Lyman, Frederick and Jim
Lyman and Frederick and Jim, one day,Set out in a great big ship--Steamed to the ocean down to the bayOut of a New York slip."Where are you going and what is your game?"The people asked to those three."Darned, if we know; but all the sameHappy as larks are we;And happier still we're going to be!"Said LymanAnd FrederickAnd Jim.
The people laughed "Aha, oho!Oho, aha!" laughed they;And while those three went sailing soSome pirates steered that way.The pirates they were laughing, too--The prospect made them glad;But by the time the job was throughEach of them pirates bold and bad,Had been done out of all he hadBy LymanAnd FrederickAnd Jim.
Days and weeks and months they sped,Painting that foreign climeA beautiful, bright vermillion red--And having a -- of a time!'Twas all so gaudy a lark, it seemed,As if it could not be,And some folks thought it a dream they dreamedOf sailing that foreign sea,But I'll identify you these three--LymanAnd FrederickAnd Jim.
Lyman and Frederick are bankers and sichAnd Jim is an editor kind;The first two named are awfully richAnd Jim ain't far behind!So keep your eyes open and mind your tricks,Or you are like to beIn quite as much of a Tartar fixAs the pirates that sailed the seaAnd monkeyed with the pardners three,LymanAnd FrederickAnd Jim.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- identify v. i.
- To become the same; to coalesce in interest, purpose, use, effect, etc.
- awfully adv.
- In an awful manner; in a manner to fill with terror or awe; fearfully; reverently.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lyman, Frederick and Jim 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, Lyman, Frederick and Jim, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/lyman-frederick-and-jim.html, id L11585.
Form and metre
Lyman, Frederick and Jim is 48 lines in 4 stanzas of 12 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.4 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 42% 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 ABABCDCDD--- dayA · shipB · bayA · slipB · gameC · threeD · sameC · weD · beD · lyman · frederick · jim
- 2 -A-ABCBCC--- oho · theyA · so · wayA · tooB · gladC · throughB · badC · hadC · lyman · frederick · jim
- 3 ABABCDCDD--- spedA · climeB · redA · timeB · seemedC · beD · dreamedC · seaD · threeD · lyman · frederick · jim
- 4 ABABCDCDD--- sichA · kindB · richA · behindB · tricksC · beD · fixC · seaD · threeD · lyman · frederick · jim
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lyman and Frederick and Jim, one day, | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| Set out in a great big ship-- | 7 | ······· |
| Steamed to the ocean down to the bay | 8 | ···/···· |
| Out of a New York slip. | 6 | ······ |
| "Where are you going and what is your game?" | 9 | ···/····· |
| The people asked to those three. | 8 | ·/˘·˘··· |
| "Darned, if we know; but all the same | 8 | ········ |
| Happy as larks are we; | 6 | /˘···· |
| And happier still we're going to be!" | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Said Lyman | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And Frederick | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And Jim. | 2 | ·· |
| The people laughed "Aha, oho! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘/ |
| Oho, aha!" laughed they; | 7 | ˘/·/·˘· |
| And while those three went sailing so | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Some pirates steered that way. | 7 | ·/˘·˘·· |
| The pirates they were laughing, too-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The prospect made them glad; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But by the time the job was through | 8 | ········ |
| Each of them pirates bold and bad, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Had been done out of all he had | 8 | ········ |
| By Lyman | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And Frederick | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And Jim. | 2 | ·· |
| Days and weeks and months they sped, | 7 | ······· |
| Painting that foreign clime | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| A beautiful, bright vermillion red-- | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And having a -- of a time! | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| 'Twas all so gaudy a lark, it seemed, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| As if it could not be, | 6 | ······ |
| And some folks thought it a dream they dreamed | 9 | ········· |
| Of sailing that foreign sea, | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| But I'll identify you these three-- | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Lyman | 2 | /˘ |
| And Frederick | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And Jim. | 2 | ·· |
| Lyman and Frederick are bankers and sich | 10 | /˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| And Jim is an editor kind; | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| The first two named are awfully rich | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And Jim ain't far behind! | 6 | ······ |
| So keep your eyes open and mind your tricks, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Or you are like to be | 6 | ······ |
| In quite as much of a Tartar fix | 9 | ······/˘· |
| As the pirates that sailed the sea | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| And monkeyed with the pardners three, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Lyman | 2 | /˘ |
| And Frederick | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And Jim. | 2 | ·· |
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.