Gettin' on
When I wuz somewhat younger,I wuz reckoned purty gay--I had my fling at everythingIn a rollickin', coltish way,But times have strangely alteredSince sixty years ago--This age of steam an' things don't seemLike the age I used to know,Your modern innovationsDon't suit me, I confess,As did the ways of the good ol' days--But I'm gettin' on, I guess.
I set on the piazzaAn' hitch around with the sun--Sometimes, mayhap, I take a nap,Waitin' till school is done,An' then I tell the childrenThe things I done in youth,An' near as I can (as a venerable man)I stick to the honest truth!But the looks of them 'at listenSeems sometimes to expressThe remote idee that I'm gone--you see!An' I am gettin' on, I guess.
I get up in the mornin',An' nothin' else to do,Before the rest are up and dressedI read the papers through;I hang 'round with the womenAll day an' hear 'em talk,An' while they sew or knit I showThe baby how to walk;An' somehow, I feel sorryWhen they put away his dressAn' cut his curls ('cause they're like a girl's)--I'm gettin' on, I guess!
Sometimes, with twilight round me,I see (or seem to see)A distant shore where friends of yoreLinger and watch for me;Sometimes I've heered 'em callin'So tenderlike 'nd lowThat it almost seemed like a dream I dreamed,Or an echo of long ago;An' sometimes on my foreheadThere falls a soft caress,Or the touch of a hand--you understand--I'm gettin' on, I guess.
Words in this poem
- coltish a.
- Like a colt; wanton; frisky.
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- piazza n.
- An open square in a European town, especially an Italian town; hence (Arch.), an arcaded and roofed gallery; a portico. In the United States the word is popularly applied to a veranda. [It., place, square, market place, L. platea street, courtyard. See Place.]
- mayhap adv.
- Perhaps; peradventure. [Prov. or Dialectic]
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- caress n.
- An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness. [F. caresse, It. carezza, LL. caritia dearness, fr. L. carus dear. See Charity.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Gettin' on is in the public domain. This text is taken from Hoosier Lyrics, Project Gutenberg ebook #36150; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eugene Field, Gettin' on, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/gettin-on.html, id L11575.
Form and metre
Gettin' on is 48 lines in 4 stanzas of 12 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% 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-A-B-B-C-C younger · gayA · everything · wayA · altered · agoB · seem · knowB · innovations · confessC · days · guessC
- 2 -A-AABABAC-C piazza · sunA · nap · doneA · childrenA · youthB · manA · truthB · listenA · expressC · see · guessC
- 3 -A-A-B-B-C-C mornin · doA · dressed · throughA · women · talkB · show · walkB · sorry · dressC · girl's · guessC
- 4 AA-A-B-B-C-C meA · seeA · yore · meA · callin · lowB · dreamed · agoB · forehead · caressC · understand · guessC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When I wuz somewhat younger, | 7 | ···///˘ |
| I wuz reckoned purty gay-- | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| I had my fling at everything | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In a rollickin', coltish way, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But times have strangely altered | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Since sixty years ago-- | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| This age of steam an' things don't seem | 8 | ········ |
| Like the age I used to know, | 7 | ······· |
| Your modern innovations | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Don't suit me, I confess, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| As did the ways of the good ol' days-- | 9 | ········· |
| But I'm gettin' on, I guess. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I set on the piazza | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| An' hitch around with the sun-- | 7 | ······· |
| Sometimes, mayhap, I take a nap, | 8 | /·/˘···· |
| Waitin' till school is done, | 6 | /˘···· |
| An' then I tell the children | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The things I done in youth, | 6 | ······ |
| An' near as I can (as a venerable man) | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I stick to the honest truth! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| But the looks of them 'at listen | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Seems sometimes to express | 6 | ·/··˘/ |
| The remote idee that I'm gone--you see! | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| An' I am gettin' on, I guess. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I get up in the mornin', | 7 | ······· |
| An' nothin' else to do, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Before the rest are up and dressed | 8 | ········ |
| I read the papers through; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I hang 'round with the women | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| All day an' hear 'em talk, | 6 | ······ |
| An' while they sew or knit I show | 8 | ········ |
| The baby how to walk; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| An' somehow, I feel sorry | 7 | ·/···/˘ |
| When they put away his dress | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| An' cut his curls ('cause they're like a girl's)-- | 9 | ········· |
| I'm gettin' on, I guess! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Sometimes, with twilight round me, | 7 | ˘/·/··· |
| I see (or seem to see) | 6 | ······ |
| A distant shore where friends of yore | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Linger and watch for me; | 6 | /˘···· |
| Sometimes I've heered 'em callin' | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| So tenderlike 'nd low | 6 | ······ |
| That it almost seemed like a dream I dreamed, | 10 | ··/······· |
| Or an echo of long ago; | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| An' sometimes on my forehead | 7 | ·/···/˘ |
| There falls a soft caress, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Or the touch of a hand--you understand-- | 10 | ········˘/ |
| I'm gettin' on, I guess. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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