The Boogah Man
W'en de evenin' shaddersCome a-glidin' down,Fallin' black an' heavyOvah hill an' town,Ef you listen keerful,Keerful ez you kin,So 's you boun' to noticeDes a drappin' pin;Den you 'll hyeah a funnySoun' ercross de lan';Lay low; dat's de callin'Of de Boogah Man!
Woo-oo woo-oo!Hyeah him ez he go erlong de way;Woo-oo, woo-oo!Don' you wish de night 'ud t'un to day?Woo-oo, woo-oo!Hide yo' little peepers 'hind yo' han;Woo-oo, woo-oo!Callin' of de Boogah Man.
W'en de win 's a-shiverin'Thoo de gloomy lane,An' dey comes de patterin'Of de evenin' rain,W'en de owl's a-hootin',Out daih in de wood,Don' you wish, my honey,Dat you had been good?'T ain't no use to try toSnuggle up to Dan;Bless you, dat's de callin'Of de Boogah Man!
Ef you loves yo' mammy,An' you min's yo' pap,Ef you nevah wrigglesOuten Sukey's lap;Ef you says yo' "Lay me"Evah single night'Fo' dey tucks de kiversAn' puts out de light,Den de rain kin pattahWin' blow lak a fan,But you need n' bothah'Bout de Boogah Man!
Words in this poem
- funny a.
- Droll; comical; amusing; laughable. Funny bone. See crazy bone, under Crazy. [From Fun.]
- snuggle v. t.
- To move one way and the other so as to get a close place; to lie close for comfort; to cuddle; to nestle. [Freq. of snug.]
- mammy n.
- A child's name for mamma, mother.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Boogah Man 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, The Boogah Man, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/the-boogah-man.html, id L00733.
Form and metre
The Boogah Man is 44 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.8 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic trimeter.
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-A-B-B-C-C shadders · downA · heavy · townA · keerful · kinB · notice · pinB · funny · lanC · callin · manC
- 2 ABABACAC ooA · wayB · ooA · dayB · ooA · hanC · ooA · manC
- 3 ABABAC-C-D-D shiverinA · laneB · patterinA · rainB · hootinA · woodC · honey · goodC · to · danD · callin · manD
- 4 -A-A-B-BCDCD mammy · papA · wriggles · lapA · me · nightB · kivers · lightB · pattahC · fanD · bothahC · manD
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| W'en de evenin' shadders | 7 | ······· |
| Come a-glidin' down, | 5 | ····· |
| Fallin' black an' heavy | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| Ovah hill an' town, | 5 | ····· |
| Ef you listen keerful, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Keerful ez you kin, | 5 | ····· |
| So 's you boun' to notice | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Des a drappin' pin; | 5 | ····· |
| Den you 'll hyeah a funny | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Soun' ercross de lan'; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Lay low; dat's de callin' | 6 | ······ |
| Of de Boogah Man! | 5 | ····· |
| Woo-oo woo-oo! | 4 | ···· |
| Hyeah him ez he go erlong de way; | 9 | ········· |
| Woo-oo, woo-oo! | 4 | ···· |
| Don' you wish de night 'ud t'un to day? | 9 | ········· |
| Woo-oo, woo-oo! | 4 | ···· |
| Hide yo' little peepers 'hind yo' han; | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Woo-oo, woo-oo! | 4 | ···· |
| Callin' of de Boogah Man. | 7 | ······· |
| W'en de win 's a-shiverin' | 8 | ········ |
| Thoo de gloomy lane, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| An' dey comes de patterin' | 7 | ······· |
| Of de evenin' rain, | 6 | ······ |
| W'en de owl's a-hootin', | 6 | ······ |
| Out daih in de wood, | 5 | ····· |
| Don' you wish, my honey, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Dat you had been good? | 5 | ····· |
| 'T ain't no use to try to | 7 | ······· |
| Snuggle up to Dan; | 5 | /˘··· |
| Bless you, dat's de callin' | 6 | ······ |
| Of de Boogah Man! | 5 | ····· |
| Ef you loves yo' mammy, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| An' you min's yo' pap, | 5 | ····· |
| Ef you nevah wriggles | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Outen Sukey's lap; | 5 | /˘/˘· |
| Ef you says yo' "Lay me" | 6 | ······ |
| Evah single night | 5 | ··/˘· |
| 'Fo' dey tucks de kivers | 6 | ······ |
| An' puts out de light, | 5 | ····· |
| Den de rain kin pattah | 6 | ······ |
| Win' blow lak a fan, | 5 | ····· |
| But you need n' bothah | 6 | ······ |
| 'Bout de Boogah Man! | 5 | ····· |
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.