little bit o' song, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| De mo'n is allus brightah w'en de night's been long. | 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.